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Increased monomeric immunoglobulin A levels in tears from multiple sclerosis patients
Author(s) -
Coyle P. K.,
Sibony Patrick A.,
Johnson Cynthia
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410210218
Subject(s) - tears , antibody , immunoglobulin a , multiple sclerosis , immunology , secretory iga , secretory component , immunoglobulin e , immunoglobulin g , humoral immunity , medicine
Mucosal immunity and the secretory antibody are known to be important defense mechanisms against many common viruses. Tears were selected as a representative mucosal fluid, and immunoglobulin A (IgA) was examined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblot. Tears from 38 normal controls and patients with systemic or ocular diseases contained almost exclusively polymeric IgA. In contrast, almost 75% of 23 patients with multiple sclerosis had detectable monomeric IgA in addition to polymeric IgA. The functional importance of this alteration in the molecular form of secretory IgA remains to be determined.