ANTIBODY MOIETIES WITHIN CIRCULATING IMMUNE-COMPLEXES IN HEART-TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

  • 1 January 1983
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 51  (1) , 21-28
Abstract
Circulating immune complexes were isolated from the sera of cardiac allograft recipients by bovine conglutinin/anti-conglutinin co-precipitation, or by gel filtration and protein A-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The antibody moieties within these isolated immune complexes were tested for specificity against heterologous anti-thymocyte globulins [ATG] by solid phase radioimmunoassay, and bacterial and viral antigens by indirect immunofluorescence. In addition to possessing specific anti-equine ATG antibodies, immune complexes also contained cross-reacting antibodies to rabbit ATG and vice versa, despite the patients only having received antibody of 1 species. Antibodies directed against bacteria or viruses (cytomegalovirus, Herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr virus) were found within immune complexes obtained during overt infection, but also where infection was not detected. The heterogeneous nature of immune complexes in heart transplant sera was demonstrated and suggest that various stimuli, including ATG therapy, infection and possibly polyclonal B cell activation, may be involved in their generation in cardiac transplantation.