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- Title
Intestinal, Salivary, and Tonsillar IgA and J-Chain Production in a Patient with Severe Deficiency of Serum IgA.
- Authors
Brandtzaeg, P.; Guy-Grand, D.; Griscelli, C.
- Abstract
An 18-year-old man with tendency to respiratory infections had a serum IgA level of only 2% of normal whereas his salivary lira amounted to 50% of the lower normal concentration range. Moreover, both the rectal and jejunal IgA-producing cell populations were of normal size. Nevertheless, a relative increase of salivary IgM and a distinctly raised number of IgM-producing cells in jejunal mucosa indicated an imbalance in his secretory immune system. This possibility was supported by the presence of an excess of J chain in most of his intestinal leA immunocytes, probably reflecting a reduced synthetic rate of IgA. The number of tonsillar IgA-producing cells was only slightly below the normal range: most of them lacked J chain, as normal, and could thus be a source of his serum IgA, which was mainly monomeric. A marked deficiency of IgA-producing cells in his bone marrow supported the notion that this tissue site normally is the major source of monomeric IgA. This study suggests that a generally defective IRA system may be topically activated owing to the persistent antigenic and mitogenic load on mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues. Our findings are not consistent with a general regulative compartmentalization of monomer- and dimer-producing IgA immunocyte populations.
- Subjects
IMMUNOGLOBULIN A; SERUM; CELLS; IMMUNE system; RESPIRATORY infections; IMMUNOLOGY
- Publication
Scandinavian Journal of Immunology, 1981, Vol 13, Issue 4, p313
- ISSN
0300-9475
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1365-3083.1981.tb00140.x