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Quantitative Variation of the A Antigen at Birth: Its Significance in ABO Hemolytic Disease and in the Infant's Development
Author(s) -
GRUNDBACHER F. J.
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1965.tb06417.x
Subject(s) - citation , medicine , abo blood group system , library science , medical genetics , genetics , biology , computer science , gene
ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn poses certain prognostic problems because maternal antibody titer is poorly related to severity of the ensuing hemolytic process. Heterogeneity of anti-A antibodies, as recently discussed by Polley e t al. [lo], may be one of the factors responsible for this poor association, Another factor may be the quantitative behavior of the A antigen. Infants with ABO hemolytic disease are predominantly of subtype A, and not A, L5, 151, and the A antigen is “stronger” in the A, than the A, subtype. Furthermore, the A antigen of erythrocytes undergoes marked quantitative change during life; for example, in embryonic erythrocytes i t is initially weak but increases slowly during fetal life [8 ] . After birth, the strength of the A antigen increases rapidly during the first few months of life and then a t a slower rate until adult values are reached a t about 3 years of age or shortly thereafter [4]. Among adults there is still considerable variation within thc A subtypes, which is partly