Passive transfer of dextran anaphylactoid reaction in rats

¹ Département de Physiologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada

The anaphylactoid reaction produced in donor rats by an intravenous injection of 12 mg of dextran/100 g body wt., can be transferred passively, 60 min later, into acceptor rats, by an intravenous injection of 0.5 ml of the serum from donors. The anaphylactoid reaction resulting in the acceptors is due to a factor, produced in the serum of donors, which is other than the original dextran, histamine, serotonin, or heparin. The production of this factor is potentiated when the rats are presensitized to dextran. It is suggested that the dextran anaphylactoid reaction belongs together with anaphylaxis to the class of immediate hypersensitivities.