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pubmed:abstractText |
In vitro lymphocyte function of 13 patients with selective IgA deficiency was studied. IgG, IgA and IgM secretion by pokeweed mitogen-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal donors and IgA deficient patients was measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Addition of concanavalin A or hydrocortisone and co-cultures of B and T cell enriched populations from patients and normal donors, allowed us to investigate B cell Ig production and T cell regulatory abnormalities. IgA production by these patients' B cells was either absent or very low, as compared to their total Ig production, even in the presence of optimal T cell help. Several T cell immunoregulatory abnormalities were seen in different patients. A moderate increase in suppressor activity selective for IgA production was observed in some, but does not appear to play a major role in the pathogenesis of the IgA deficiency. In others, with associated autoimmune phenomena, a decrease in suppressor T cell function was found.
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