AUTO-IMMUNE CYTOTOXIC GRANULOCYTE ANTIBODIES IN NORMAL PERSONS AND VARIOUS DISEASES

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 52  (5) , 941-952
Abstract
Of 400 female and 58 normal nonimmunized male sera approximately 10% were cytotoxic for a panel of allogeneic granulocytes. Sera with strong alloreactivity were autoreactive, which emphasized the large autoimmune component of most alloantisera against granulocytes. The cytotoxic granulocyte autoantibodies were complement dependent, of the Ig[immunoglobulin]M class, and exhibited optimum cytotoxic activity in vitro at 5.degree. C precomplement incubation temperatures with papain-treated cells. The sera were unreactive with autologous or allogeneic B [bone marrow-derived] and T [thymus-derived] lymphocytes, monocytes, and red blood cells but were cytotoxic for adult and cord granulocytes, eosinophils and chronic myeloid leukemia cells. Granulocyte autoantibodies were present in 53% of sera from 57 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (P < 0.00002) but were not found in increased frequency in the sera of patients with 28 other diseases. A single tissue-specific antigenic determinant(s) called G may be present on granulocytes and is the target of naturally occurring autoantibodies.

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