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The First Human Example of anti‐M e
Author(s) -
McDougall D.C.J.,
Jenkins W.J.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
vox sanguinis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.68
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1423-0410
pISSN - 0042-9007
DOI - 10.1111/j.1423-0410.1981.tb00729.x
Subject(s) - antigen , antibody , immunogenetics , rabbit (cipher) , biology , immunology , mathematics , statistics
. Anti‐M e is an antibody which cross‐reacts with the M and He antigens. It has previously only been found in rabbit serum; the first human example is described. The Henshaw antigen is closely associated with the MNSs system and is found in about 3% of Negroes [1–3] but only rarely in Caucasoids [2]. The original anti‐He was found in a rabbit anti‐M serum by Ikin and Mourant [1] in 1951. Other examples were deliberately produced by the immunisation of rabbits with the blood of Mr. Henshaw [3]. The first example of anti‐He in a human serum was found in 1967 by MacDonald et al. [4] in a Caucasoid mother. Although at the time it was not possible to ascertain the racial group of the father, it has since been established that he was a Negro. Other human anti‐He sera have since been found [2]. In 1961 Wiener and Rosenfield [5] reported an immune rabbit serum which possessed inseparable anti‐M and anti‐He specificities which they designated anti‐M e . The rabbit which produced the anti‐M e had almost certainly not received Henshaw‐positive cells. The rabbit serum was investigated as a result of a discrepancy found during M‐typing of a Negro involved in a medicolegal case of disputed parentage. The first human example of anti‐M e herein described was found in the serum of Mr. Richards, a 41‐year‐old Caucasoid male with no known transfusion history and has been used at this centre as an anti‐M serum for many years.