74 IMMUNO-CATALYSIS 



extending from the center like the spokes of a wheel; around the 

 nucleus is a lighter zone, whilst the abundant protoplasm otherwise is 

 dark, basophile. It has been claimed that there is a smooth transition 

 between the lymphocytes and plasma cells. Others hold that plasma 

 cells originate from cells belonging to the reticuloendothelial system 

 (Bing, 1940). Markoff (1937) stated that plasma cells of sternal bone 

 marrow are identical with plasma-cellular reticuloendothelial cells. 

 According to him, reticulum cells of sternal marrow functionally can 

 be divided into two groups: one, plasma-cell-like; the others, phagocytic 

 and lymphoid forms. 



Kolouch (1938) reported that there is an increase in the plasma cell 

 content of the bone marrow running parallel with a rise in the anti- 

 body titer against StrC'ptococcus viridans. According to Bing (1940) 

 and Bing and Plum (1937) various diseases are accompanied by 

 hyperglobulinemia, an increase of plasma cells and reticulo-endothelial 

 cells in or outside of the bone marrow, which makes it probable that the 

 formation of globulin takes place in these cells. 



Bj0rneboe and Gormsen (1941) immunized rabbits with various 

 types of pneumococci killed with formalin. Intravenous injections were 

 made every other day for a month, each injection containing 500 

 millions of pneumococci. Six of the immune sera contained 26 to 75 

 per cent more serum protein than the normal sera, or the globulin 

 concentrations of immune rabbits were 6.1 to 12.9 mg./ml. of serum in 

 comparison to 3.6 mg./ml. of normal serum. Histological examinations 

 revealed a marked increase in plasma cells in spleen, in the capillaries 

 of liver, plasma cell infiltration in the kidney and fatty tissues, slight 

 plasma cell increase in the bone marrow. There was no increase in the 

 reticulo-endothelial cells in these organs. They concluded that increase 

 in globulin concentration of serum parallels the increase in plasma 

 cells, or plasma cells are responsible for the synthesis of globulin. 



In an extensive later study, Bj0rneboe and Gormsen (1943), em- 

 ploying intensive intravenous immunization technique with several dif- 

 ferent antigens (polyvalent pneumococcal vaccine, polyvalent Salmo- 

 nella vaccine and a mixture of proteins, etc.) simultaneouslv found 

 the antibody concentration amounting to about 70 per cent of the total 

 protein concentration of immune sera. Parallel with the rise of anti- 

 body globulin they observed an increase in plasma cells and young 

 plasma cells with scanty protoplasm and without the characteristic 



