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Biomedical subjects

S Mathur

Publications and source records attributed to S Mathur.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

Hv(1), a variable-region genetic marker of human immunoglobulin heavy chains.

A new antigenic determinant was discovered with a hemagglutination-inhibition assay system. Designated Hv(1), it is located in the variable region of human immunoglobulin heavy chains of the G, M, and A classes. Pedigree and population analyses suggest that it has an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance. This represents the first description of an allotypic determinant in the variable region of human immunoglobulins.

Binding Sites, Antibody

Sex steroid hormones and antibodies to Candida albicans.

The effect of changes in progesterone (P) and estradiol (E2) on titres of antibodies to Candida albicans was studied by measurement of these three parameters in the following endocrinologically diverse human groups: normal females, gonadal dysgenetics, users of a sequential oral contraceptive (Oracon) and normal males. In females, C. albicans titres (mean +/- s.e.m.) were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) in the luteal (74 +/- 14) than in the follicular phase (34 +/- 19) of the cycle, and there were similar significant increases in P and E2. In the gonadal dysgenetic group (n = 29), with E2 levels comparable with males, the antibody titres were also equivalent to those in normal males (40 +/- 0.5), but were significantly lower than those of normal females in the follicular phase (P less than 0.05). In contrast, Oracon users, with high blood progestin levels, had C. albicans titres (118 +/- 15) significantly higher (P less than 0.001) than those of control subjects during the follicular phase. A significant correlation (P less than 0.05) was observed between P and C. albicans titres (mainly IgA) in randomly selected samples (n = 112) from normal females during the follicular and luteal phases, and in two subjects from whom blood samples were drawn daily for the entire cycle. In the latter, an increase in E2 but not P in the late follicular phase was accompanied by a marked decrease in C. albicans titres. No changes were observed in total immunoglobulin levels or antibodies to SRBC or Herpes virus in response to the marked changes in hormones. These results indicate that the production of antibodies to C. albicans may be specifically influenced by sex steroid hormones, being enhanced by P and E2 at low levels but depressed by E2 at high levels.

Antibodies, Fungal

Antibodies to Candida albicans in IgA-deficient humans.

Titers of serum antibody to Candida albicans were studied in 111 IgA-deficient subjects by the passive hemagglutination method. Circulating antibodies to C. albicans (mean titer, 1:7) were found in only 7.3% of the 111 subjects, as compared with 80% of 137 controls (mean titer, 1:16). However, two IgA-deficient patients with systemic candidiasis were positive for these antibodies (mean titer, 1:64). Indirect immunofluorescence tests indicated that the antibody response in IgA-deficient subjects to superficial or deep-seated infection with C. albicans consists mainly of immunoglobulins of the IgG rather than of the IgM class.

Antibodies, Fungal

Humoral immunity in vaginal candidiasis.

Serum antibody titers to Candida albicans were estimated in 37 women with recurrent vaginal candidiasis and in 148 normal American and Finnish subjects, using the passive-hemagglutination technique. The antibody titers ranged from 0 to 16 in normal individuals and 4 to 256 in vaginal candidiasis patients. Antibodies to C. albicans in the sera of vaginal candidiasis patients were found to be the secretory immunoglobulin A type, as determined by gel filtration and double-diffusion tests. The results were confirmed by the indir-ct fluorescent-antibody technique. Our findings suggest that, in vaginal candidiasis, the antibody response is mainly local, consisting of secretory immunoglobulin A, some of which finds its way into systemic circulation.

Antibodies, Fungal

Sex steroid hormones and circulating IgE levels.

The possible influence of sex steroid hormones on circulating IgE levels in general and IgE anti-Candida antibodies in particular was studied by quantification of plasma levels of progesterone, estradiol and IgE (total and anti-Candida-specific) in females during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle, and during pregnancy. IgE levels during the follicular and luteal phases were not significantly different, although the mean values for the luteal phase were slightly lower. This trend was apparent in daily samples from two normal females during one menstrual cycle. During pregnancy, when the levels of circulating sex steroids were high, IgE levels were only slightly higher than in the follicular and luteal phases. In men and in gonadal dysgenetics, circulating progesterone levels were similar to those of women during the follicular phase (i.e., lower than in the luteal phase or in pregnancy), but the IgE levels were not different. The apparently low levels of IgE during the luteal phase may therefore be due to physiological factors other than fluctuations in the sex steroid hormones. From the present studies, it is apparent that sex steroid hormones have little or no effect on humoral IgE levels, in marked contrast to previously described correlations for other immunoglobulins, especially anti-Candida antibodies.

Antibodies, Fungal