Landsteiner technique

The Landsteiner technique in guinea pigs (Figure 5) is a routine test for sensitization. The test substance is applied to the skin three times a week for three weeks. After a two-wk rest period, a previously non-effective dose is applied. The appearance of erythema, edema or necrosis indicates sensitization. 

The fact that blood grouping and/or typing antigens exist has been known since Landsteiner discovered the ABO system around 1900 (1). Since then over 246 published antigens have been found however, only three of these antigenic systems, the ABO, MN and Rh, have received crime laboratory acceptance (2). Until several years ago most crime laboratories did only ABO groupings however, with the improvements of specific antisera and the increased sensitivity of detection techniques, the MN and Rh systems have also been adopted as reliable systems. 

Thus, Landsteiner s work established many of the ground rules by which we operate today. Our contributions since his time have been mainly refinement of techniques and procedures and the expansion of his ideas. The major exception to this statement, and a crucial one indeed, is the development by Berson and Yalow of the technique of radioimmuno-... 

In 1956 our laboratory, in collaboration with Beiser and Lieberman, became interested in preparing steroid-protein conjugates that were to be used to elicit antisteroid antibodies. An examination of the literature at that time showed that the azo coupling techniques of Landsteiner were still dominant. Like him, we chose to use the serum albumins because they were inexpensive and likely to yield soluble conjugates. However, an examination of the amino acid content of bovine serum albumin (BSA) (Fig. 1) convinced us that substitution by such relatively complex haptens as steriods should be attempted by reaction with the more plentiful c-amino groups of the lysine residues rather than by an azo coupling reaction with tyrosine, tryptophan, and imidazole residues. This meant forma-... 

Intradermal injections, combined with the application of a DNCB solution on the skin of guinea pigs, induce an appreciable sensitization (Landsteiner and Chase, 1937). This technique has been produced by many authors, either with DNCB, or with other allergens. We have also employed it for citraconic anhydride (p. 32) and propionic anhydride (p. 35). 

---