Anti-steroid factors in normal and pathological human sera.

Abstract

Summary. Sera from 170 persons were tested for the presence of an anti‐steroid factor/s in their globulin fraction by passive haemagglutination method, using as antigen a conjugate, of hydrocortisone hemisuccinate coupled to rabbit serum albumin. About 26% of sera from normal adults were found to contain titers of at least 1/25 in their globulin fraction. With respect to presence of the factor, there was no significant difference between normal subjects and those that had undergone one or more cardiac infarctions. 80% of syphilitic and 100% of rheumatoid arthritis patients showed presence of the factor in their sera. It was almost entirely absent in sera of children 6 months to 3 years of age. The specificity of the factor for steroids was demonstrated by the inhibition of haemagglutination, carried out with hydrocortisone hemisuccinate or sodium cholate. By its sensitivity to mercapto‐ethanol, its heat lability and its failure to give PCA response, this factor is most likely an IgM.