Precipitating Antibodies Against Organic Dust Antigens in Human Sera by Counterimmunoelectrophoresis

¹ Louisiana State University Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy and Immunology, New Orleans
² The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine Clinical Immunology Division, O'Neil Memorial Laboratories of the Good Samaritan Hospital, Baltimore

Serum precipitating antibodies against certain organic dusts and fungi are thought to play a role in pathogenesis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, and possibly "late onset" bronchial asthma by means of complement mediated hypersensitivity reactions, but nothing is known concerning their possible presence in the population at large. We employed the technique of counterimmunoelectrophoresis to determine their incidence in groups of "atopic" asthmatic and "nonatopic" normal individuals. A high incidence of precipitins was demonstrated in all subject categories against ubiquitous organic dust antigens which included several house dust preparations, a locally prevalent vegetable dust, a thermophilic actinomycete and human dandruff. Precipitins against a seasonal pollen antigen (giant ragweed) were only occasionally detected. These data provide the first evidence that antiorganic dust IgG serum precipitins are frequently present in the population at large. Our findings likely reflect the normal host response to prolonged environmental inhalant organic dust exposure. The biologic significance of antiorganic dust serum precipitins is unknown but their presence per se cannot be considered as evidence of pulmonary disease.

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