ANTIBODY FORMATION 



The persistance of antigen (Garvey and Campbell, 1956) and its 

 degradation in the host animal may also be altered under conditions 

 of environmental extremes or endocrine imbalance. Recent studies 

 of antigen disappearance in hibernating ground squirrels (Jaroslow 

 and Smith, 1961) have shown that there was no detectable disappear- 

 ance of antigen during 14 days of hibernation. After arousal, however, 

 the induction period for antibody formation was shorter than in non- 

 hibernating animals. It appears that this response is a reflection of 

 the physiological state of the animal. 



Even though certain physiological changes might be implicated 

 a priori, it is difficult to attribute the net immune response to only 

 one factor. It appears essentialto consider the immunophysiological 

 inter- relationships and the functioningofthe animal as an integrated 

 unit in host- parasite interactions. 



SUMMARY 



Deductions made for host-environmental interactions can often be 

 derived by more than one pathway involving secondary physiological 

 factors which may affect resistance to disease, antibody formation, 

 and antibody decay. The immune response of animals exposed to 

 environmental extremes or endocrine imbalance must be interpreted 

 in the light of available knowledge concerning the functioning of the 

 animal as an integrated unit. 



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