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A METABOLIC DEFECT OF THE LYMPHOCYTES IN A CASE OF HYPOGAMMAGLOBULINÆMIA
Author(s) -
FORBES I. J.,
MILAZZO S. C.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
australasian annals of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0571-9283
DOI - 10.1111/imj.1965.14.4.311
Subject(s) - gamma globulin , globulin , beta globulins , antibody , lymphocyte , endocrinology , immunology , medicine , biology , chemistry
SUMMARY A case of adult primary (acquired) hypogammaglobulinæmia is described. Mucosal atrophy of the stomach with lymphocytic infiltration was an unusual finding. By immunoelectrophoretic analysis, gamma‐2 globulin was demonstrated in the serum, but beta‐2A and beta‐2M globulins were not detected. It is probable that most of the gamma‐2 globulin came from therapeutically administered globulin. The level of gamma globulin was estimated to be 20 mg. per 100 ml. before treatment with pooled gamma globulin was instituted. Lymphocyte function studies showed that the patient's lymphocytes were capable of synthesizing protein in normal amounts under basal conditions. However, they failed to show the marked increase in globulin synthesis that normal lymphocytes show in the presence of phytohæmagglutinin (PHA), although there was no impairment of the cells' ability to undergo transformation when stimulated with this substance. A metabolic defect is therefore demonstrated: the circulating lymphoid cells have lost the capacity to synthesize additional globulin when transforming in the presence of PHA.