title: Circulating immunoglobulin levels in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis with special reference to IgE.
abstract: This study has demonstrated high levels of circulating IgE in a group of patients with pulmonary tuberculosis compared with a control group. There was little or no specific binding of circulating IgE to M. tuberculosis but when the serum was heated to 56 degrees C for 1 hour 5/20 of the patients investigated showed appreciable levels of binding. It is suggested that the IgE which binds to M. tuberculosis exists in a heat-labile complex with an anti IgE antibody and that this complex formation may represent a protective host mechanism.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D000915:Antibody Affinity; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D005260:Female; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000032:analysis*; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007136:Immunoglobulins; D007073:Immunoglobulin E