Abstract
Evidence indicating an important role for antigen in the provocation of autoimmune responses is presented. Attention is especially focused on carbohydrate abnormalities in IgG in rheumatoid arthritis, since autosensitization to this molecule is thought to be of central importance in the pathogenesis of this disease. A higher percentage of Fcγ oligosaccharide chains in the serum IgG of patients with rheumatoid arthritis lack terminal galactose residues relative to age-matched controls. This does not appear to be a characteristic feature of chronic inflammatory diseases in general. A new, more rapid assay for agalactosyl chains is described and shown to give results comparable to the more conventional biochemical analysis. The defect probably arises from a reduction in activity of B-cell galactosyltransferases. The galactose changes may contribute to the autoantigenicity of IgG and could facilitate the self-association of IgG rheumatoid factors.
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