Peripheral immunoglobulin secreting cells in immunodeficiencies ; effects of intravenous immune globulin

Peripheral blood B cells secreting IgG, IgA, IgM, and IgE were quantitated in normal adults (n=12), newborns (n=8), patients with antibody deficiency (n=5), and patients with elevated IgE (four patients) using a reverse enzyme-linked immunospot (RELISPOT) assay. This technique measures immunoglobulin secreted by B cells by capture on an antibody-coated plate, and identified as a plague on a nitrocellulose-membrane plate. Hypogammaglobulinemic patients and newborns (cord blood) showed no detectable IgG, IgA, or IgE secreting cells. Several cord blood and hypogammaglobulinemic patients, however, showed normal adult numbers of IgM secreting cells