Anti‐IgG Antibodies during Immunotherapy with Purified Grass Pollen Extracts

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Abstract
In a double blind study 40 patients were allocated specific immunotherapy (hyposensitization) with partially purified timothy extract or 2 timothy major allergens 19, 25. All patients had typical grass pollen hay fever, in 27% associated with grass pollen asthma and in 13% with birch pollen allergy. Serum IgG anti-IgG antibodies were determined after dithiothreitol treatment. Before hyposensitization, IgG anti-IgG titer .gtoreq. 9 were demonstrated in 45% of the patients. During hyposensitization IgG anti-IgG titers showed a slight initial increase followed by a decrease below pretreatment level. Neither increase nor decrease was statistically significant. Reactions to rabbit IgG F(ab'')2 fractions were only obtained during hyposensitization. The occurrence of anti-IgG antibodies did not correlate with symptoms, side effects or the level of allergen-specific IgG. Patients with multiallergy hyposensitized with combined allergen extracts showed a statistically significant increase in IgG anti-IgG titers during treatment. This increase failed to appear in the patients allergic only to pollen and treated with purified allergen extracts. A multiallergic condition and the combination and/or purification of allergen extracts administered during hyposensitization may influence the production of IgG anti-IgG antibodies.