Phosphorylcholine antibodies in pulmonary infection.
Phosphorylcholine (PC) antibodies in serum from patients with pulmonary infection, and from normal individuals, were studied. Anti-PC antibodies were detectable in the serum from normal individuals at mean concentrations of 320 micrograms/ml for the IgG class and 110 micrograms/ml for the IgM class. Concentrations of anti-PC antibodies which were higher than normal for both the IgG and IgM classes were observed in the serum in pulmonary infection (1,440 micrograms/ml and 210 micrograms/ml, respectively). Despite the significant difference in the concentration of anti-PC antibodies, the PC-specific B cell precursor frequency in the peripheral blood lymphocytes showed no difference between normal individuals and the patients with pulmonary infection, or between the acute phase and the chronic phase in a single patient with chronic pulmonary infection. Serologically, the purified IgG anti-PC antibody did not share the cross-reactive idiotype of TEPC 15, which is the most common idiotype of the murine anti-PC antibodies. However, the purified IgM anti-PC antibody expressed a very weak cross-reactive idiotype of TEPC 15. It appears from these studies that human anti-PC antibodies may play an important biological role in pulmonary infection by microorganisms which possess a PC determinant.
Nishinarita
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First Department of Internal Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Sawada
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Horie
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T
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000918:Antibody Specificity / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000276:immunology*; D001996:Bronchopneumonia / Q000276:immunology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes / Q000276:immunology; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008875:Middle Aged; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000276:immunology*
D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007130:Immunoglobulin Idiotypes; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D010767:Phosphorylcholine