Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1969 Jan;4(1):101–112.

Serum immunoglobulin levels in healthy children and adults

J W Stoop, B J M Zegers, P C Sander, R E Ballieux
PMCID: PMC1579064  PMID: 4182354

Abstract

Serum levels of IgM, IgG and IgA were determined in 270 healthy children, 4–12 years old, and in thirty healthy adults by the radial immunodiffusion method of Mancini. There were nine 1-year age groups of thirty children each (fifteen boys and fifteen girls); the adult group consisted of fifteen males and fifteen females.

The difference in values between adults and children was statistically significant. The IgG and IgA concentrations showed a gradual rise with increasing age; the IgM concentration remained constant at a distinctly lower level than that in adults. The IgA level was about the same in both sexes. Girls had significantly higher IgM and IgG levels than boys. A consistent seasonal influence on the three serum immunoglobulin concentrations could not be demonstrated. A very wide variation in serum levels of each immunoglobulin in each age group was found. Very low values were by no means exceptional. The consequence of this finding for the diagnosis of immunological incompetency is discussed.

Full text

PDF
101

Selected References

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

  1. Allansmith M., McClellan B. H., Butterworth M., Maloney J. R. The development of immunoglobulin levels in man. J Pediatr. 1968 Feb;72(2):276–290. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(68)80324-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Butterworth M., McClellan B., Allansmith M. Influence of sex in immunoglobulin levels. Nature. 1967 Jun 17;214(5094):1224–1225. doi: 10.1038/2141224a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cohen S., Milstein C. Structure and biological properties of immunoglobulins. Adv Immunol. 1967;7:1–89. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2776(08)60126-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Collins-Williams C., Tkachyk S. J., Toft B., Moscarello M. Quantitative immunoglobulin levels (IgG, IgA and IgM) in children. Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol. 1967;31(1):94–103. doi: 10.1159/000229857. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. FAHEY F. L., LAWRENCE M. E. QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF 6.6 S GAMMA-GLOBULINS, BETA-2A-GLOBULINS AND GAMMA-1-MACROGLOBULINS IN HUMAN SERUM. J Immunol. 1963 Nov;91:597–603. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. FAHEY J. L., MCKELVEY E. M. QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF SERUM IMMUNOGLOBULINS IN ANTIBODY-AGAR PLATES. J Immunol. 1965 Jan;94:84–90. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fulginiti V. A., Sieber O. F., Jr, Claman H. N., Merrill D. Serum immunoglobulin measurement during the first year of life and in immunoglobulin-deficiency states. J Pediatr. 1966 May;68(5):723–730. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(66)80444-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Johansson S. G., Berg T. Immunoglobulin levels in healthy children. Acta Paediatr Scand. 1967 Nov;56(6):572–579. doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1967.tb15982.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mancini G., Carbonara A. O., Heremans J. F. Immunochemical quantitation of antigens by single radial immunodiffusion. Immunochemistry. 1965 Sep;2(3):235–254. doi: 10.1016/0019-2791(65)90004-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Norberg R. The immunoglobulin content of normal serum. Acta Med Scand. 1967 Apr;181(4):485–496. doi: 10.1111/j.0954-6820.1967.tb07267.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. OUCHTERLONY O. Diffusion-in-gel methods for immunological analysis. Prog Allergy. 1958;5:1–78. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rowe D. S., McGregor I. A., Smith S. J., Hall P., Williams K. Plasma immunoglobulin concentrations in a West African (Gambian) community and in a group of healthy British adults. Clin Exp Immunol. 1968 Jan;3(1):63–79. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. SCHEIDEGGER J. J. Une micro-méthode de l'immuno-electrophorèse. Int Arch Allergy Appl Immunol. 1955;7(2):103–110. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Stiehm E. R., Fudenberg H. H. Serum levels of immune globulins in health and disease: a survey. Pediatrics. 1966 May;37(5):715–727. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. WASHBURN T. C., MEDEARIS D. N., Jr, CHILDS B. SEX DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INFECTIONS. Pediatrics. 1965 Jan;35:57–64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. WEST C. D., HONG R., HOLLAND N. H. Immunoglobulin levels from the newborn period to adulthood and in immunoglobulin deficiency states. J Clin Invest. 1962 Nov;41:2054–2064. doi: 10.1172/JCI104663. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Zegers B. J., Poen H., Stoop J. W., Ballieux R. E. Immunoglobulin determination. Evaluation of the results of immunoelectrophoretic analysis and the radial diffusion method. Clin Chim Acta. 1968 Nov;22(3):399–402. doi: 10.1016/0009-8981(68)90042-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. van Munster P. J., Stoelinga G. B. Over de isolering en de bepaling van immuunglobuline-A (IgA) Maandschr Kindergeneeskd. 1965 Nov;33(11):428–443. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES