title: Frequency of occurrence of antibodies to tissues in the sera of various groups of population.
abstract: A new method of detecting antibodies to tissues (ATA) in the sera of humans has been developed. The method is based on special treatment of human erythrocytes of the first group (rhesus-negative) with glutaric aldehyde rendering them capable of reacting with antibodies to tissues. Positive reaction is recorded in the form of haemagglutination. The reaction is easy to perform and open to mass examination of sera of children and adult population. The incidence of antibodies to tissues in the sera of sick and healthy children and adults was investigated. A total of 723 sera including 160 sera obtained from sick adults, 255 from healthy adults, 110 from sick children and 198 from healthy children were examined in the haemagglutination reaction using a microtechnique. It has been established that no antibodies to tissues were present in the sera of most healthy subjects (79.2%), children or adults. In 19.4% ATA were detected in titres 1:2-1:4, while an increased level (ATA titres 1:8 and higher) was found in only 1.4% of the sera. The subjects whose sera contained ATA predominated in the group of sick adults and children. In 52.9% of cases, ATA titres were 1:2-1:4. In 30.8% they were higher (1:8 and higher). The method can be recommended for mass examinations with the purpose of evaluating the immune state of the population.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000276:immunology; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D006801:Humans; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies