Electron Microscopic Observations on the H Antigen Sites of Human Erythrocytes Using Ferritin Antibody Conjugates

Abstract

Using immunoelectron microscopy, the distribution of the H antigen sites on human erythrocytes was observed in 40 samples of adult, newborn and fetal blood of different ABO phenotypes. The attached ferritin particles indicating the H antigen sites conspicuously varied in number from cell to cell in every specimen. The number of H antigen sites per single red cell was estimated on an average for each sample as follows: O, 3 X 10(5); B, 2 X 10(5); A1, 1.5 X 10(5); A1B, 10(5); A2B, 1.5 X 10(5); Ax, 2.5 X 10(5); AxB, 10(5); Bm, 4 X 10(5); Bw(leukemia), 4 X 10(5); O(newborn), 2.5 X 10(5); B(newborn), 3 X 10(5); A1(newborn), 1.5 X 10(5); A1B(newborn), 2 X 10(5); A1B(fetus), 10(5). The cells in each sample were divided into six cell-populatons according to the number of H antigen sites present. The ratios of distribution of such cell populations are compared for all samples.

Ferritin as a Surface Marker for Immunoscanning Electron Microscopy

“…The difference in the reaction intensity among erythrocytes of blood group A is in good accordance with our previous results by transmission electron microscopy (MATSUKURA, 1972(MATSUKURA, , 1973, suggesting that the erythrocytes have different numbers of antigen sites. Further precise study will be undertaken concerning the distribution of blood group antigens of various kinds.…”

Blood Group ABH Antigens on Human Cord Red Cells

“…In contrast to erythrocytes from adults, the number of blood group ABH antigenic sites is substantially decreased in cord blood erythrocytes [2,10] The number of blood group antigenic sites on cord O cells reported in this com munication are in fact in good agreement with the value of 250,000 H sites per cord O cell as obtained by serum absorption meth od [5], The numbers of H sites on cord A, B and AB erythrocytes, however, reported in the same communication (150,000, 300.000 and 200,000, respectively) are con-…”

Electron Microscopic Observations on the H Antigen Sites of Human Erythrocytes Using Ferritin Antibody Conjugates

“…However, the values they obtained are far larger than those of the present study. Their values [9] for A antigen, are also greater than not only those from previous studies by this author [17,20,22], but also those reported by Kogure [15] who used the same method as theirs. On the other hand, the values for A antigen sites on red cells reported by the present author using the method of this study are similar to those of Economidou et al [4] and Cartron et al [2], who used radio iodine-labelled anti-A, and also to those of Kogure [15] [12,13].…”

“…This fact may indicate that a few red cells in those samples used for the present study also possess the ability to bind antibody, as it was concluded that a portion of cells in the Ax samples possessed a small number of the antigen sites in the similar study for A antigen [20,22].…”

“…The observations on the A antigen were pre viously reported for erythrocytes [17,18,20,22] and for thrombocytes [19]. For the H antigen, reports of this type of study has apparently not been published to date.…”