ABNORMAL B-CELL FUNCTION IN HEMOPHILIACS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH FACTOR CONCENTRATES ADMINISTRATION

  • 1 January 1985
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 59  (2) , 491-498
Abstract
B cell function was evaluated in hemophiliacs. Spontaneous and pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced Ig production was determined by ELISA [enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay] in the supernatants of cultured peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from 14 hemophiliacs and 17 normal donors. Spontaneous IgM, IgA and IgG production was 3 times higher in patients than normal controls, while PWM-induced IgM, IgA and IgG production was markedly reduced in patients compared to normal donors (P < 0.025). Allogeneic co-cultures of hemophiliacs and normal B plus T cell fractions revealed that these results are due to a defect of the patients'' T cell depleted fraction. These abnormalities were not found in 3 patients who had received no clotting factor concentrates for at least 1 yr prior to the study. The annual amount of clotting factor concentrates received by treated patients correlates well with the enhancement of spontaneous Ig production (r = +0.688, P < 0.02), the decrease of PWM-induced Ig secretion (r = -0.655, P < 0.02), and the elevation of serum IgG levels (r = +0.610, P < 0.05). These findings suggest that the administration of clotting factor concentrates play an important role in the altered B cell function in hemophiliacs.