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Research Article Free access | 10.1172/JCI105678

The Mechanism of Appearance of Immunoglobulin A in Nasal Secretions in Man

William T. Butler, Roger D. Rossen, and Thomas A. Waldmann

Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the Metabolism Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Department of Microbiology, Baylor University College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

‡

Address requests for reprints to Dr. William T. Butler, Baylor University College of Medicine, Texas Medical Center, Houston, Tex. 77025.

*

Received for publication 19 May 1967 and in revised from 10 August 1967.

Find articles by Butler, W. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the Metabolism Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Department of Microbiology, Baylor University College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

‡

Address requests for reprints to Dr. William T. Butler, Baylor University College of Medicine, Texas Medical Center, Houston, Tex. 77025.

*

Received for publication 19 May 1967 and in revised from 10 August 1967.

Find articles by Rossen, R. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, the Metabolism Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

Department of Microbiology, Baylor University College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

‡

Address requests for reprints to Dr. William T. Butler, Baylor University College of Medicine, Texas Medical Center, Houston, Tex. 77025.

*

Received for publication 19 May 1967 and in revised from 10 August 1967.

Find articles by Waldmann, T. in: PubMed | Google Scholar

Published December 1, 1967 - More info

Published in Volume 46, Issue 12 on December 1, 1967
J Clin Invest. 1967;46(12):1883–1893. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI105678.
© 1967 The American Society for Clinical Investigation
Published December 1, 1967 - Version history
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Abstract

Experiments were done to investigate mechanisms of appearance of both 7 S and 11 S IgA in nasal secretions. Three IgA preparations, (a) 11 S IgA from nasal secretions, (b) 7 S IgA from homologous serum, and (c) 7 S IgA from autologous serum, were isolated, labeled, and injected intravenously into volunteers. The rate of disappearance from plasma and the extent and nature of their appearance in nasal secretions were examined in detail. After intravenous injection, 11 S IgA from nasal secretions disappeared rapidly from plasma. However, only negligible amounts of 11 S IgA were detected in nasal secretion, which suggested that rapid selective secretion of circulating 11 S IgA does not occur as a mechanism of IgA accumulation in nasal secretions. Both the homologous and autologous 7 S IgA preparations disappeared from plasma at a normal rate, and both appeared in nasal secretions unchanged in sedimentation behavior. The specific activity of IgA in nasal secretions, when related to the total IgA concentration, was about 30-fold less than that in serum. When related to only the 7 S IgA concentration of nasal secretions, the specific activity was about one-half that of serum. These studies are consistent with the following hypotheses: (a) circulating 7 S IgA is a source of part of the 7 S IgA found in nasal secretions. The remainder of the nasal secretion 7 S IgA may be synthesized locally in the tissues of the upper respiratory tract; (b) 11 S IgA in nasal secretions is not assembled from serum 7 S IgA components; and (c) 11 S IgA in nasal secretions is synthesized de novo in the tissues of the upper respiratory tract.

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