Quantitative determination of immunoglobulins in various infectious diseases was performed to evaluate the host reactivities by means of animal experiments and clinical analyses.
1. Animal experiments: The sera obtained from three different sources, i.e., from rabbits with experimental intradermal pneumonia as a model of acute infections, from rabbits challenged serially with live Streptococcus sanguis for 50 weeks as a representative of chronic infections, and finally from mice inoculated intraperitoneally with Salmonella enteritidis, Jena strain, as that of low virulence infections, were examined for their immunoglobulin levels.
In intradermal pneumonia, serum Ig G levels became markedly elevated one week after challenge, while in the rabbits receiving serial challenges of live streptococci, the elevation of Ig G levels occurred three weeks after the initial inoculation, and the elevated Ig G in both cases persisted unless the challenge was discontinued. In the low virulence infections, on the contrary, serum Ig G became slightly elevated throughout the experiments.
The Ig M levels in intradermal pneumonia, became to increase prior to the Ig, G elevation, but the transitory elevations of Ig M in the serially challenged rabbits were demonstrated at the early and the late stages of the course.
2. Clinical analyses: Nine cases of various pulmonary infections, 32 of typhoid and paratyphoid and 12 of septicemia were carried out to analysis.
In pulmonary infections, serum Ig G had been elevated at admission, and gradually decreased towards discharge. In typhoid and septic diseases, Ig G levels had stayed within normal range until 30 days of illness, when they became elevated. Then they began to decrease after 90-100 days.
Ig M levels in pulmonary infections stayed within normal range. In typhoid, however, Ig M in some cases decreased beyond normal limits at or around 50 days of illness. Ig M in septic diseases were increasing from early stage prior to the Ig G elevation.
Ig A, on the other hand, in pulmonary diseases had been elevated from early stage of illness but in other conditions did not reveal any significant changes.
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