Symposium: Immunologic Suppression of Primary Rh Antibody Formation*

Passive antibody specifically suppresses an immune response by binding to the antigenic determinant, and appears to do so by competing with potential antibody forming cells for available antigen. This concept is consistent with most of the evidence in the literature. In the course of naturally occurring immune responses, circulating antibody contributes to the progressive rise in antibody affinity with time after immunization by suppressing the antibody production of cells bearing relatively lower affinity antibody.