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Figure 2. Total (A) and anti-MSA specific (B) antibody activity in serum from mice immunized with mouse serum albumin (MSA) carrying various numbers of 2-hydroxethylmethacrylate (HEMA) molecules: 3, 7, 15, or 22, respectively. Displayed are also control groups immunized with unconjugated MSA or adjuvant alone. Each dot represents 1 animal, and the horizontal bars indicate median values. (A) Significantly higher serum IgE concentration was found in animals immunized with MSA carrying only 3 HEMA molecules, compared with those immunized with MSA carrying 22 (n = 8 for all groups, except for the one given MSAH22, where n = 7). Statistical comparison was done by the Mann-Whitney U-test. (B) The specific IgE anti-MSA antibody activities in sera from animals treated as in (A). The antibody activities to native MSA are expressed as arbitrary ELISA units compared with a standard. Only animals immunized with MSAH3 displayed this antibody activity.
