Hemagglutinating Antibody Titers Research Articles

Females' isoimmunity to sperm is associated with sperm autoimmunity in their husbands.

One hundred twenty-five fertile couples and 334 infertile couples were tested for the presence of cytotoxic and hemagglutinating antibodies to sperm. Elevated titers of sperm antibodies were absent in both partners of fertile couples. Of 79 infertile males with levels of sperm antibodies in the previously established negative range, 97% had wives who also had low titers of sperm antibodies. Of 255 infertile males positive for serum hemagglutinating antibodies, 56% had wives whose serum contained significant circulating hemagglutinating antibodies, while 93 of 202 (46%) males with significant cytotoxic antibody titers had wives whose serum contained elevated cytotoxic antibody titers. The females developed elevated titers of sperm antibodies in the serum and cervical mucus if their husbands had significant titers of hemagglutinating and cytotoxic sperm antibodies in the serum and seminal plasma samples. Females' isoimmunity to sperm was significantly associated with their husbands' autoimmunity to sperm and infertility.

Influence of the HLA-DR4 antigen and iodine status on the development of autoimmune postpartum thyroiditis.

HLA-A, -B, and -DR antigens were determined in all 50 women with a serum thyroid microsomal hemagglutination antibody (MsAb) titer equal to or greater than 1:100 in the first trimester of pregnancy in a population of 733 pregnant women. The DR4 antigen was found in 58.0% of the women compared to 33.7% in control subjects, which corresponds to a relative risk of 2.71 (P less than 0.01 by X2 test). The MsAb-positive women were examined regularly during the year after delivery for the development of thyroid dysfunction. The DR4 antigen frequency was found to be even higher, 69.0% (relative risk = 4.36; P less than 0.001), among the 29 women who developed hypothyroidism in the postpartum period. No other HLA antigen deviations were found among those 15 hypothyroid women in whom an initial thyrotoxic phase occurred before hypothyroidism. The B8, DR3 haplotype was found in 3 of 5 women who developed Graves' thyrotoxicosis alone. Urinary iodine excretion measured in some MsAb-positive women 3 (n = 19) or 6 months (n = 29) postpartum, respectively, was compatible with leakage of thyroid iodine during the initial destruction-induced thyrotoxic phase of postpartum thyroiditis, followed by low iodine excretion during the subsequent hypothyroid phase. We conclude that genes coding for the DR4 antigen may have a regulatory influence on MsAb production, which in turn affects the development of postpartum hypothyroidism. Thyroid iodine content and iodine intake also may have an impact on the severity of the thyrotoxic and the hypothyroid phases of autoimmune postpartum thyroiditis.

Toxicity of bis(tri- n-butyltin)oxide in the rat : II. Suppression of thymus-dependent immune responses and of parameters of nonspecific resistance after short-term exposure

To evaluate the functional significance of bis(tri- n-butyltin)oxide (TBTO)-induced thymus atrophy, lymphocyte depletion in spleen and lymph nodes, lymphopenia, and increased serum IgM and decreased IgG concentrations, in vivo and in vitro function studies were performed for specific and nonspecific resistance. Weaned male rats were fed diets containing 0, 20, or 80 mg TBTO/kg for a least 6 weeks. Regarding the thymus-dependent immunity, delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions to ovalbumin as well as tuberculin were significantly depressed at both dietary concentrations. Resistance to the nematode Trichinella spiralis was significantly suppressed as shown by a retarded expulsion of adult worms from the small intestine, increased counts of muscle larvae, reduced inflammatory reaction in parasitized musculature, and suppressed serum IgE titers. Also the secondary mercaptoethanol-resistant (presumably IgG) hemagglutinating antibody titer to sheep red blood cells was significantly reduced, while no significant alterations were found in IgM and IgG titers to T. spiralis, ovalbumin, and tetanus toxoid. TBTO exposure reduced the response of thymocytes in both treatment groups and of spleen cells in the 80-mg/kg group upon stimulation with T-cell mitogens and increased the response of spleen cells to B-cell mitogens. When calculated per whole spleen, the response to T-cell mitogens was strongly impaired but unaltered by B-cell mitogens. This difference can be explained by a relative increase of splenic B cells as a result of reduced numbers of T cells, as shown by cell surface marker analysis using monoclonal antibodies. Reduced splenic T-cell numbers appeared equally due to a decreased number of T helper and to T suppressor cells. From these data and from results of a time-sequence study in which effects of TBTO on cell count and cell viability of thymus, spleen, and bone marrow were investigated, it is concluded that TBTO-induced immunodeficiency was primarily due to its direct toxic action on thymocytes. When cultured in vitro in the presence of TBTO, viability of thymus and bone marrow cells was equally reduced, while after in vivo treatment viability of bone marrow cells was unaffected. Thus, the in vitro situation does not mimic the in vivo one. Concerning the nonspecific resistance. TBTO reduced macrophage function as shown by impaired splenic clearance of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. From in vitro studies it is concluded that impaired in vivo splenic clearance was due to a reduction in both the number of adherent cells in the spleen and bacterial digestion on a cell for cell basis. The effect of TBTO on natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity was investigated in a 51Cr-release assay with YAC lymphoma target cells. In this test, the activity of natural killer (NK) cells in the spleen was significantly suppressed in the 80 mg/kg group while NK cell activity of peritoneal cells was unaltered. However, the activity of adherent peritoneal cells (cytotoxic macrophages) was significantly reduced in the 20 and 80 mg/kg groups. Finally, TBTO did not render rats more susceptible to the lethal effects of endotoxin. From the results it is concluded that low-dose feeding of TBTO suppresses thymus-dependent immune responses as well as parameters of the nonspecific resistance.

Correlations between polychlorinated biphenyl immunotoxicity, the aromatic hydrocarbon locus, and liver microsomal enzyme induction in [formula omitted] and [formula omitted] mice

The suppression of the antibody response by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) in mice is dependent on the planarity of the PCB molecule and on the expression of the aromatic hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor. In this study, the hypothesis that this form of immunotoxicity is a consequence of the activation of the Ah gene complex and that other compounds which are Ah receptor ligands would also be immunotoxic was tested. 2,2′,4,4′-Tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB), 2,3,3′,4,4′,5-hexachlorobiphenyl (HCB), phenobarbital (PB), or β-naphthoflavone (BNF) was given ip to either C57BL 6 (B6, Ah b Ah b ) or DBA 2 (D2, Ah d Ah d ) mice 2 days before immunization with sheep erythrocytes. Organ weights, histopathology, hemagglutinating antibody titers, and the splenic direct antibody plaque-forming cell (PFC) response were evaluated on Day 5. Hepatic aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) induction by these compounds and by 2,2′,5,5′-TCB and 3,3′,4,4′-TCB was measured as an indicator of Ah receptor binding and subsequent activation of the Ah gene complex by methylcholanthrene-type inducers, while aminopyrine N-demethylase (APND) was measured as an indicator of PB-type induction. 2,2′,4,4′-TCB and PB had no effects on the immune parameters of either strain but induced APND activity in both strains. 2,2′,5,5′-TCB slightly induced APND activity in B6 mice. 2,3,3′,4,4′,5-HCB caused a 70% suppression of PFC per spleen, decreased the serum antibody titer, elevated cytochrome P-450 levels (193%), induced both APND (165%) and AHH (217%) activity in B6 mice, but it induced only APND (156%) activity in D2 mice. 3,3′,4,4′-TCB elevated cytochrome P-450 levels (210%) and induced both APND (129%) and AHH (321%) activities in B6 mice but only increased APND activities (115%) in D2 mice. BNF elevated cytochrome P-450 (144%), caused a 49% suppression in PFC per spleen, and induced both APND (156%) and AHH (248%) activities but only in B6 mice. These results support the hypothesis that the immunotoxicity caused by halogenated and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons is a consequence of activation of the Ah gene complex and suggests that this toxic effect can be initiated by any Ah receptor ligand.

Antigen-specific suppression of collagen arthritis by adoptive transfer of spleen cells

Wistar-Furth (W-F) rats were given 10 9 syngeneic spleen cells, suspended in Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS), intravenously on Day 0 to investigate the mechanisms involved in antigen-specific suppression of collagen arthritis. These cells were pooled from W-F donors which had been injected iv on Days −21, −14, and −7 with rat red blood cells (RBC) coupled with glutaraldehyde to either native chick type II collagen, denatured type II collagen, or native type I collagen. All recipients were immunized with an emulsion of native type II collagen in incomplete Freund's ajuvant on Day 1 to induce collagen arthritis. There was a decreased incidence of arthritis, by clinical and radiographic assessments, in rats receiving spleen cells from donors previously administered native type II collagen-coupled RBC compared to those given spleen cells obtained from donors treated with denatured type II or native type I collagen-coupled RBC [18 of 30 (60%) arthritic vs 20 of 20 (100%) and 19 of 20 (95%) arthritic, for the three groups, respectively, P < 0.01 for both comparisons]. The incidence of arthritis in 35 rats administered HBSS iv 1 day prior to immunization (83%) and 10 immunized rats given no iv injections (100%) was also significantly higher ( P < 0.05) than the incidence in the antigen-relevant experimental group. Hemagglutinating antibody titers and delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to collagen were lower in the recipients of cells from donors administered native type II collagen-coupled RBC, whereas IgG antibody titers to collagen were unaltered. These results demonstrate that passively transferred spleen cells can attenuate collagen arthritis and sensitization in an antigen-specific manner.

Dietary fish oil augments the induction of arthritis in rats immunized with type II collagen.

Certain dietary-induced changes in tissue levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids are known to modify inflammatory reactions, possibly through changes in the synthesis of mediators of inflammation derived from fatty acids, including prostaglandins and leukotrienes. We have therefore examined the effects of a fish oil diet, enriched in highly unsaturated (delta-17) long chain fatty acids, on collagen arthritis. Weanling female Sprague-Dawley rats were maintained on a diet with fat provided by either fish oil (containing 14.5% 5, 8, 11, 14, 17-eicosapentaenoic acid; EPA) or, as a control, beef tallow (containing less than 0.05% EPA). They were immunized with native chick type II collagen emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant 5 to 6 wk later. There was an increased incidence of arthritis in the rats receiving the fish oil compared with the group receiving the beef diet (88 vs 61%, p less than 0.001), but there was no significant difference in the severity of joint inflammation of arthritic rats in the two groups. The mean serum titer of IgG antibodies to type II collagen, measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was decreased in the group receiving the fish oil (p less than 0.001), whereas the hemagglutinating antibody titer and delayed-type hypersensitivity to collagen were similar in the two groups. Primary synovial explant cultures from fish oil-treated rats produced only 21 to 24% as much PGE2 as beef tallow-treated controls, and this reduction in the experimental group was not accompanied by any detectable increase in PGE3, the E-prostaglandin derived from the arachidonic acid analogue, EPA, in fish oil. These data demonstrate that inductive mechanisms in collagen arthritis can be altered by diet-induced changes in tissue fatty acid composition without essential fatty acid deficiency. The reason(s) for this effect is unknown, but it is possible that changes in the cyclooxygenase or lipoxygenase products of polyunsaturated fatty acids are involved.

Rubella Susceptibility in an Adolescent Female Population

A survey of 1,008 adolescent girls was performed to characterize adolescent rubella immunity, and susceptibility was defined as a hemagglutination antibody titer of less than 1:8 (the definition used by the Minnesota State Health Department and the pediatric literature). The incidence of rubella susceptibility was 9.1% in the study population and was evenly distributed with regard to current age, age at time of vaccination, and source of vaccination. In subjects with a history of rubella vaccination, 7.4% were susceptible, whereas in the unvaccinated population, the susceptibility rate was 31.7%. Because rubella is a relatively benign disease except when acquired by the fetus during pregnancy, and adolescents are not only approaching the traditional age of motherhood but also experiencing pregnancy in increasing numbers, it is important for physicians to substantiate the rubella susceptibility status of their adolescent female patients.

The Effect of Bacillus natto in Feed on the Sheep Red Blood Cell Antibody Response in Chickens

Chickens fed 10(6) or 10(7) of Bacillus natto strain BN/g of diet from hatching through 15 or 30 days of age showed an increase in ability to produce hemagglutinating antibody titer as determined by intravenous injection of sheep red blood cells, whereas no increase in antibody production ability was observed in the chickens fed 10(7) of BN/g of diet from hatching through 10 days of age.

Effect of Reovirus Infection and Dietary Levels of Selected Vitamins on Immunocompetence of Chickens

The immunocompetence of 8-week-old reovirus WVU 2937-infected and uninfected chickens fed various dietary levels of biotin, niacin, choline, or folic acid was evaluated in four experiments. Antibody production to sheep red blood cells (SRBC), wattle responses to phytohemagglutinin-P (PHA-P), and wattle responses of tuberculin-sensitized chickens to bovine-purified protein derivative (PPD) were examined in five chickens per treatment. Dietary deficiencies had no effect on the in vivo T-cell immune responses to PPD, PHA-P, or humoral hemagglutinating-antibody production to SRBC. Reovirus-infected and uninfected chickens fed biotin at double the National Research Council (1977) requirement demonstrated decreased PPD responses. Lower hemagglutinating-antibody titers in the uninfected chickens and increased titers in the infected chickens were observed in those fed 200% of the requirement of biotin when compared with the chickens fed 20% and 100% biotin diets. Reovirus infection had no effect on PPD and PHA-P responses. However, in the choline experiment, reovirus-infected chickens had elevated titers. These data indicate that reovirus infection had no adverse effect on the immunocompetence of chickens 8 weeks postinfection. Dietary deficiencies also had no adverse effect on the immunocompetence of 8-week-old reovirus-infected and uninfected chickens.

Augmentation of collagen arthritis by synthetic analogues of retinoic acid.

We evaluated the effect of administering orally two synthetic analogues of retinoic acid, 13-cis-retinoic acid and all-trans-N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-retinamide to age-matched female Sprague-Dawley rats immunized with native chick type II collagen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant. Ingestion of a diet containing 13-cis-retinoic acid was associated with a significant increase in the severity of collagen arthritis, but there was no effect on weight gain or hemagglutinating antibody titers and delayed-type hypersensitivity to type II collagen. In two separate trials, ingestion of 4-hydroxyphenyl retinamide also significantly enhanced the severity of arthritis. Monolayer cultures of dissociated synovial cells taken from arthritic rats, but not nonarthritic rats, released prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and collagenase into the medium. The level of PGE2 production was significantly decreased by in vivo or in vitro exposure to 4-hydroxyphenyl retinamide, whereas the addition of 13-cis-retinoic acid to the cultures had no effect on PGE2 release by the arthritic synovial cells. Five rats fed the 13-cis-retinoic acid-containing diet for 5 mo did not develop clinical or histologic evidence of arthritis. These data demonstrate that both retinoids possess potent enhancing properties for an experimentally inducible autoimmune arthritis, that synovial cells produce PGE2 and collagenase in this model, and that production of PGE2 can be suppressed by 4-hydroxyphenyl retinamide.

A malaria ‘mitogen’-induced depressed immune response to meningococcal polysaccharide vaccine in BALB/c mice

Uninfected female BALB/c mice were given a 4-daily intraperitoneal injection, of supernatants obtained from 24-h cultures of Plasmodium berghei infected and control mouse red blood cells, for 20 days. Each mouse was subsequently injected subcutaneously with 10 mg meningococcal (groups A and C combined) polysaccharide vaccine. Mean meningococcal haemagglutinating antibody titres obtained in mice pretreated with control supernatants were consistently higher, than those obtained in mice pretreated with supernatants from malaria-infected red blood cell cultures, over a period of 14 days. The results suggest that a malaria ‘mitogen’ may be involved in the pathogenesis of the immunosuppression characteristic of this infection.

Macrophage locomotion in experimental allergic thyroiditis of the rat

Wistar King A rats were immunized with homologous thyroglobulin in complete Freund's adiuvant with pertussis vaccine. The relationship between different parameters of the immune response to thyroglobulin and the inflammatory reaction of the thyroid gland was observed. The severity of thyroiditis reached its peak 3 weeks after immunization in all animals. Regression of both the inflammatory cell reaction and the degree of follicular damage began from the 4th week. Hemagglutinating antibody titer to thyroglobulin reached its peak 3 to 4 weeks after immunization and persisted until the 10th week. Delayed type skin hypersensitivity to thyroglobulin was less well correlated with the degree of thyroiditis. However, the migration inhibition of peritoneal exudate cells by thyroglobulin in vitro correlated with the development of thyroiditis, and approximately 50% inhibition was observed 2 to 5 weeks after immunization. Chemotactic activity of the macrophages to thyroglobulin by the modified Boyden chamber technique was markedly increased in the 3rd week after immunization. No chemotactic response to kidney extract was noticed during the time of observation. These results give a clue to the mechanism of accumulation of macrophages in the thyroid in experimental allergic thyroiditis.

Antigen-specific suppression of type II collagen-induced arthritis by collagen-coupled spleen cells.

The induction of arthritis in Wistar-Lewis rats was suppressed by i.v. injections of spleen cells coupled to native type II collagen, beginning 14 days before intradermal injection of native type II collagen in incomplete Freund's adjuvant and continuing at 7-day intervals for the next 3 weeks. Cells coupled to native type I collagen or to denatured type II collagen were ineffectual, suggesting antigen-relevant cells were required for suppression. The phenomenon appeared to be mediated by a humoral effector mechanism; IgG antibody titers but not hemagglutinating antibody titers or delayed-type hypersensitivity to collagen were decreased by the injection of type II collagen-coupled cells. These data demonstrate the potential of antigen-specific immunotherapy for autoimmune disease.

Conditioned suppression of humoral immunity in the rat.

Rats were conditioned by pairing consumption of a novel sodium saccharin drinking solution with the effects of an ip injection of 75 mg/kg cyclophosphamide, an immunosuppressive drug. Five and ten days after conditioning, an experimental group of conditioned animals (Group CS) was reexposed to the saccharin drinking solution. Control animals (Group CSo) were conditioned but were not reexposed to saccharin. On Day 10, 15, or 25 after conditioning, animals were injected ip with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC), and independent subgroups were sampled for hemagglutinating antibody titer 4, 6, or 8 days later. There was a significant effect of sample time (antibody titers 4 days after immunization were lower than values observed 6 and 8 days after immunization) and a significant effect of treatment; conditioned animals reexposed to the CS had an attenuated antibody response. There were no significant differences between Group CSo and a group of placebo-treated animals, but conditioned animals reexposed to the CS had lower antibody titers than placebo-treated animals 4, 6, and 8 days after antigenic stimulation. These differences are more pervasive than those previously reported and suggest that reexposure to a CS may have long-lasting effects. More generally, these data provide further documentation of conditioned immunopharmacologic effects and the impact of behavioral factors in modifying immunologic reactivity.

Type-specific vs. cross-protective vaccination for gram-negative bacterial pneumonia.

Groups of guinea pigs received four injections intramuscularly of lipopolysaccharide vaccine derived from Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cross-protective core glycolipid vaccine derived from the J-5 mutant of Escherichia coli O111, or saline during a two-week period. Titers of passive hemagglutinating antibody to vaccine antigens in serum routinely increased fourfold or more. Experimental hemorrhagic pseudomonas pneumonia was then induced, from which the rates of survival were 15% among animals receiving saline, 81% among animals receiving pseudomonas vaccine (P less than 0.001), and 42% among animals receiving J-5 vaccine. Thus, only weak cross-protection against pseudomonas pneumonia was detected in the recipients of J-5 vaccine. Further studies revealed no protection against pneumonia due to either E. coli or Klebsiella in animals receiving J-5 vaccine. From these data, species-specific vaccination appears to be superior to vaccination with cross-protective antigen against experimental pseudomonas pneumonia.

Immunological alterations in rats fed with flour from the palmyrah palm (Borassus flabellifer L).

