Skip to main content
PMC home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1985 Oct;62(1):185–192.

Gall bladder: the predominant source of bile IgA in man?

D A Vuitton, E Seilles, P Claude, P Sava, D L Delacroix
PMCID: PMC1577396  PMID: 4064373

Abstract

The sedimentation profiles of IgA and Secretory Component (SC) and the concentrations of IgA, IgG, IgM, SC and albumin were evaluated after an overnight fast in gall bladder bile of six adult subjects without hepatobiliary disease. The sedimentation profiles differed from those previously obtained in hepatic bile in three ways: gall bladder bile contained a greater percentage of free-SC, a greater percentage of polymeric-IgA (p-IgA), and a major peak of 14 to 19 S p-IgA associated to SC. In contrast to hepatic bile in which IgG is the predominant Ig, IgA clearly was the predominant Ig in gall-bladder bile, its concentration averaging 92 micrograms/ml. Relative-to-albumin coefficients of excretion of proteins in gall bladder bile averaged 0.99 for IgG, 8.6 for monomeric IgA, 196 for p-IgA and 31 for IgM, indicating that there was a selective excretion of IgA and IgM into gall bladder bile. As compared to hepatic bile, the enrichment of gall bladder bile with IgA and IgM was respectively 6.5 and 11.5 times greater than with IgG. These results suggest that quite a significant amount of p-IgA could have been added to bile during its storage in the gall bladder which should therefore be regarded as the predominant source of bile IgA in humans.

