Striking inverse correlation between IgG anti-F(ab')2 and autoantibody production in patients with cold agglutination.
Previous experiments showed that the physiologic IgG anti-F(ab')2 antibody suppresses the response of human autoreactive B cells. In the present study, we analyzed the IgG anti-F(ab')2 antibody in 293 patients with cold agglutination (CA). Their average IgG anti-F(ab')2 titer was not much different (211 +/- 8.3) from that of 279 healthy persons (195 +/- 6.7). However, CA patients with high anti-F(ab')2 titers had low CA autoantibody titers and vice versa (P = .0028; rho = -0.175). The stratification of patients according to the auto-antibody's specificity (anti-I, anti-i, anti-Pr) showed an inverse correlation between anti-F(ab')2 and CA in the anti-I group (P = .0057; rho = -0.180). Interestingly, the association was present only in patients whose disease was caused by noninfectious agents (P < .0001; rho = -0.423). The inverse correlation argues for an important role of the IgG anti-F(ab')2 in the regulation of autoantibody production in CA patients.
Terness
P
P
Institute of Immunology, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Kirschfink
M
M
Navolan
D
D
Dufter
C
C
Kohl
I
I
Opelz
G
G
Roelcke
D
D
D000373:Agglutinins / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000744:Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D003289:Convalescence; D003450:Cryoglobulins; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000150:complications; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human; D006801:Humans; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D011019:Pneumonia, Mycoplasma / Q000150:complications; D014412:Tumor Virus Infections / Q000150:complications
D000373:Agglutinins; D000888:Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D003450:Cryoglobulins; D007140:Immunoglobulin Fab Fragments; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; C029443:cold agglutinins