Complement‐Fixing and Lymphocytotoxic Antibodies in Serum of Pregnant Women at Delivery

Abstract

Data from an examination of 2,008 sera from parous women for lymphocytotoxic antibodies (LCTAb) and complement-fixing platelet antibodies (CFPAb) are presented. The incidence of LCTAb was 13.4% and the incidence of CFPAb 2.9%. The finding of 14 sera with CFPAb to platelets in the absence of LCTAb is discussed. It is suggested that cytotoxic antibodies belong to two different globulin classes: complementfixing cytolytic antibodies and blocking antibodies only cytolytic with rabbit complement. The incidences of CFPAb and LCTAb were found s i a c a n t l y lower in primparae.Smoking also seemed to depress the ability to form antibodies.

The Serology of Febrile Transfusion Reactions

“…Like other authors [Goodman and Masaitis, 1967;Ahrons, 1971;Heinrich et al, 1973;Nymand, 1969;Décary et al, 1984], we found that the sera of female patients contained a greater diversity of alloantibodies than those of male patients, which can be explained by the additional immunizing in fluence of pregnancy. In fact, all the female patients whose sera were tested had been pregnant (table I).…”

Complement Fixing and Lymphocytotoxic Antibodies in Serum of Pregnant Women at Delivery

“…On the other hand, maternal immunization during pregnancy is found less frequently than expected [8]. In addition to other factors, this observation could be explained by the existence of cross-reacting antigens in the HL-A system, in that, with a few exceptions [6,16], antigens do not challenge an individual who possesses cross-reacting antigens to the chal lenge [6].…”

“…On the other hand it should be kept in mind that the cause of undetectable LCTAb at delivery could be a consequence of antigen-bound LCTAb, which may have a blocking effect during pregnancy [8].…”

“…During a period of 1 year 2,008 sera of pregnant women at delivery were examined for the presence of complement fixing platelet antibodies (CFPAb) and lymphocytotoxic antibodies (LCTAb), by means of the Sveigaard and Kissmeyer-Nielsen [13] and the Kissmeyer-Nielsen and Kjerbye [5] test as described previously [8]. The sera were tested for CFPAb against platelets from the husbands and/or the newborns and for LCTAb against a 48-person lymphocyte donor panel including the HL-A specificities: HL-A1, HL-A2, HL-A3, HL-A9, HL-A10, HL-A11, HL-A28, W19, HL-A5, HL-A7, HL-A8, HL-A 12, HL-A13, HL-A14, HL-A17, HL-A27, W5, W15, W16, W21, W22, and AJ, and the blood groups A, B, 0,m and Lea.…”

“…It is a well-known phenomenon that leukocyte and platelet antibodies are formed as a consequence of fetomaternal incompatibility [7,8], Due to differences in affinity and avidity of the antibodies, their operational antigen binding capacity varies widely [11], Fetomaternal mismatch as to one antigen may provoke the formation of polyspecific maternal antibodies [16,17], a phenomenon also experienced in planned immunization experiments [15].…”