We document a case of persistent lymphocytosis in which the characteristic binucleated circulating lymphocytes were shown immunologically to be polyclonal B-cells. Cytogenetic and molecular studies failed to show a clonal population. A review of the literature on this rare condition, persistent polyclonal B-cell lymphocytosis, highlights an association with the female sex, HLA-DR7 antigen, smok...

The distribution and quantitative expression of HBcAg in relation to serum HBeAg and liver histology before and after a trial of interferon in 50 patients with chronic type B hepatitis were evaluated using polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies. In general, both antisera showed a similar pattern in terms of the distribution of HBcAg, with predominant localisation of HBcAg in the cytoplasm in HBeA...

Fc fragments derived from human immunoglobulin were found to be capable of inducing both a proliferative and polyclonal antibody response in human peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures. The cell population proliferating in response to Fc fragments belongs to the B cell lineage. Expression of polyclonal antibody formation requires the presence of both adherent monocytes and T cells. The role of t...

Polyclonal gammopathy represents the diffuse activation of B cells and is usually related to inflammation or immune-related diseases. However, the mechanisms leading to polyclonal gammopathy are essentially speculative. Generally, infectious, inflammatory, or various other reactive processes may be indicated by the presence of a broad-based peak or band in the gamma region on serum protein elec...

Antibody responses of the immunoglobulin E (IgE) class are regulated by a finely tuned network of cellular and molecular interactions. The differentiation of IgE B lymphocytes is controlled by antigen-specific and non-antigen-specific T helper and suppressor cells and their molecular products (1-3). The antigen-specific cellular interaction can be carried out by thymus-derived (T) cells which r...

Background: Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) has a crucial role in several malignancies. The extracellular domain of HER2 (HER2-ECD) has been extensively employed as an important target in passive and active immunotherapy. Isolated recombinant prokaryotic HER2-ECD subdomains were previously found to be ineffective in inducing anti-tumor antibody response. Objective: To employ rec...

We prepared rabbit polyclonal antibodies against Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-encoded v-cyclin (ORF 72) and detected the natural viral protein using these polyclonal antibodies. Three antigenic polypeptides of v-cyclin were designed and synthesized. A fragment of the v-cyclin gene was cloned into a eukaryotic expression vector pEF-MCS-Flag-IRES/Puro to construct a recombinant ...