HETEROGENEITY OF COLD HAEMAGGLUTININS

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  • 1 January 1966
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 11  (4) , 361-+
Abstract
All of 7 sera with high titre cold agglutinins agglutinated rabbit red cells at 4[degree] to similar titers as were recorded with human red cells. At 20[degree] all the sera should almost optimal activity against rabbit red cells, while the activity against human red cells was very weak. Two of tne sera agglutinated rabbit red cells as strongly at 37[degree] as at lower temperatures. The results of absorption and elution experiments indicated that the same agglutinin molecules were responsible for the agglutination of human red cells at 4[degree] and of rabbit red cells at 37[degree]. Apparently the reaction with rabbit red cells was more specific than the reaction with human red cells. The variation in thermal amplitude observed when testing cold agglutinins with rabbit red cells may be an expression of variation in specificity even when the different cold agglutinins appear to have identical specificity, anti-I, in tests with human red cells.