The uptake of Aspergillus fumigatus protein by serum IgG antibody from patients with pulmonary aspergillosis

Summary A method is presented for measuring the uptake of Aspergillus fumigatus protein by IgG antibodies from human serum. The human IgG is first isolated with an anti-IgG conjugated immunosorbent and then incubated with radio-iodinated A. fumigatus protein. A group of twenty-three control sera gave the same background levels as tests without sera. The highest uptake of A. fumigatus protein was given by the sera of patients with aspergilloma, and lower values were obtained with six out of thirteen sera from patients with asthma and twenty-five out of twenty-eight sera from patients with asthma and pulmonary eosinophilia, i.e. allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis. These results were in agreement with precipitin tests. Inhibition studies with unrelated antigens showed that the reactions were specific for the A. fumigatus protein, of which more was bound by test sera than with a crude extract.