Studies on Gonococcus Infection. XVII. IgA1-Cleaving Protease in Vaginal Washings from Women with Gonorrhea

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Abstract
Vaginal washings from women attending a venereal disease clinic were examined for the presence of protease that cleaved Ig[immunoglobulin]A subclass 1 (IgA1). In a crude assay, vaginal washings cleaved [125I]IgA1 in 19 of 25 specimens from individuals from whom Neisseria gonorrhoeae were cultivated. Specimens (46) from 104 women whose cultures were negative for N. gonorrhoeae also cleaved [125I]IgA1. Vaginal washings from 6 of 6 women with culture-proven gonorrhea cleaved [125I]IgA1 into low-molecular-weight components identical to those produced by partially purified IgA1-specific protease from gonococci. The hydrolysis of [125I]IgA1 by vaginal washings from women whose cultures were negative for N. gonorrhoeae yielded cleavage products that resembled those of trypsin or .alpha.-chymotrypsin. Gonococci residing in the female genital tract produce IgA1-specific protease that can be detected in the vaginal washings of infected women.

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