HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kaufman, B. Articles by Masouredis, S. P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kaufman, B. Articles by Masouredis, S. P.

Effect of Formalin and Periodic Acid on Red Cell Rh_o (D) and Enzyme-Exposed Rh_o (D) Antigen¹

From the Department of Medicine and the Cancer Research Institute, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco, California

Abstract

The effect of formalin and periodic acid on the Rh_o (D) red cell antigen at 37°C for 30 min was studied with incomplete I¹³¹ anti-Rh_o (D). Pretreatment of the Rh_o (D) positive red cell with formalin resulted in a decrease in the amount of I¹³¹ bound to the red cell which was directly proportional to the formol concentration up to 0.66 M. Periodic acid to a concentration of 0.0008 M produced a marked decrease in the ability of red cells to bind anti-Rh_o (D) which was not directly proportional to the concentration of periodic acid. The antibody able to bind to the formalin-treated cells was stable to hemolysis, whereas the small quantity of antibody able to bind to the periodic acid-treated cell was bound poorly as judged by the inability to recover the cell bound I¹³¹ in the stroma.

The Rh_o (D) antigen exposed by papain was unaffected by pretreatment of the red cell with formalin. Periodate treatment of the intact red cell produced losses of from 20 to 90% of the Rh_o (D) which would normally be exposed by papain. The susceptibility of the enzyme-exposed Rh_o (D) antigen to inactivation with formalin was similar to that of the Rh antigen on the untreated red cell, whereas the enzyme-exposed antigen was more resistant than the Rh_o (D) antigen on the untreated cell to periodic acid inactivation. Quantitative absorption studies indicate that the I¹³¹ bound to the red cells following the various treatments represents specific anti-Rh_o (D).

The results are discussed in terms of the mechanism of action of formalin and periodic acid on the Rh_o (D) antigen and in terms of the nature of the Rh_o (D) antigen exposed by proteolysis.

Footnotes

¹ These studies were supported by USPHS Grants C-4990 and H-5071, from the National Institutes of Health.

² Work done during the tenure of a U. S. Public Health Service Medical Student Fellowship and a United Commercial Travelers Benevolent Foundation, Inc. Scholarship.