title: Pneumococcus-specific immunoglobulin E in cigarette smokers.
abstract: A relationship between elevated serum immunoglobulin E levels and smoking has been demonstrated in epidemiological studies. Allergy skin test data suggest that the excess immunoglobulin E of smokers is not specific for aeroallergens. It is possible that the excess immunoglobulin E is specific for microorganisms that often infect the lower respiratory tract of smokers. To investigate this possibility we utilized a radioallergosorbent test assay for detecting serum immunoglobulin E specific for Streptococcus pneumoniae, an organism commonly isolated from the respiratory tract of smokers with chronic bronchitis. We assayed sera of thirty smokers and thirty nonsmokers for immunoglobulin E specific for Streptococcus pneumoniae. Individual sera were considered positive for pneumococcus-specific immunoglobulin E if the binding was at least twice the non-specific binding at the total immunoglobulin E concentration of the particular serum. Eleven of the thirty sera of smokers and two of the thirty nonsmokers were positive for pneumococcus-specific immunoglobulin E. By chi-square analysis of these data, the prevalence of pneumococcus-specific immunoglobulin E was significantly greater in the smoking group compared with the non-smoking group (P less than 0.02). These results suggest that the excess immunoglobulin E of smokers is, at least in part, specific for microorganisms that infect the airways.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001130:Arizona; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000503:physiopathology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000032:analysis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011852:Radioallergosorbent Test / Q000379:methods; D011864:Radioimmunosorbent Test / Q000379:methods; D012907:Smoking; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E