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The diagnostic accuracy, ease, and technical feasibility of imaging with 131I-or 125 I-fibrinogen, 99mTc-sulfur colloid, and 67 Ga-citrate in renal transplant rejection are compared. Radiofibrinogen data resulted from literature review, radiocolloid data from 125 studies in 52 transplant patients, and gallium citrate data from 24 examinations in seven renal transplant patients performed simultaneously with the radiocolloid studied. Specificity of graft labeling during rejection appears to be similar with radiofibrinogen, 99mTc-sulfur colloid, and 67Ga-citrate. For routine clinical use 99mTc-sulfur colloid surpasses radiofibrinogen and radiogallium because of its better imaging qualities with a permissible radiation dose, leading to better separation of positive and negative results. The 99mTc-sulfur colloid accumulates in areas of intravascular fibrin thrombosis in acute and chronic rejecting renal transplants. Hence, the mechanisms for accumulation of 99mTc-sulfur colloid and labeled fibrinogen in rejecting transplants would seem to be similar. Such physiologic properties as rapid blood clearance and such physical properties as short physical half-life combine to produce reliable graft visualization with adequate definition, thus favoring 99mTc-sulfur colloid as the single agent of choice for clinical evaluation of renal transplant rejection at this time.

Although induction of contact skin sensitivity by low molecular weight 2,4-dinitrobenzenes requires the formation in vivo of 2,4-dinitrophenyl-proteins, analogous protein conjugates prepared in vitro are unable to induce this hypersensitive state. Low molecular weight 2,4-dinitrobenzenes are concentrated by isolated lymph node cells, but a representative 2,4-dinitrophenyl-protein conjugate (2,4-dinitrophenyl-bovine serum albumin) was not taken up to a detectable extent by these cells. It is inferred that there exist large quantitative differences in the extent to which dinitrophenyl-proteins are localized within cells following the administration to an intact animal of (a) those simple dinitrobenzenes which are both concentrated by lymph node cells and have the capacity to form protein conjugates in vivo, and (b) 2,4-dinitrophenyl-protein conjugates prepared in vitro. It is suggested that this difference could account for the fact that a varietyof 2,4-dinitrophenyl-proteins prepared in vitro are unable to induce contact skin sensitivity.

Antibodies to prostaglandin were obtained by immunization of rabbits with PGA(1), PGA(2), and PGE(1), protein conjugates of prostaglandins. The antibodies demonstrated specificity toward both the cyclopentane ring and the aliphatic side chains. With the use of these antibodies a highly sensitive radio-immunoassay capable of measuring less than picomolar amounts of PGA1, PGA2, and PGE1 has been developed.