The effects of the delayed type immune response upon the host

A consistent accumulation of experimental evidence, most of it published long ago, clearly shows that a constant consequence of the immune response elicited by the Koch bacillus is that the individual becomes susceptible to be injured or killed by the tuberculous antigen, which is totally innocuous to the virgin subject. This fact led Rich to conclude that throughout the natural history of tuberculosis, as soon as the immune reaction is activated, the tuberculo-protein poured out by the germ mass will exert its detrimental capabilities manifested as the constitutional symptoms of the disease. The pathogenicity of the specific antigen in the tuberculous-type immune reaction may be extrapolated to other states that elicit the same response, including cancer and tissue transplantation. Unexplained phenomena such as the general symptoms of many neoplasias, as well as the systemic manifestations of graft rejection, may then be attributed to the shedding of antigen from the foreign cell mass into the sensitized host.