About 50 to 70% of sera from patients with American cutaneous leishmaniasis and chronic Chagas' disease possessed antibodies which reacted in enzyme and radioimmunoassays with nidogen obtained from a tumor basement membrane. The antibodies were of the immunoglobulin M and G classes in acute American cutaneous leishmaniasis but mainly of the immunoglobulin G class in chronic Chagas' disease. Similar antibodies could not be detected in patients suffering from a variety of other infectious or inflammatory diseases when compared with healthy control groups. Inhibition and immunoadsorption studies indicated a close relationship of epitopes recognized by patients' antibodies on nidogen and on another basement membrane protein, laminin. Since rabbit antisera to both proteins do not cross-react, a special nature of the epitopes involved in the reaction with patient sera is suggested. Similar epitopes may exist on various forms of Leishmania or Trypanosoma protozoa.
An antibody reactive with the galactosyl(alpha 1-2)galactose [gal(alpha 1-2)gal] epitope was characterized in human sera by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, red blood cell (RBC) and laminin absorption, and oligosaccharide inhibition. This antibody was found evenly distributed between the IgG and IgM classes and was present at high titers in the serum of all normal adults studied, but in 75% of children less than three years of age, it was observed at the lower limit of detection, and gradually increased to adult levels by the age of six. Although this antibody bound to gal(alpha 1-3)gal-linked synthetic antigens, it did not bind to the same residues present in rabbit, rat, and guinea pig RBC or in murine laminin or nidogen. These latter results, plus the fact that antigen-antibody binding was strongly blocked by gal(alpha 1-2)gal but not by methyl-alpha-galactopyranoside or melibiose, suggest that this antibody is indeed different from anti-gal(alpha 1-3)gal antibody. Anti-gal(alpha 1-2)gal antibody levels were significantly elevated in 66% of patients with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy, but were not elevated in patients with different clinical forms of leishmaniasis, Trypanosoma rangeli-infected patients, or in patients with 15 other infectious and inflammatory diseases. Gal(alpha 1-2)gal antibodies did not absorb to intact T. cruzi parasites, but absorbed strongly to trypomastigote and epimastigote sonicates, suggesting some masking of reactive epitopes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
SUMMARY
A clinical and hiochemical study of twelve persons in the same family, including two hemizygous and one typical heterozygous patients, for Fabry's disease is reported. Two obligate heterozygous females—daughters of the index case—lacked any of the clinical manifestations found in typical heterozygous carriers, having also normal α‐galactosidase activity in peripheral leukocytes and normal urinary excretion of trihexosylceramide and digalactosylceramide. Blood group serology was determined to exclude illegitimacy. The validity of these findings and some possible explanations are discussed.
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