Contact sensitivity to oxazolone in the chicken: evidence for Arthus type hypersensitivity of the cutaneous reaction.

Cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction can be induced in chickens by skin painting with oxazolone, 33 mg/Kg of body weight (KBW). The B cell contribution to the generation of the cutaneous reaction has been a matter of controversy. In an attempt to characterize this reaction we placed special interest on the possibility that the nature of this reaction could be Arthus type hypersensitivity. From the kinetics study on the cutaneous hypersensitivity after challenge with oxazolonated egg-albumin (EA-OX) it was excluded that the nature of this reaction could be delayed type hypersensitivity. Immune sera transfer experiments demonstrated that the cutaneous reaction was antibody dependent. Serum ant…