Class specific antibody response to gonococcal infection.

Abstract

SUMMARY An enzyme immunoassay was used to determine IgM, IgG, and IgA antibodies to gonococcal pili in 68 patients with uncomplicated gonorrhoea, 35 women with pelvic inflammatory disease, and in 115 normal controls. A clear difference in response rate in all three antibody clas'ses between patients with gonorrhoea and healthy controls was evident. Among women with gonorrhoea, the magnitude of antibody response was higher than among men with gonorrhoea, especially in the IgM class. No major differences were found in the overall distribution of serological findings between women with uncomplicated gonorrhoea and those with gonococcal pelvic inflammatory disease. Among this last group, however, high IgM antibody levels in acute phase sera were significantly associated with the isolation of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the upper genital tract.

Local and humoral immune responses against primary and repeat Neisseria gonorrhoeae genital tract infections of 17β-estradiol-treated mice

“…Information on the immune response to N. gonorrhoeae is currently based mainly on the analysis of clinical specimens and may be confounded by several variables. For example, it has been documented that gonococcal-specific IgA [13] and IgG [33] decline in infected individuals over time; therefore, variability in the length of time between the occurrence of infections and the collection of samples may affect the data. The influence of previous gonococcal infections or coinfection with other sexually transmitted pathogens can also not be controlled in clinical studies, and strain-specific differences might also influence the induction of an immune response.…”

Human Immune Responses and the Natural History of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection

“…aHicks et al (14);bSchmidt et al (15);cYamasaki et al (16);dMeittenen et al (17);ePlummer et al (18);fPrice et al (19);g Hedges et al (20) .…”

“…A number of studies have surveyed whether different gonococcal protein antigens induce humoral immune responses during infection. Sera isolated from 68 patients with uncomplicated and 35 women with PID were used to characterize antibody responses to gonococcal pili (17). The mean antibody levels of IgG, IgA, and IgM against N. gonorrhoeae pilus was significantly higher in men with urethritis (~2-fold increase) and women with cervicitis (~4-fold increase) when compared to sera from uninfected patients.…”

Vaccines for Gonorrhea: Can We Rise to the Challenge?

“…Serum antibodies have been documented against many different GC antigens (reviewed in Sparling et al, 2003 ). Men tend to have a poorer response than women (Tapchaisri and Srinisinha, 1976 ; Miettinen et al, 1989 ; Hedges et al, 1999 ). In almost all studies detectable serum antibodies were gone within a few months, or less.…”