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Relation of the Human Antibody Response to Flagellin to Gm Genotype

Section of Hematology and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, 94122, the Clinical Research Unit of The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Parkville 3050, Australia

Abstract

The incidence and distribution of the Gm allotypic markers Gm (a), (x), (g), (b) and (f) were studied in 113 Caucasian subjects who were classified on the basis of the serum titer of "natural" anti-flagellin antibodies and their response to injection with 5µg flagellin from Salmonella adelaide. There were 59 subjects with a low titer (< 100) of "natural" anti-flagellin antibodies (LNA) and of these, 43 had a low primary response (LPR, peak titer < 100) to injected flagellin; these 59 subjects were classified as "low responders." There were 18 subjects with a high titer of "natural" antibodies (HNA, titer ; 600) and a separate group of 36 with a high primary response (HPR, titer ; 10,000); these 54 subjects were classified as "high responders.".

As expected in Caucasians, all subjects positive for Gm (a) were also positive for Gm (g) (64.6%) and all subjects positive for Gm (b) were also positive for Gm (f) (89.4%). The number of Gm (a,g) subjects was significantly higher in group HNA than in group LNA (P < 0.05) and significantly higher in "high responders" than in "low responders" (P < 0.05). Otherwise stated, the absence of the Gm^a,g gene group was associated with a lower response to flagellin. The results indicate a significant association in these subjects between the magnitude of the immune response to flagellin (indicated by antibody titers) and the Gm genotype.

Footnotes

¹ Supported by United States Public Health Service Training Grant (HE-05677) and an Overseas Scholarship from The Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

² Supported by a Grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.