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Development of Monoclonal IgA and an Apparent IgG in a Patient with Macroglobulinemia: Sharing of Individually Specific Antigenic Determinants among IgM, IgA, and IgG¹

Department of Microbiology, Mayo Medical School, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, Minnesota 55901

Abstract

Patient CM, who initially was diagnosed as having macroglobulinemia (IgM, ) was subsequently found to develop a monoclonal IgA() protein. Rabbit antisera directed against the patient's IgA_m and IgM were rendered specific for individual antigenic (ind) determinants. The anti-IgA_m and IgM ind sera reacted with both ¹³¹I labeled monoclonal proteins in a double antibody radioimmunoassay (RIA). In addition, both monoclonal immunoglobulins inhibited the reaction between labeled immunoglobulin and both ind antisera, and statistical analysis of the data suggested that the shared ind determinants were identical. The IgG fraction of patient CM's serum also contained a component which competed with both monoclonal IgA (CM) and IgM (CM) in the RIA specific for ind determinants. Analysis of serum samples taken over a 2-year period revealed that, in addition to IgM, both the IgA and IgG components possessing the shared ind determinant(s) were present in low concentrations in the earliest sample, although not detected by conventional techniques. The monoclonal IgA and the igG component were found to increase in concentration over this time interval with a concomitant decrease in IgM. The regulation of immunoglobulin expression with respect to the proposed models of gene organization in antibody-producing cells was discussed.

Footnotes

¹ This research was supported by United States Public Health Service Grant CA-11911 from the National Cancer Institute, and the Mayo Foundation.

² Present address: Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92664.

³ Present address: Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Christ Hospital Institute of Medical Research, 2141 Auburn Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219. Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr. Robert G. Krueger at this address.