Experimental glomerulonephritis: VIII. The in vivo fixation of heterologous nephrotoxic antibodies to, and their exchange among, tissues of the rat

The distribution of fixation of nephrotoxic antibodies and their subsequent exchange among the kidneys and non-renal tissue was studied in two experimental conditions. In the first, radioiodine labeled nephrotoxic gamma globulin was injected into rats which were then united by parabiosis to non-injected isologous rats. In the second, a kidney from a rat injected with labeled nephrotoxic gamma globulin was transplanted to an isologous rat. These experiments showed a continuous dissociation and reassociation of the antibodies following their initial fixation to the tissues. This exchange involved primarily the low avidity and specificity antibody in non-renal tissues and to a lesser extent the more avid kidney fixed antibodies.