Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T08:19:51.288Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Specific immunoglobulins in infants with the congenital rubella syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

J. E. Cradock-Watson ,
Margaret K. S. Ridehalgh  and
Shireen Chantler
J. E. Cradock-Watson
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Withington Hospital, Manchester M 20 8 LR
Margaret K. S. Ridehalgh
Affiliation:
Public Health Laboratory, Withington Hospital, Manchester M 20 8 LR
Shireen Chantler
Affiliation:
Wellcome Research Laboratories, Beckenham, Kent BR 3 3 BS
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The indirect immunofluorescent technique has been used to detect and titrate the specific immunoglobulins in serum specimens from 154 infants with confirmed or suspected congenital rubella. IgM antibody was stained more efficiently in sucrose density gradient fractions than in whole serum and was detected in this way in 27 out of 40 patients with confirmed congenital rubella at ages ranging from birth to 2 years. It was present in 48 out of 50 serum specimens during the first 6 months of life and in 11 out of 38 specimens obtained at ages between 6½ months and 2 years. IgM antibody was therefore estimated to persist for about 6 months in the majority of cases and up to 2 years in a few individuals. IgM antibody was also detected by this method in 11 out of 114 infants with suspected but unconfirmed congenital rubella at ages up to 5 months. The total concentrations of IgM were above the normal range in nearly all sera taken from confirmed cases during the first 3 months of life and in half the specimens obtained between the ages of 3 and 6 months.

IgG antibody was detected by fluorescent staining of whole serum in all patients with congenital rubella. Geometric mean titres increased during the first 3 months of life and then declined slowly. IgA antibody was not detected, except in two patients in whom traces were present at the age of 6 months, and the total concentrations of IgA were usually within normal limits.

Fluorescent staining of fractions showed that the sedimentation characteristics of rubella IgG and IgM antibodies were the same in infants as in adults. The peak IgM fractions never contained IgG antibody, and the presence of specific IgM in these fractions could usually have been safely inferred from their HAI titres. Fluorescent staining, however, was more sensitive and frequently detected IgM antibody in fractions which had no definite HAI activity.

Fluorescent staining of whole serum for IgM antibody was less distinct, and often unsuccessful, even in specimens in which specific IgM was detected in the fractions. The addition of IgG- to IgM-containing fractions caused depression of IgM staining and suggested that failure to detect IgM antibody in whole serum was partly due to competitive inhibition by specific IgG.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Hygiene , Volume 76 , Issue 1 , February 1976 , pp. 109 - 123
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

