Changes In Immunoglobulin Levels Research Articles

Prospective study of anticardiolipin antibodies in immunized and untreated women with recurrent spontaneous abortions

To investigate whether active leukocyte immunization increases levels of anticardiolipin antibodies in women with recurrent spontaneous abortions. To assess the impact of anticardiolipin antibodies on pregnancy outcome in these women. Patients who had received various treatments in an ongoing randomized trial were studied prospectively. A department of clinical immunology investigating women with recurrent spontaneous abortions from all over Denmark. Eighty-nine patients with unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortions whose pregnancies had been completed during the course of the trial. After randomization, 44 patients were actively immunized with husband's or third party leukocytes, and 27 patients received placebo. Eighteen patients received anticoagulation therapy in pregnancy. Changes in levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)M class and IgG class anticardiolipin antibodies after active immunization. Frequency of new miscarriages in patients who were positive or negative for anticardiolipin antibodies. Neither IgM nor IgG anticardiolipin antibodies changed significantly after active immunization (P greater than 0.2). The interim results of the immunization trial showed a success rate of 68% in the treated group versus 56% in the placebo group (not significantly different). Relative risk of miscarriage in anticardiolipin antibody-positive patients compared with anticardiolipin antibody-negative patients was 1.3 (95% confidence interval 0.7 to 2.2; P = 0.4) in the combined study groups. Patients eligible for active immunization did not exhibit significant changes in anticardiolipin antibody levels subsequent to the treatment. The treatment did not seem to provide any overall benefit with respect to pregnancy outcome. Prospectively, the risk of miscarriage in patients positive for anticardiolipin antibodies was not significantly increased.

ALPHA-FETOPROTEIN ALTERATIONS IN ALCOHOLICS WITH LIVER DISEASE*

Sera on 409 male alcoholics with liver injury were assayed for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) as part of a VA co-operative study on the natural history and therapy of alcoholic liver disease. In 78% of the patients values below normal were observed and 42% had undetectable levels. Clinically the lowest AFP concentrations were observed in the more severely ill patients with the poorest 1 year survival. Furthermore, improvement in AFP was associated with improved survival. Correlation analysis showed a relationship of AFP to (1) visceral protein concentrations (i.e. albumin, transferrin, retinal binding protein); (2) variables related to hepatic fibrogenesis (i.e. Ito cell activity, quantitative estimates of fibrosis and Kupffer cell abnormalities); and (3) changes in immunoglobulin levels particularly IgG. These findings suggest that AFP is a good index of disease prognosis.

Skeletal surveys in multiple myeloma. Radiologic-clinical correlation.

Thirty-three patients with multiple myeloma were studied with serial skeletal surveys, serum immunoglobulin levels, and postabsorptive urinary hydroxyproline (Spot-HYPRO) determinations. Twenty receiving chemotherapy were also followed with skeletal surveys in order to evaluate bone response to treatment. A close association was found between skeletal findings and changes in immunoglobulin levels with positive correlation in 71% of the patients. A similar association was found between skeletal disease and Spot-HYPRO level changes in 65%. Five of 12 patients (42%) with partial or complete clinical response to chemotherapy, demonstrated improvement in the appearance of skeletal lesions. Positive correlation between the roentgenographic changes and clinical markers of myeloma as well as therapeutic response, indicates that skeletal surveys are useful and effective in monitoring patients with multiple myeloma.

Changes in immunoglobulin levels in whey during experimental Streptococcus agalactiae mastitis

Total protein and immunoglobulin levels in the wheys of eight first lactation heifers, four vaccinated and four unvaccinated, were measured during three consecutive experimental intramammary infections with Streptococcus agalactiae. There were no significant differences between infections 1, 2 and 3 in the protein or immunoglobulin content of the uninfected quarters. Peak whey total protein of the infected quarters came earlier with each infection, until by the third they were seen after eight hours. During this acute phase a reversal of the normal milk IgG1/IgG2 ratio in all infected quarters was measured. Increases in whey IgA and IgM in the infected quarters of the vaccinates were also noted. A similar response only occurred following the third infection of the unvaccinated animals. All whey immunoglobulin levels returned to normal by 48 hours after infection, after which only IgG1 levels increased in infected quarters.

