Properties of Two Chromatographically Distinct Reagins in the Sera of Ragweed Atopic Individuals

Human reagins: appraisal of the properties of the antibody of immediate-type hypersensitivity.

“…Gradually the problem emerged to find the proper minimal conditions which would inactivate and, thereby, characterize all reagins derived from atopic persons. It became evident that the conditions 56 C for 4 hr or less would produce 100% inactivation of reagins in most atopic sera (9,131,176,243,255,348,353,390). A somewhat less commonly used set of conditions quite comparable in results is 60 C for 1 hr or less (42,255,257).…”

“…A further complication was introduced by the observations of Rockey and Kunkel (350) that some samples of IgA antibody (probably polymerized) were inactivated by this concentration of mercaptoethanol. With this background, a series of reports (127,131,140,166,350,436) indicated that 0.1 M thiol would inactivate the reagins in somewhat more than a dozen atopic sera so studied. Although the concentration of thiol used in these studies was uniform, the time and temperature of treatment were variable factors that are important (131, 342) in deciding if an antibody is inactivated or not by thiols.…”

Effect of Absorption of IgG with Insolubilized Antiserum on Reaginic Activity of DEAE-Serum Fractions

“…However, it has not yet been excluded that some reagins belong to other immunoglobulin classes. Heterogeneity of reagins with respect to their immunoglobulin class has been suggested on the basis of differences in their chromatographic elution characteristics [4,5,6] and their sensitivity to mcrcaptoethanol [5]. In particular, a possible role for IgG has been advanced because of the regular presence of skin-sensitizing activity in serum fractions in which only IgG was detected by immunodiffusion.…”