References

REFERENCES

Alford, C. A. Jr. (1965). Studies on antibody in congenital rubella infections. I. Physicochemical and immunologic investigations of rubella neutralizing antibody. American Journal of Diseases of Children 110, 455.Google Scholar
Allansmith, M., Mcclellan, B. H., Butterworth, M. & Maloney, J. R. (1968). The development of immunoglobulin levels in man. Journal of Pediatrics 72, 276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Allansmith, M. R., Mcclellan, B. H. & Butterworth, M. (1969). Individual patterns of immunoglobulin development in ten infants. Journal of Pediatrics 75, 1231.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Al-Nakib, W., Best, J. M. & Banatvala, J. E. (1975). Rubella-specific serum and nasopharyngeal immunoglobulin responses following naturally acquired and vaccine-induced infection. Lancet i, 182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baublis, J. V. & Brown, G. C. (1968). Specific response of the immunoglobulins to rubella infection. Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 128, 206.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bellanti, J. A., Artenstein, M. S., Olson, L. C., Buescher, E. L., Luhrs, C. E. & Milstead, K. L. (1965). Congenital rubella: clinicopathologic, virologic, and immunologic studies. American Journal of Diseases of Children 110, 464.Google Scholar
Best, J. M., Banatvala, J. E. & Watson, D. (1969). Serum IgM and IgG responses in postnatally acquired rubella. Lancet ii, 65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buckley, R. H., Dees, S. C. & O'Fallon, W. M. (1968). Serum immunoglobulins: I. Levels in normal children and in uncomplicated childhood allergy. Pediatrics 41, 600.Google Scholar
Caul, E. O., Smyth, G. W. & Clarke, S. K. R. (1974). A simplified method for the detection of rubella-specific IgM employing sucrose density fractionation and 2-mercaptoethanol. Journal of Hygiene 73, 329.Google Scholar
Cohen, S. M., Ducharme, C. P., Carpenter, C. A. & Deibel, R. (1968). Rubella antibody in IgG and IgM immunoglobulins detected by immunofluorescence. Journal of Laboratory and Clinical Medicine 72, 760.Google ScholarPubMed
Cradock-Watson, J. E., Bourne, M. S. & Vandervelde, E. M. (1972). IgG, IgA and IgM responses in acute rubella determined by the immunofluorescent technique. Journal of Hygiene 70, 473.Google Scholar
Cradock-Watson, J. E., Macdonald, H., Ridehalgh, M. K. S., Bourne, M. S. & Vandervelde, E. M. (1974). Specific immunoglobulin responses in serum and nasal secretions after the administration of attenuated rubella vaccine. Journal of Hygiene 73, 127.Google Scholar
Desmyter, J., South, M. A. & Rawls, W. E. (1971). The IgM antibody response in rubella during pregnancy. Journal of Medical Microbiology 4, 107.Google Scholar
Dudgeon, J. A., Marshall, W. C. & Peckham, C. S. (1972). Humoral immune responses in congenital rubella. Lancet ii, 480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dudgeon, J. A., Marshall, W. C. & Soothill, J. F. (1969). Immunological responses to early and late intrauterine virus infections. Journal of Pediatrics 75, 1149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forghani, B., Schmidt, N. J. & Lennette, E. H. (1973). Demonstration of rubella IgM antibody by indirect fluorescent antibody staining, sucrose density gradient centrifugation and mercaptoethanol reduction. Intervirology 1, 48.Google Scholar
Hardy, J. B., Mccracken, G. H., Jr. Mellits, E. D., Gilkeson, M. R. & Sever, J. L. (1969). Serum immunoglobulin levels in newborn infants. Journal of Pediatrics 75, 1211.Google Scholar
Hayes, K., Dudgeon, J. A. & Soothill, J. F. (1967). Humoral immunity in congenital rubella. Clinical and Experimental Immunology 2, 653.Google ScholarPubMed
Mccracken, G. H., Jr. Hardy, J. B., Chen, T. C., Hoffman, L. S., Gilkeson, M. R. & Sever, J. L. (1969). Serum immunoglobulin levels in newborn infants. II. Survey of cord and follow-up sera from 123 infants with congenital rubella. Journal of Pediatrics 74, 383.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Newman, S., Horta-Barbosa, L. & Sever, J. L. (1969). Serological tests for rubella. Lancet ii, 432.Google Scholar
Pattison, J. R., Dane, D. S. & Mace, J. E. (1975). Persistence of specific IgM after natural infection with rubella virus. Lancet i, 185.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perchalski, J. E., Clem, L. W. & Small, P. A. Jr. (1968). 7-S gamma-M immunoglobulins in normal human cord serum. American Journal of Medical Sciences 256, 107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rawls, W. E. (1968). Congenital rubella: the significance of virus persistence. Progress in Medical Virology 10, 238.Google ScholarPubMed
Remington, J. S. (1969). The present status of the IgM fluorescent antibody technique in the diagnosis of congenital toxoplasmosis. Journal of Pediatrics 75, 1116.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowe, D. S., Grab, B. & Anderson, S. G. (1972). An international reference preparation for human serum immunoglobulins G, A and M: content of immunoglobulins by weight. Bulletin of the World Health Organisation 46, 67.Google Scholar
Sever, J. L., Hardy, J. B., Korones, S. B., Gilkeson, M. R., Corridon, L., Ley, A. C., Tzay, N. & Yarnick, D. (1969). Cord immunoglobulins in a middle class Caucasian population. Journal of Pediatrics 75, 1224.Google Scholar
Soothill, J. F., Hayes, K. & Dudgeon, J. A. (1966). The immunoglobulins in congenital rubella. Lancet i, 1385.Google Scholar
Stiehm, E. R., Amman, A. J. & Cherry, J. D. (1966). Elevated cord macroglobulins in the diagnosis of intrauterine infections. New England Journal of Medicine 275, 971.Google Scholar
Thompson, K. M. & Tobin, J. O.'H. (1970). Isolation of rubella virus from abortion material. British Medical Journal ii, 264.Google Scholar
Vesikari, T., Vaheri, A., Pettay, O. & Kunnas, M. (1969). Congenital rubella: immune response of the neonate and diagnosis by demonstration of specific IgM antibodies. Journal of Pediatrics 75, 658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed