Proteins destined to circulate in the blood are first folded and assembled in the endoplasmic reticulum of secretory cells. For antibodies, like many other serum proteins, the folding and assembly steps involve the formation of disulfide bonds. Such bonds have been thought to be static features of proteins, stabilizing domains, and linking polypeptide chains, although some cases of extracellula...

Type-specific IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies to Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular polysaccharides 14 and 19F were measured in cord blood samples from 425 neonates, to determine which antibody subclass was most strongly associated with otitis media (OM) during the first 6 months of life (early OM). Early OM was significantly associated with type 14 IgG1 antibody in the lowest antibody quartile (P=.055...

Background: Hyper IgE syndrome (HIES) is a rare primary immune deficiency, described as Job`s syndrome characterized by increased serum levels of IgE, eczema, recurrent cutaneous and pulmonary infections. In this paper, we presented a case of Hyper IgE syndrome.Case Presentation: A 16-year-old Iranian boy presented with a one year history of skin lesions in knees and elbows was diagnosed of pso...

The immune response consists of two main components: humoral immunity represented by B lymphocytes and cellular immunity maintained by the T lymphocytes. Immunoglobulins, produced by B-lymphocytes, are the main mediators of humoral immunity, and deficiencies at this level affect the body's response to infection. Plasmocytes produce nine antibody izotypes: immunoglobulins G (IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, Ig...

Primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) are heritable disorders of immune system function. These defects are rare, but seem to be more frequent in populations with high consanguinity. The defect may affect T cells, B cells, phagocyte cells or complement proteins. Patients have increased susceptibility to recurrent infections, and may suffer from, allergy, auto-immune disorders or cancers. The assessm...

BACKGROUND IgG subclass deficiency is often associated with recurrent pulmonary infections. The prevalence of deficiency in a large well characterised group of patients with bronchiectasis has not previously been established. METHODS Serum IgG subclass concentrations in 89 patients with bronchiectasis were compared with those obtained from a group of 82 age and sex matched normal healthy cont...

The duration of immunodeficiency following marrow transplantation is not known. Questionnaires were used to study the infection rates in 72 patients surviving 20 to 30 years after marrow grafting. Furthermore, in 33 of the 72 patients and in 16 donors (siblings who originally donated the marrow) leukocyte subsets were assessed by flow cytometry. T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), markers...

Subclasses of immunoglobulin G (IgG) were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and serum from five normal volunteers and 25 bone marrow transplant (BMT) recipients, who developed 32 episodes of pneumonitis. Evidence for local production of the four subclasses was sought, to assess whether any observed deficiency was associated with any particular group of pulmonary infections. In the ...

OBJECTIVES We postulate that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) having recurrent infections are more likely to have poorer disease outcome. The aim of this study is to describe the pattern of infections and disease damage that occurred in a cohort of patients with juvenile-onset SLE, and to find out whether cumulative disease damage was associated with recurrent infections in thes...