Immunological Distubances in Psychiatric Patients

To the Editor.— In their article on immunological disturbances in psychiatric patients, Roos et al 1 found no changes in immunoglobulin levels in schizophrenics and depressed patients, which suggested to them that viral and autoimmune factors were not of etiological significance in these conditions. Eighty-two percent of the sample population in this study was composed of schizophrenic patients who had been exposed to neuroleptics for prolonged periods of time. Gowdy 2 has shown that neuroleptics affect immunoglobulin levels. Furthermore, although these patients had been drug-free for two weeks before specimens were obtained, active metabolites of these drugs can still be present in the tissues for up to 60 days or longer. 3,4 What effect this would have on immunological criteria is uncertain. To avoid this problematic effect, the sample population should ideally be composed only of patients who have never taken neuroleptics.

Sequential evaluation of general immunocompetence in gynecologic cancer

A sequential evaluation of general immunocompetence was performed in 70 previously untreated patients with gynecologic cancer. Immunologic evaluations were made prior to any therapy and repeated every 3–4 months for 3 years or until patients died of disease. Cell-mediated immunity was investigated by delayed hypersensitivity to intradermal skin test antigens (STA) and by contact sensitization to 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB). Serum immunoglobulin determinations were performed to evaluate humoral immunity. Compared with age-matched controls, there was impairment of cell-mediated response to both STA and DNFB in patients with locally invasive and disseminated cancer but not in those with preinvasive cancer. There was a progressively impaired reactivity with clinical progression of disease independently of histological type of neoplasm. Sequential evaluations revealed that variations in immune reactivity occurred that also correlated with the patient's clinical course. Significant changes in immunoglobulin levels, an increase in IgG and IgA, and a decrease in IgM, were observed in the cancer groups as compared with age-matched healthy female controls. However, neither initial values nor sequential determinations of immunoglobulins were related to the clinical course of gynecologic cancer.

Pathophysiology and Immunology of the Jarisch-Herxheimer-Like Reaction in Louse-Borne Relapsing Fever: Comparison of Tetracycline and Slow-Release Penicillin

Twelve men with louse-borne relapsing fever were treated with single doses of procaine penicillin plus aluminum monostearate (PAM) intramuscularly or of tetracycline intravenously. All patients experienced a definite Jarisch-Herxheimer-like reaction. Fever and spirochetemia were significantly prolonged and peak temperature was lower and occurred later in the PAM-treated group. Peak pulmonary ventilation, metabolic rate, and arterial PO2 were significantly higher in the tetracycline-treated group. Circulatory changes were similar in the two groups but were prolonged in the PAM-treated patients. Thus, tetracycline is recommended for treatment because it is more rapidly effective in eliminating Borrelia spirochetes and produces a reaction no more stressful physiologically than the one after PAM. There was no evidence of complement activation, and there was no change in immunoglobulin levels throughout the reaction. Immune complexes were detected in serum of five patients before treatment, but in fewer patients at the peak of the reaction and subsequently.

The effect of prostaglandin metabolism on immunoglobulin and antibody production in naive and educated whole spleen cells

Addition of prostaglandin E2 or inhibitors of prostaglandin biosynthesis to Mischell-Dutton cultures results in changes of immunoglobulin levels, particularly IgM, secreted into the culture supernatant. These changes in the quantity of immunoglobulin found in the supernatant are minimal in cultures containing naive cells. When BSA educated cells from C57B1/6 immunized mice were cultured, PGE was very effective in amplifying the biosynthesis of immunoglobulin when placed in culture in the presence of BSA. Whole spleen cell cultures from C57B1/6 mice immunized with sRBC also had increased immunoglobulin concentrations in culture supernatants upon exposure to PGE2 at culture initiation. However, the addition of sRBC to these cultures did not further increase immunoglobulin production. In all cases indomethacin inhibited the appearance of immunoglobulin into the supernatant by antigen educated cells. This inhibition which may be a result of inhibited immunoglobulin synthesis and not an impairment of transport, could be overcome by the inclusion of PGE2 in the cultures. PGE2 added to cultures containing cells educated against human gamma globulin caused an increase in the quantity of human gamma globulin-specific antibody in the culture supernatant while it had no effect on naive cells. These results indicate that prostaglandin metabolism may exert a greater influence on educated lymphocytes than naive lymphocytes in terms of immunoglobulin secretion and specific antibody production.

Function of the secretory immune system in bronchogenic carcinoma: Immunoglobulin A levels in respiratory secretions

This study was designed to investigate the association between bronchogenic carcinoma of the lung and elevated immunoglobulin A (IgA) levels in respiratory secretions. Sixty-nine patients underwent bronchoscopic examination for evaluation of benign and malignant pulmonary diseases. The concentration of IgA in bronchoscopic washings was determined by a radioimmunoassay (RIA) procedure. The average IgA concentration in 20 washings from patients with benign disease was 171 micrograms/ml and agreed with reported IgA values in normal human volunteers undergoing bronchoscopic examination. In contrast, the average IgA concentration from patients with non--oat cell bronchogenic carcinoma was greater than 1,000 micrograms/ml, and 80% of these patients had values exceeding 300 micrograms/ml. Furthermore, in 16 of these patients, selectively collected washings had been obtained from the tumor-bearing lung and contralateral normal lung. In this group, elevated levels localized to the tumor-bearing side. In contrast, eight patients with extrathoracic cancer metastatic to the chest had an average IgA value of 160 micrograms/ml, and seven of eight (87%) had concentrations below 300 micrograms/ml. Aside from the association of cigarette smoking and pulmonary cancer, we found no clear relationship between smoking history and the concentration of IgA measured in secretions. Finally, biochemical analysis established that the changes in immunoglobulin levels were specific to the secretory immune system. In conclusion, measurement of secretory immune system components may be useful in the early diagnosis of malignant bronchogenic disease. Biological mechanisms and suggested clinical application are discussed.

The immunostatus of untreated cervical carcinoma

Fifty patients with untreated cervical cancer were skin tested with a battery of recall antigens, and also sensitized and challenged with DNCB. A significant reduction of reaction to tuberculin, Varidase, and also DNCB was found in patients with stage III in comparison to healthy females of the same age group. Significant changes in immunoglobulin levels, an increase in IgA and a decrease in IgG, were observed in the cancer group. Serum lysozyme values were the same as in the control group.

Immunological alterations in the lungs of mice following ozone exposure: changes in immunoglobulin levels and antibody-containing cells.

Ozone was added to the air of the environmental chambers containing specific pathogen-free mice. At levels of 0.5 and 0.8 ppm the oxidant was seen to have inflammatory effects, as shown by rising serum albumin levels in lung lavage fluid. Fluorescein conjugated anti-heavy chain sera were used to detect cells containing IgM, IgG, and IgA in measured lung areas termed Pulmonary Units. Antigenic stimuli occurred along the airways, with significant increases of IgA-containing cells in the bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue. The numbers of IgM- and IgG-containing cells did not increase. Immunodiffusion analyses for immunoglobulins in lung lavage fluid indicated increases of IgG1, IgG2, and IgA in lung secretions. The calculation of changing Ig/Alb ratios suggested that the IgA present was largely the result of local synthesis, while IgG molecules were mainly of serum origin. Possible sources of antigenic stimuli to ozone-exposed lungs are discussed.

Changes of immunoglobulin levels in burned patients

Changes of immunoglobulin levels in burned patients