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IgA and Other Immunoglobulins from the European Hedgehog

Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Louvain, Avenue Chapelle-aux-Champs, 4, B-1200 Bruxelles, Belgium

Abstract

Hedgehog serum and exocrine secretions contain, besides IgM and two subclasses of IgG, a protein which cross-reacts with an antiserum against human IgA. Hedgehog serum IgA comprises a large proportion of molecules having a molecular size in the range of the 9 to 10S dimer of a 7S unit. The electronegative charge of hedgehog's serum IgA resembles that of human serum IgA as shown by its behavior upon DEAE-chromatography and electrophoresis. IgA was found to be the immunoglobulin having the highest secretion-to-serum concentration ratio in saliva and bile, and also to be the immunoglobulin produced by the majority of plasma cells in the lamina propria of the hedgehog's intestinal mucosa.