Increase In Serum IgM Research Articles

7. KAWASAKI SYNDROME, TREATMENT WITH INTRAVENOUS GAMMAGLOBULINS

Twenty eight infants and children (3-63 months) with Kawasaki disease received intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) in a multicentric study: Veinoglobulin (Merieux, France) in 24 cases or Sandoglobulln (Sandoz, Switzerland) in 4 cases. The total amount administered was In the range 1-2.5g/Kg and varied from 1 to 5 daily infusions. In 16 cases the patients received 0.4 mg/Kg/day during 5 consecutive days. All of them were given orally acetylsalicylic acid 30 mg/Kg/day during a 2 month period. A dramatic improvement in the patients' general condition was observed, with resolution of fever within 48 hours. Hyperfibrinemia and hyperleucocytosis returned to normal in one week and incresed platelets within 2-3 weeks. An important feature was that follow-up echocardiograms over more than one year have demonstrated no coronary artery abnormalities. Five out of 6 children studied immunologlcally during the acute phase presented with a deficiency of circulating CD8 T cells with an increased CD4/CD8 ratio. High doses of IVIG were followed with an increase of serum IgM, CD8 T cells and a normalisation of CD4/CD8 ratio. High dosage IVIG represents the treatment of choice of Kawasaki syndrome; this activity focuses the deficiency of the immunoregulatory function in Kawasaki syndrome.

The influence of age and breed on the concentrations of serum IgG, IgA and IgM in sows throughout the reproductive cycle

The influence of age and breed on the concentrations of IgG, IgA and IgM in the sera of sows throughout the reproductive cycle was investigated in 4137 sows which had had 0 – 20 gestations and representing three breeds: Swedish Landrace, German Landrace and L-12 (=Swedish Landrace × Large White). Data revealed an increase in total immunoglobulins (Ig), IgM and IgG serum levels with increasing gestation number; the latter contributed > 80% to total Ig levels. IgG was significantly increased up to the fourth gestation, whereas IgM showed a significant increase only to the third gestation. IgA showed only minor differences. Age-dependent increases in serum IgM were ascribed to the incraased probability of antigenic exposure during suckling, while failure to observe this change in serum IgA was ascribed to its role as a local Ig. Breed differences were observed to be significant for all three Ig's. It is concluded that establishment of group norms for serum Ig's should consider age and breed difference as well as stage of gestation or lactation.

Lack of efficacy of high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin in autoimmune haemolytic anaemia: a clue to its mechanism.

5 patients with autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AIHA) of warm type (4 idiopathic, 1 associated with systemic lupus erythematosus and thrombocytopenia) were treated with high doses of i.v. immunoglobulin (IgG; Sandoglobulin; 2.0 g/kg body weight). IgG therapy was ineffective in all 5 cases as indicated by a lack of clinical improvement, continuous signs of accelerated red blood cell (RBC) destruction, and an unchanged survival rate of 51Cr-labelled autologous RBC in 4 patients studied. IgG infused at equivalent doses into 5 healthy volunteers led to an increase of IgG coating of autologous RBC (irrespective of the ABO blood groups) without concomitant changes of haemoglobin, haematocrit or reticulocytes, increase of serum IgM in 3/5, a decrease of serum C4 in 5/5, and a decrease of serum haptoglobin in 2/5 individuals. We conclude that IgG at a dose of 2.0 g/kg body weight is ineffective in AIHA. This may be caused by an increased, though clinically inapparent, interaction of IgG-coated autologous RBC with the mononuclear phagocyte system.

Polyclonal activation of the murine immune system by an antibody to IgD. II. Generation of polyclonal antibody production and cells with surface IgG.

