Production of Human Immunoglobulin E Antibody In Vitro

Abstract

Abstract The discovery of immunoglobulin E (IgE) (1) has contributed significantly to the understanding of hypersensitivity reactions mediated by reaginic antibody (2) and has led to the development of new diagnostic procedures in the field of allergology (3, 4). Recent studies have demonstrated the production of IgE protein by peripheral blood lymphocytes in vitro and have examined the kinetics and pharmacologic control of IgE biosynthesis (5, 6). The purpose of this communication is to describe our observation of in vitro production of IgE protein and antigen-specific IgE antibodies by peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from atopic and nonatopic individuals. A modification of the lymphocyte culture method of Waldmann et al. (7) was used in our studies. Blood, 60 ml, was obtained from 11 patients, eight of whom are atopic (geometric mean serum IgE, 247 ng/ml; range 61 to 1079) and three of whom are nonatopic (geometric mean serum IgE, 96 ng/ml; range 73 to 143).