Abstract
Specific antibody responses in vitro can be induced in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of >90% of normal individuals by stimulation with type A influenza viruses. Cumulative antibody synthesis is measured in 12 day culture supernatants by ELISA methodology. Antibody production requires the cooperative interaction of B-cells, T-cells, and monocytes. Antibody is expressed in units (U), 1 U being the amount of antibody present in a 1/105 dilution of a pooled reference serum (approximately 2.2 ng of IgG antibody). PBMC from only 1 of 5 A-T patients made measurable antibody; this one patient made 0.7 U/ml. This is considerably less than that produced by PBMC from 6 parents of A-T patients (13.6 ± 7.7, mean ± SEM) or 14 normal controls (19.1 ± 5.5). Further studies were undertaken to examine the mechanism of non-responsiveness in 2 patients. The first patient's PBMC produced antibody when co-cultured with purified, irradiated, allogeneic T-cells and the second patient's purified B-cells produced antibody when stimulated with Epstein-Barr virus. Thus both patients had B-cells which could be stimulated to produce specific antibody. Functional monocytes were also demonstrated in the second patient since his irradiated, adherent cells reconstituted antibody production by cultures of monocyte-depleted PBMC from a normal HLA-identical sibling. These results suggest a T-cell abnormality as a cause of deficient in vitro antibody production in some A-T patients.
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Nelson, D., Yarohoan, R. & Blaese, R. 951 IMPAIRED SPECIFIC IN VITRO ANTIBODY RESPONSES IN PATIENTS WITH ATAXIA TELANGIECTASIA (A-T). Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 601 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00976
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00976