IGE ANTIBODIES ARE MORE SPECIES-SPECIFIC THAN IGG ANTIBODIES IN HUMAN ONCHOCERCIASIS AND LYMPHATIC FILARIASIS

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  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 45  (1) , 129-137
Abstract
To explore the relative species specificities of the IgE and IgG antibody responses to helminth infections in man, 4 pools of sera were studied from patients infected with Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, Onchocerca volvulus or Ascaris lumbricoides and 10 individual sera from patients with onchocerciasis. IgE antibodies were detected by radioallergosorbent test (RAST) analysis, and IgG antibodies, by a Staphylococcus protein A radioimmunoassay (Staph A-RIA). Analysis of the binding curves with 4 different immunosorbents (prepared from antigens of B. malayi, O. volvulus, Dipetalonema viteae and A. lumbricoides) in the RAST and the binding curves with these same 4 antigens in the Staph A-RIA confirmed the relative species specificities for both the IgE and IgG antibody responses. Determination of these antibody levels after specific absorption of the sera with both homologous and heterologous antigens showed that in all instances there was significantly less cross-reactivity with heterologous parasite sntigens (i.e., higher species specificity) in the IgE antibody response to filarial infection than in the corresponding IgG antibody response. Efforts toward developing techniques for specific immunodiagnosis of filarial infections may be particularly successful if focused on the IgE antibody response of exposed individuals.