L. Wang et al., VARIATIONS IN ACTIVITY OF THE HUMAN NATURAL ANTI-GAL ANTIBODY IN YOUNG AND ELDERLY POPULATIONS, The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 50(4), 1995, pp. 227-233
Background. Anti-Gal,is a natural antibody which constitutes approxima
tely 1% of circulating IgG in humans and which interacts specifically
with the mammalian carbohydrate epitope Gal alpha 1-3Gal beta 1-4GlcNA
c-R (termed the alpha-galactosyl epitope). The purpose of this study w
as to determine whether there are age-associated changes in the affini
ty of anti-Gal in elderly individuals. Methods, The age-associated var
iations in affinity of anti-Gal were determined by the extent of this
antibody binding to solid-phase alpha-galactosyl epitopes (mouse lamin
in) in ELISA, performed at various serum dilutions with serum samples
from 140 elderly and 127 young individuals. The data were expressed as
the mean of optical density (O.D.) values measured at serum dilutions
of 1:40, 1:80, and 1:160, and correlated with the affinity of anti-Ga
l as measured in equilibrium dialysis. Results. The proportion of indi
viduals with low-affinity anti-Gal is sixfold higher in the elderly th
an in the young population. Whereas low-affinity binding of anti-Gal (
mean O.D. value less than or equal to 1.0) was observed in only 6% of
the young population, as many as 35% of the elderly population display
ed such low-affinity anti-Gal. Anti-Gal affinity in ELISA assay correl
ated with the affinity of this antibody as measured in equilibrium dia
lysis. Conclusion. The proportion of individuals with low affinity ant
i-Gal increases in the elderly population in comparison with the young
population. The possible molecular mechanisms which may result in the
age-associated decrease in the antibody affinity are discussed.