Sera from ten of sixteen patients with known Gaucher’s disease were found to have immunoglobulin abnormalities. Of these, four patients had "monoclonal" IgG type K protein increases. The possible pathogenic roles of lipid accumulation and reticuloendothelial hyperplasia are discussed.

A method of DEAE cellulose chromatography is described whereby the main vitamin B12 binders in serum, gastric juice and saliva may be separated into two distinct fractions, one containing alpha-globulin binder and the other containing beta-globulin binder, in less than 2 hours. Typical elution patterns of alpha-globulin and beta-globulin B12 binders from normal (⅘ beta; ⅕ alpha), pernicious anemia (⅔ beta; ⅓ alpha), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) (¾ alpha) sera are presented. Chromatography of normal gastric juice produced two peaks of B12-binding material, one containing all the intrinsic factor (IF) B12 binder (as well as some non-IF binder), and the other consisting almost exclusively of non-IF B12 binders. Pernicious anemia gastric juice also produced two peaks, but IF was absent. Saliva had one main peak of B12-binding material which seemed to correspond to the non-IF binder of normal gastric juices; both of these eluted with the alpha-globulin fraction.

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