Full text

PDF
186

Selected References

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

  1. Brandtzaeg P. Transport models for secretory IgA and secretory IgM. Clin Exp Immunol. 1981 May;44(2):221–232. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CHODIRKER W. B., TOMASI T. B., Jr GAMMA-GLOBULINS: QUANTITATIVE RELATIONSHIPS IN HUMAN SERUM AND NONVASCULAR FLUIDS. Science. 1963 Nov 22;142(3595):1080–1081. doi: 10.1126/science.142.3595.1080. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Chandy K. G., Hübscher S. G., Elias E., Berg J., Khan M., Burnett D. Dual role of the liver in regulating circulating polymeric IgA in man: studies on patients with liver disease. Clin Exp Immunol. 1983 Apr;52(1):207–218. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Crabbé P. A., Nash D. R., Bazin H., Eyssen H., Heremans J. F. Immunohistochemical observations on lymphoid tissues from conventional and germ-free mice. Lab Invest. 1970 May;22(5):448–457. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Delacroix D. L., Courtoy P. J., Rahier J., Reynaert M., Vaerman J. P., Dive C. Localization and serum concentration of secretory component during massive necrosis of human liver. Gastroenterology. 1984 Mar;86(3):521–531. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Delacroix D. L., Dehennin J. P., Vaerman J. P. Influence of molecular size of IgA on its immunoassay by various techniques. II. Solid-phase radioimmunoassays. J Immunol Methods. 1982;48(3):327–337. doi: 10.1016/0022-1759(82)90333-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Delacroix D. L., Denef A. M., Acosta G. A., Montgomery P. C., Vaerman J. P. Immunoglobulins in rabbit hepatic bile: selective secretion of IgA and IgM and active plasma-to-bile transfer of polymeric IgA. Scand J Immunol. 1982 Oct;16(4):343–350. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1982.tb00733.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Delacroix D. L., Elkom K. B., Geubel A. P., Hodgson H. F., Dive C., Vaerman J. P. Changes in size, subclass, and metabolic properties of serum immunoglobulin A in liver diseases and in other diseases with high serum immunoglobulin A. J Clin Invest. 1983 Feb;71(2):358–367. doi: 10.1172/JCI110777. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Delacroix D. L., Furtado-Barreira G., Rahier J., Dive C., Vaerman J. P. Immunohistochemical localization of secretory component in the liver of guinea pigs and dogs versus rats, rabbits, and mice. Scand J Immunol. 1984 May;19(5):425–434. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1984.tb00951.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Delacroix D. L., Furtado-Barreira G., de Hemptinne B., Goudswaard J., Dive C., Vaerman J. P. The liver in the IgA secretory immune system. Dogs, but not rats and rabbits, are suitable models for human studies. Hepatology. 1983 Nov-Dec;3(6):980–988. doi: 10.1002/hep.1840030616. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Delacroix D. L., Vaerman J. P. Function of the human liver in IgA homeostasis in plasma. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1983 Jun 30;409:383–401. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1983.tb26884.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Dive C., Heremans J. F. Nature and origin of the proteins of bile. I. A comparative analysis of serum and bile proteins in man. Eur J Clin Invest. 1974 Aug;4(4):235–239. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2362.1974.tb00398.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dooley J. S., Potter B. J., Thomas H. C., Sherlock S. A comparative study of the biliary secretion of human dimeric and monomeric IgA in the rat and in man. Hepatology. 1982 May-Jun;2(3):323–327. doi: 10.1002/hep.1840020306. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Green F. H., Fox H. An immunofluorescent study of the distribution of immunoglobulin-containing cells in the normal and the inflamed human gall bladder. Gut. 1972 May;13(5):379–384. doi: 10.1136/gut.13.5.379. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Hall J. G., Gyure L. A., Payne A. W. Comparative aspects of the transport of immunoglobulin A from blood to bile. Immunology. 1980 Dec;41(4):899–902. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Jackson G. D., Lemaître-Coelho I., Vaerman J. P., Bazin H., Beckers A. Rapid disappearance from serum of intravenously injected rat myeloma IgA and its secretion into bile. Eur J Immunol. 1978 Feb;8(2):123–126. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830080210. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. John W. G., Mullock B. M., Hinton R. H. Proteins of guinea-pig bile: selective resorption in the gall bladder. Biosci Rep. 1983 Apr;3(4):389–394. doi: 10.1007/BF01122904. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Kutteh W. H., Prince S. J., Phillips J. O., Spenney J. G., Mestecky J. Properties of immunoglobulin A in serum of individuals with liver diseases and in hepatic bile. Gastroenterology. 1982 Feb;82(2):184–193. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Lemaitre-Coelho I., Jackson G. D., Vaerman J. P. Relevance of biliary IgA antibodies in rat intestinal immunity. Scand J Immunol. 1978;8(5):459–463. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1978.tb00542.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Lemaître-Coelho I., Jackson G. D., Vaerman J. P. High levels of secretory IgA and free secretory component in the serum of rats with bile duct obstruction. J Exp Med. 1978 Mar 1;147(3):934–939. doi: 10.1084/jem.147.3.934. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Mostov K. E., Blobel G. A transmembrane precursor of secretory component. The receptor for transcellular transport of polymeric immunoglobulins. J Biol Chem. 1982 Oct 10;257(19):11816–11821. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Mostov K. E., Friedlander M., Blobel G. The receptor for transepithelial transport of IgA and IgM contains multiple immunoglobulin-like domains. Nature. 1984 Mar 1;308(5954):37–43. doi: 10.1038/308037a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Nagura H., Smith P. D., Nakane P. K., Brown W. R. IGA in human bile and liver. J Immunol. 1981 Feb;126(2):587–595. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Nalbone G., Lafont H., Vigne J. L., Domingo N., Lairon D., Chabert C., Lechene P., Hauton J. C. The apoprotein fraction of the bile lipoprotein complex: isolation, partial characterization and phospholipid binding properties. Biochimie. 1979;61(9):1029–1041. doi: 10.1016/s0300-9084(80)80257-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Orlans E., Peppard J., Fry J. F., Hinton R. H., Mullock B. M. Secretory component as the receptor for polymeric IgA on rat hepatocytes. J Exp Med. 1979 Dec 1;150(6):1577–1581. doi: 10.1084/jem.150.6.1577. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Orlans E., Peppard J., Reynolds J., Hall J. Rapid active transport of immunoglobulin A from blood to bile. J Exp Med. 1978 Feb 1;147(2):588–592. doi: 10.1084/jem.147.2.588. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Renston R. H., Jones A. L., Christiansen W. D., Hradek G. T., Underdown B. J. Evidence for a vesicular transport mechanism in hepatocytes for biliary secretion of immunoglobulin A. Science. 1980 Jun 13;208(4449):1276–1278. doi: 10.1126/science.7375938. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Ritchie R. F., Alper C. A., Graves J., Pearson N., Larson C. Automated quantitation of proteins in serum and other biologic fluids. Am J Clin Pathol. 1973 Feb;59(2):151–159. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/59.2.151. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Tourville D. R., Adler R. H., Bienenstock J., Tomasi T. B., Jr The human secretory immunoglobulin system: immunohistoligical localization of gamma A, secretory "piece," and lactoferrin in normal human tissues. J Exp Med. 1969 Feb 1;129(2):411–429. doi: 10.1084/jem.129.2.411. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Vigne J. L., Nalbone G., Lafont H., Lairon D., Chabert C., Domingo N., Hauton J. C. Interaction of immunoglobulins and lipids in human gallbladder bile. Biochimie. 1981 Oct;63(10):735–742. doi: 10.1016/s0300-9084(81)80033-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Experimental Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES