Significance of High Levels of Serum IgA and IgA-Class Circulatin Immune Complexes (I A-CIC) in Non-Insulin- b 5 atients With ependent Diabetes Mellitus

Significance of serum IgA and IgA-class circulating immune complexes (IgA-CIC) elevation in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) was described. Seventeen patients with NIDDM and 17 patients with diffuse mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis without deposition of IgA (DPGN) as controls were examined. The levels of serum IgA in patients with NIDDM were significantly higher than those in patients with DPGN @ < 0.01). The levels of IgA-CIC in patients with NIDDM were also significantly higher than those in patients with DPGN @ d 0.01). Production of IgA derived from B cells and the proportion of IgA bearing B cells in