SESSION V. VACCINES AND IMMUNOTHERAPY Development of Immunotherapy for Infections Due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The creation of a polyvalent vaccine and the creation of a corresponding poly-valent hyperimmune human y-globulin for the control of serious infections by Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the outgrowth of research on protective antibodies in normal human y-globulin initiated 18 years ago. On the basis of a new antigenic schema, a heptavalent vaccine composed of purified extracted antigens was de-veloped for use in humans, primarily in patients with burn injuries. The same vaccine was used for the preparation of a y-globulin containing antibodies to P. aeruginosa. The experimental basis of the application of ad-junctive immunologic procedures for the control of common opportunistic infections in man orig-inated in part in our laboratories in the mid-1950s. At that time, we observed that a surprising degree of activity against various bacterial species could be demonstrated in commercial preparations of normal human v-globulin when these were given at the time of challenge with experimental infec-tions in mice [1, 2]. Moreover, these passive pro-tection effects were shown to be synergistic with chloramphenicol in such infections [3]. Additional studies revealed that the activity in these human y-globulin products could be ascribed entirely to specific normal antibodies, the presence of which probably reflected prolonged low-level immuno-logic stimulation from common autochthonous bacteria [4]. Protective antibody was readily demonstrable against the several strains of Pseudomonas aeru-ginosa used in these early experiments; meanwhile similar, independent observations on such anti-bodies against Pseudomonas in normal human y-globulin were reported in 1957 [5]. When it be-came evident that parallel observations had been Please address requests for reprints to Dr. M. W