AbstractThe humoral and cell-mediated immune competence of rats fed a 25% palmyrah flour diet was examined. The humoral response was evaluated by determining hemag-glutinating antibody titers and hemolytic plaque-forming cell counts in the spleen following immunization with sheep red blood cells. The cell-mediated immune response was evaluated by the uptake of tritiated thymidine by peripheral blood and splenic lymphocytes following mitogenic stimulation. The immune competence of animals fed the flour for 2 weeks was not significantly altered. After 7 weeks, however, a significant and consistent depression of the humoral as well as the cell-mediated immune response was observed. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from rats which had been fed a 100% flour diet for 1 week also failed to respond to PHA stimulation. It is possible that these immunological alterations are etiologically related to the malignant lymphomas which develop in rats after prolonged feeding with palmyrah flour. Palmyrah flour appears to be t...

Effects of exposure to ozone on susceptibility to experimental tuberculosis

Exposure of mice to 1.96 mg m 3 ozone (O 3) 3 h day , 5 days/week, for up to 8 weeks beginning at 1 or 2 weeks after challenge with Mycobacterium tuberculosis R 1Rv resulted in significant enhancement of bacterial titers in the lungs at 5 through 8 weeks after challenge when compared to mice exposed to filtered air. Exposure to lower concentrations of O 3 did not produce any significant changes compared to controls. Exposure of guinea pigs to 2.9 mg m 3 O 3 for 3 h immediately after challenge with M. tuberculosis resulted in a suppression of the cutaneous delayed hypersensitivity response, without affecting the serum hemagglutination antibody titers. However, exposure of guinea pigs to 0.98 mg m 3 O 3 3 h day for 5 days, initiated within 3 h after the infectious challenge, enhanced hemagglutination antibody titers initially, but the delayed hypersensitivity reaction did not differ from controls.

Trypanosoma musculi infection: depression of immune response to heterologous antigens.

The response to dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB), bovine serum albumin (BSA), and sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was studied in CBA mice infected with Trypanosoma musculi at days ranging from 3 to 63 days of infection. DNFB contact sensitivity was normal. In 3-, 10-, and 15-day infected mice, anti-BSA hemagglutinating antibody titers were lower than in noninfected controls when determining after 21 days of BSA challenge, and were normal in sera collected after 10 and 14 days. In 14 day infected mice, anti-SRBC indirect plaque-forming cells (PFC) (per million of nucleated spleen cells and per total spleen) were strongly diminished, but anti-SRBC direct PFC were diminished only per million of nucleated spleen cells. In T. musculi recovered mice, the response to DNFB, BSA, and SRBC was normal.

The effect of a delayed hypersensitivity skin reaction on in vitro parameters of cell-mediated immunity

The effect of a small dose of antigen, injected intradermally as a simple skin test, on the state of cell-mediated immunity in the guinea pig has been examined. Reduced migration inhibition (MIF) of peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) from animals immunized and skin tested 7 days later was shown against specific and nonspecific antigen and exogenous lymphokine. Lymphocyte cultures from skin-tested guinea pigs showed increased [ 3H]thymidine incorporation when unstimulated by antigen or mitogen. As a result stimulation indices appeared decreased. When sera from skin-tested and non-skin-tested animals were assayed for their migration inhibitory potency against normal PEC, sera from skin-tested animals exhibited a MIF like activity. Evidence for mitogenic activity could also be found when normal unstimulated blood lymphocytes were cultured with 45% skin-tested guinea pig serum in the culture medium. No difference in hemagglutinating antibody titers between skin-tested and non-skin-tested animals was found. It is concluded therefore that a simple skin test may affect the in vitro parameters of cell-mediated immunity and this could be related to a systemic release of lymphokines in vivo.

Antibody formation to dog pulp tissue altered by camphor paramonochlorophenol via the root canal

Pulp tissue from three experimental dogs was tested for its antigenicity before and after incubation with CMCP. Reaction to Arthus skin tests showed an increased response to pulp that had been incubated in CMCP, washed, then injected, as compared with pulp or CMCP alone. Hemagglutinating antibody titers (1:360 to 1:450 dilutions) were obtained from pulp tissue altered by CMCP. Inhibition tests showed the specificity of the antibody to be at a dilution titer of 1:350. Therefore, CMCP altered dog pulp tissue and rendered it antigenically active, and a specific humoral response was produced.