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Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1973 Nov;15(3):365–374.

Membrane-associated immunoglobulins of human lymphocytes in immunologic disorders

Isabelle Nicod, J P Girard, A Cruchaud
PMCID: PMC1553910  PMID: 4587505

Abstract

Membrane-associated immunoglobulins of peripheral blood lymphocytes were studied by indirect immunofluorescence for γ, α, μ, κ and λ chains in healthy subjects and patients with immunologic disease.

In healthy subjects, heavy chains were found on 30·7% of lymphocytes (γ 15·3%, α 7·2% and μ 8·2%) and light chains on 32·8% of cells (κ 20·4% and λ 12·4%). Patients with humoral immune deficiencies had fewer immunoglobulin-bearing cells; sarcoidosis or thymectomy patients had normal or decreased immunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes; cells with light chains were fewer than those with heavy chains on their lymphocytes. In some cases, normal levels of serum immunoglobulins were found in the absence of the corresponding immunoglobulin-bearing cells, and in others normal immunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes were present in the absence of the corresponding serum immunoglobulins.

These data suggest that (1) immunoglobulin-bearing lymphocytes in blood do not reflect the condition of immunoglobulin-synthesizing cells in peripheral lymphoid tissues, and (2) in certain immunologic disorders, either some B-lymphocytes do not synthesize immunoglobulins, or immunoglobulins are in such a situation that the whole molecule or part of the molecule is not visualized by current methods.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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