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HEART–REACTIVE ANTIBODIES IN RHEUMATIC FEVER
Author(s) -
Tagg J. R.,
McGiven A. R.,
Guthrie D. A.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1972.tb46972.x
Subject(s) - rheumatic fever , antibody , medicine , indirect immunofluorescence , immunology , incidence (geometry) , immunofluorescence , acute rheumatic fever , physics , optics
Antibodies reacting with mammalian heart tissue were detected by immunofluorescence in 84% of sera taken from 37 patients with rheumatic fever and in 76% of 37 patients with uncomplicated streptococcal infections. The incidence was considerably lower in 127 patients with miscellaneous autoimmune diseases (27%) and in 29 blood donors (10%). The antibody titre was greatest in serum from patients with rheumatic fever. Antibodies against muscle fibre bands occurred most frequently in sera of rheumatic fever patients and may represent a response to tissue damage. Sarcolemmal and intercalated disc antibodies could be absorbed by group A strains of streptococci. Specific staining patterns were not confined to rheumatic fever patients or to other individual groups.