Placenta-sequestering Plasmodium falciparum involved in the pathogenesis of pregnancy-associated malaria (PAM) in otherwise clinically immune women expresses particular variant surface antigens (VSA(PAM)) on the surface of infected erythrocytes that differ from VSA found in parasitized nonpregnant individuals (non-PAM type VSA). We studied levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgG subclasses wit...

After albumin, immunoglobulin G (IgG) are the most abundant proteins in human serum, with IgG1 and IgG3 being the most abundant subclasses directed against protein antigens. The quality of the IgG-Fc-glycosylation has important functional consequences, which have been found to be skewed toward low fucosylation in some antigen-specific immune responses. This increases the affinity to IgG1-Fc-rec...

BACKGROUND Autoantibodies to cardiac troponins (cTnAAbs) can interfere with the measurement of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) by immunoassays for the diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Therefore, we determined the cTnI binding sites and IgG subclasses of circulating cTnAAbs. METHODS We studied epitope specificity with sandwich-type immunoassays by measuring the recovery of troponin complex added ...

A sensitive radioimmunoassay has been applied to the study of rheumatoid factor activity of IgM and IgG subclasses in serum and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Although rheumatoid factor activity was found in all four subclasses, its distribution was not the same as that of the total subclasses in normal sera. Results are discussed in relation to the possible clinical valu...

BACKGROUND IgG subclass deficiency is often associated with recurrent pulmonary infections. The prevalence of deficiency in a large well characterised group of patients with bronchiectasis has not previously been established. METHODS Serum IgG subclass concentrations in 89 patients with bronchiectasis were compared with those obtained from a group of 82 age and sex matched normal healthy cont...

Introduction ELISPOT is the only technique currently available that permits to enumerate antigen-specific B cells providing insights into humoral immune defense. Resting memory B cells can be detected in blood samples after polyclonal stimulation. In contrast, the spontaneous production of immunoglobulins (Ig) by B cells in freshly-isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) signifies re...