A semi-automated microassay method for the measurement of ablastin, a division inhibitory antibody

Division of Trypanosoma lewisi in the rat is terminated by ablastin, a factor(s) in the serum of rats acquired during infection which is believed to be specific antibody. In this study a semi-automated microassay technique for the measurement of ablastin is described. The system involved the use of [3H]TdR as a marker for trypanosome division and a multiple-well cell harvester to harvest trypanosomes from wells of microtitre plates. The method is versatile, quantitative and easy to perform, permitting the simultaneous measurement of numerous samples for this division-inhibitory activity.