Abstract : In the accompanying paper we shoed that the injection of BALB/c mice with 800 mu g of GaM delta induced a direct polyclonal increase in B cell proliferation as well as an indirect increase in T cell proliferation. This led us to investigate whether the same treatment might lead to polyclonal Ig secretion. We found that 6 to 7 days after GaM delta injection one-quarter to one-half of splenic B lymphocytes lost detectable surface IgM and acquired surface IgG. Surface labeling experiments established that much of this IgG had the electrophoretic characteristics of membrane rather than serum IgG, and was, therefore intrinsic rather than cytophilic. GaM delta also induced a striking increase in Ig secretion 6 to 7 days after injection, as indicated by 1) an approximately eightfold increase in serum IgG1 levels and smaller increases in serum IgM and IgG2a levels; 2) greater than fivefold and 50-fold increases in the in vitro incorporation of 3H-leucine into IgM and IgG, respectively, by spleen cells from GaM delta-injected mice; and 3) three to 10-fold and 20 to 50-fold increases in the percentages of spleen cells with large amounts of intracytoplasmic IgM and IgG, respectively. The great majority of the increase in cell surface and secreted IgG was accounted for by an increase in the IgG1 subclass. Both absorption and plaquing studies indicated that the increase in Ig secretion and plaquing studies indicated that the increase in Ig secretion was polyclonal rather than a specific immune response to goat Ig. The injection of anti-delta antibodies failed to induce B cells from congenitally athymic mice or mice that were tolerant to the injected anti-delta antibody to undergo a switch in cell surface isotype or to differentiate into antibody-secreting cells. We interpret these data and data presented in the companion paper as suggesting the binding to and crosslinking of B cell surface IgD by ligand leads to 1) direct activation of B lymphocytes that can include...

Evaluation of an indirect fluorescent antibody test, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quantification of immunoglobulins in the diagnosis of bovine trypanosomiasis

An indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), a microscale version of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (microELISA) and determination of IgM levels in serum were assessed for their comparative diagnostic value in the detection of bovine trypanosomiasis. Serum samples from drug-treated N'dama cattle and untreated N'dama and Zebu cattle from Liberia were examined for the presence fo antibodies to trypanosomes. In the untreated Zebu cattle, infections with T. vivax predominated and the prevalence of infection was higher than that found in untreated N'damas in which infections with T. congolense predominated. The proportion of animals which showed serological evidence of trypanosomiasis in the untreated Zebus was slightly higher than that found in the untreated N'damas. The prevalence of infection was low in N'dama cattle which had been treated with diminazene aceturate and homidium chloride but 50% of the animals showed serological evidence of trypanosomiasis. More serologically positive animals were detected by microELISA than IFAT, but both tests were equally sensitive in detecting antibodies in cattle in which trypanosomes were demonstrated by examination of peripheral blood. With both IFAT and microELISA it was necessary to carry out tests using antigens prepared from T. brucei, T. vivax and T. congolense in order to detect all serologically positive animals. Increases in serum IgM occurred in both N'dama and Zebu cattle but the levels were raised in only approximately half of the known infected animals. Overall, more animals gave positive reactions with IFAT and microELISA than showed raised IgM levels.

Immunologic response in vaccinated mice during long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide

Swiss albino mice were continuously exposed to either 2 ppm NO 2, 0.5 ppm NO 2 with daily 1-hour peaks of 2 ppm NO 2, 5 days a week, or to filtered air. After a 12-week exposure the mice were vaccinated with A 2/Taiwan influenza virus vaccine and the exposures to the various environmental conditions continued for an additional 28 weeks. At 2 weeks after vaccination, the serum neutralizing (SN) antibody titers and SN seroconversion rates were depressed to a various extent in mice exposed to NO 2. At 4 weeks after the vaccination and later, the SN antibody titers did not differ significantly among the various groups. Nonvaccinated mice exposed to NO 2 for 12 weeks showed a marked decrease in concentrations (mg/ml) of serum IgA, and an increase in serum IgM, IgG 1 and IgG 2 immunoglobulins. When concentrations of immunoglobulins were adjusted for age of mice after vaccination, a significant elevation was observed in serum IgM, IgG 1 and IgG 2 of mice exposed to NO 2 as compared to controls. During the 2-week period immediately following the vaccination, exposure to NO 2 appeared to be the predominant factor influencing the percentage concentration of the four serum immunoglobulins.

Murine immunoglobin response to sterile talc injection

Mice were injected subcutaneously with sterile talc, and the changes in serum IgG, IgM, and IgA were investigated at various time intervals. Three talc-injection schedules were used: a single injection of talc; a double injection of talc; and two injections of talc at different times. The results showed that: (1) a single injection of talc resulted in an increase in serum IgM at 24 hr, and an increase in IgG at 24–48 hr; (2) a double injection of talc did not result in a significant difference in immunoglobulin levels from those observed after a single injection; (3) two injections of talc given at different times did not result in a response greater than that observed following a single injection of talc. No changes from control values were observed in IgA. No evidence for the presence of an antigen was found.