The role of precipitating serum antibodies in tuberculosis patients

: The content of serum alpha 1-proteinase inhibitors (alpha 1-PI), alpha 2-macroglobulins, transferrins, albumin, immunoglobulins A, M and G and C3- and C4-complement factors was investigated in a group of patients (n = 35) with pulmonary tuberculosis who showed precipitating antituberculous circulating antibodies having the properties of autoantibodies. A direct relationship between the available circulating antibodies cross-reacting with the tissues and the rate of an extrapulmonary localization of tuberculous process in pulmonary tuberculosis patients, on the one hand, and their inverse relationship to the level of blood alpha 1-PI, on the other, were revealed. It is recommended to define cross-reacting antibodies and alpha 1-PI concentration to predict the risk of extrapulmonary foci of a tuberculous inflammation.