IgA is present in normal human serum at about one-fifth of the concentration of IgG. However, it is catabolized around five times faster than IgG and therefore the rates of synthesis of the two immunoglobulins must be similar [1]. IgA is themost abundant immunoglobulin in secretions. Secretory IgA (sIgh) is the product of local synthesis at the mucosal surfaces which are the main source of anti...

BACKGROUND Elution of IgA from renal biopsies of patients with primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN) has suggested that mesangial IgA deposits are mainly multimeric in nature. This macromolecular IgA consists of dimeric and polymeric IgA and may be derived from the circulation. In children with IgAN, circulating macromolecular IgA levels correlate with bouts of macroscopic haematuria, but in adults a ...

We have previously shown that human B lymphocytes cultured in the CD40 system, composed of an anti-CD40 mAb presented by a CD32-transfected fibroblastic cell line, proliferate but do not secrete antibodies. However, the addition of particles of Staphylococcus aureus Cowan (SAC) induces B cell differentiation even in the absence of exogenous cytokines (CD40/SAC system). Additionally, B lymphocyt...

IgA antibodies have great potential to improve the functional diversity of current IgG antibody-based cancer immunotherapy options. However, IgA production and purification is not well established, which can at least in part be attributed to the more complex glycosylation as compared to IgG antibodies. IgA antibodies possess up to five N-glycosylation sites within their constant region of the h...

The rapid and active transport of polymeric IgA from the blood to the bile (1, 2) is selective (3, 4), which suggests the existence of a specific receptor for this molecule. The liver cells responsible for the transfer have been identified as the hepatocytes by autoradiography and electron microscopy of the livers o f rats killed 5, 30, and 60 min after the injection of radiolabeled IgA (5). 5 ...

BACKGROUND Perilla frutescens (perilla) is a herbal medicine used in Japanese traditional Kampo medicine. The present study was conducted to evaluate the anti-nephritic effects of perilla in HIGA mice that spontaneously develop high levels of serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) along with mesangial IgA deposition. METHODS A perilla decoction and its major active constituent, rosmarinic acid (RsA), w...

A study was conducted to compare IgA levels in serum and saliva obtained from phenytoin-treated epileptic patients (PHT-TEPs) and a control group and to examine the correlation between IgA levels and clinical parameters. Eighteen epileptic patients treated with phenytoin and 18 periodontally healthy individuals with no systemic disease were included in the study. Clinical parameters were record...

Diseases associated with immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody include linear IgA dermatosis, IgA nephropathy, Celiac disease, Henoch-Schönlein purpura, etc. Although usually idiopathic, IgA antibody is occasionally induced by drugs (e.g., vancomycin, carbamazepine, ceftriaxone, and cyclosporine), malignancies, infections, and other causes. So far, only a few cases of IgA bullous dermatosis coexistin...

Infection with Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of pertussis (whooping cough) in humans, is followed by the production of antibodies of several isotypes, including immunoglobulin A (IgA). Little is known, however, about the role of IgA in immunity against pertussis. Therefore, we studied targeting of B. pertussis to the myeloid receptor for IgA, FcalphaRI (CD89), using either IgA purif...

Anaphylactic reactions to immunoglobulin infusions in immunodeficient patients with undetectable IgA have been attributed in several reports to IgG or IgE anti-IgA antibodies. However, other reports have not supported an association between such antibodies and the development of severe reactions. We have reviewed the articles reporting reactions to immunoglobulin products in IgA-deficient patie...