1986 Volume 9 Issue 6 Pages 507-513
We investigated the subclass and allotype specificity of anti-IgA antibody in a 7 year-old boy with selective IgA deficiency. The antibodies in this patient were found to be class specific anti-α, subclass specific anti-α2 and allotype specific anti A 2m (1). He has neither received blood transfusion nor γ-globulin injection, but he has been fed by his mother's breast milk. Serum IgA in his mother was not deficient and its allotype (A 2m (1)+, (2)-) was matched with that of anti-IgA antibody in the patient. Accordingly, it is likely that he was sensitized by IgA come from his mother, however the possibilities remain that these are antibodies against himself or something else which passed through the gut as a result of deficient secretory IgA.
On the other hand, he had diminished ratio of T4/T8, and further, the production of IL-2 and IFN-γ was found to be impaired. The IFN-γ production was restored by adding recombinant IL-2. These findings are interesting as selective IgA deficiency, in which a T-cell defect is suggested in the regulation of B-cell differentiation, as it is reported that IL-2 and IFN-γ are required for B-cell differentiation.
