Beta-2A globulin and the 7S and 19S gamma globulins are the major proteins of the serum derived from the immune system. Collectively they have been termed the immunoglobulins. The 19S gamma globulin, also known as the gamma-1 macroglobulin, the 82 macroglobulin or 82M, has been the subject of intensive study in recent years. The rheumatoid factor as well as a variety of anti-bodies fall into th...

Primary antibody deficiencies present clinically as reduced or absent plasma antibodies without another identified disorder that could explain the low immunoglobulin levels. Bone marrow-liver-thymus (BLT) humanized mice also exhibit primary antibody deficiency or hypogammaglobulinemia. Comprehensive characterization of B cell development and differentiation in BLT mice revealed other key parall...

A young woman developed Hodgkin's disease (nodular sclerosis) in pregnancy and gave birth to a boy who developed common variable immunodeficiency. Initially there was normal IgG with low IgA and IgM, and antibody deficiency. IgG levels fell progressively over 4 years. Cellular immunity was normal. We suggest that this is a further family with immune deficiency presenting with common variable im...

Background/Aims: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic disease of the gastrointestinal tract, whose etiologies are still unknown. This study was performed to evaluate the humoral immune response in terms of B cell functions in selected IBD patients. Methods: Eighteen pediatric patients with IBD, including 12 cases of ulcerative colitis (UC) and six with Crohn disease (CD), were enrolled...

Most patients with IgA and/or IgG subclass deficiency are asymptomatic but some may suffer from frequent mainly respiratory infections. The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of IgA and/or IgG subclass deficiencies and the rate of chronic pulmonary damage secondary to recurrent pulmonary infections in these children. Serum IgA and IgG subclass levels were measured in 225 children a...