title: Kinetics of anti-Campylobacter jejuni monomeric and polymeric immunoglobulin A1 and A2 responses in serum during acute enteritis.
abstract: The intensity and kinetics of the serum polymeric and monomeric immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) and IgA2 antibody responses to Campylobacter jejuni were analyzed. A rapid and marked serum IgA antibody response involving both the monomeric and polymeric components of IgA was observed after C. jejuni infections. IgA antibodies reached a peak of activity in serum during week 2 after the first symptoms of enteritis, about 10 days before the peak of IgG activity. Polymeric IgA accounted for most of the anti-C. jejuni activity at the peak of the IgA response (median, 90%; range, 44 to 98%) but rapidly disappeared from serum over a few weeks. In contrast, the serum monomeric IgA antibody response was low and was maintained over a prolonged period of time. Anti-C. jejuni IgA detected in the serum of healthy blood donors was mainly monomeric (median, 83%; range, 17 to 94%). In both the patients and the positive controls, IgA1 was the predominant (greater than 85%) subclass involved, even when the IgA antibody response was mainly polymeric. Our results suggest that polymeric IgA antibody responses are linked to a strong or persisting antigenic stimulation or both. Polymeric IgA antibodies appear to be a potential marker of acute C. jejuni infections, and their determination could provide a useful tool for the serological diagnosis of recent C. jejuni infections.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D002168:Campylobacter fetus / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004751:Enteritis / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007223:Infant; D007700:Kinetics; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; C034639:polymeric IgA