HUMAN A- AND B-LIKE ANTIGENS ON RED CELLS OF MARMOSETS

ABO blood groups in the primate species of Cebidae from the Amazon region

The ABO blood groups were determined in blood and saliva collected from 40 Aotus infulatus, 74 Saimiri sciureus, and 96 Cebus apella from the Amazonian region along the Tocantins river. Saliva samples were tested for human ABH antigens by a standard hemagglutination inhibition test. Aotus infulatus showed monomorphism, exhibiting only the B blood group. Saimiri sciureus exhibited the A (67) and AB (7) phenotypes. All four phenotypes have been found in C. apella: O (8), A (52), B (19) and AB (17). The observed distribution was as expected assuming Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The titers of ABH substances varied among the species and phenotypes. The B-like agglutinogen, common to all New World monkey species tested, was detected in the red blood cells. Sera were used to detect naturally occurring antibodies and the results showed discrepancies between serum and saliva phenotypes in all species studied.

Red cell polymorphisms in nonhuman primates: a review

Development as well as current status of the knowledge of nonhuman primate blood groups are discussed together with some practical implications of the red cell antigen polymorphisms in anthropoid apes, Old and New World monkeys and prosimians. Recent data on molecular biology and genetics throw light on the relationships among simian and human red cell antigens and their evolutionary pathways.

The human natural anti-Gal IgG. III. The subtlety of immune tolerance in man as demonstrated by crossreactivity between natural anti-Gal and anti-B antibodies

A well-defined antigen/antibody system was used to evaluate the effect of immune tolerance on the spectrum of specificities of natural antibodies. The antibody used in this study, anti-Gal, is a naturally occurring, polyclonal IgG that constitutes 1% of the circulating IgG in humans. We have previously shown that anti-Gal, purified from AB sera, specifically interacts with glycosphingolipids bearing a Gal alpha 1----3Gal epitope, but not with the closely related B antigen in which the penultimate galactose of the Gal alpha 1----3Gal epitope is fucosylated Gal alpha 1----3(Fuc alpha 1----2)Gal. This narrow specificity was assumed to be the result of an effective immune tolerance mechanism that prevents the expression of antibody clones that can recognize both the Gal alpha 1----3Gal and the self B epitopes. If the assumption that immune tolerance determines the range of anti-Gal specificity is correct, then anti-Gal from individuals lacking the B antigen (A and O blood types) would be expected to interact with both Gal alpha 1----3Gal and Gal alpha 1----3(Fuc alpha 1----2)Gal epitopes. In this study, anti-Gal from the serum of individuals of various blood types was purified by affinity chromatography on Gal alpha 1----3Gal adsorbent and tested for its reaction with the B antigen. Whereas anti-Gal from AB and B individuals only reacted with Gal alpha 1----3Gal epitopes, anti-Gal from A and O individuals reacted with both Gal alpha 1----3Gal and B epitopes. Furthermore, it was determined that the majority of anti-B reactivity in A and O individuals is in fact anti-Gal antibodies capable of recognizing both Gal alpha 1----3Gal and B epitopes. It can be concluded from these results that immune tolerance accurately controls the spectrum of natural antibody specificities by preventing the production of antibody clones that can interact with self antigens.

ABO blood groups in a natural population of black-handed tamarins (Saguinus midas niger)

Eighty-one black-handed tamarins from the Tucurui region were tested for human type ABO blood groups by salivary inhibition tests. Eleven belonged to the A group, 45 to B, and 25 to AB. The serum samples were tested for the presence of agglutinins having specificities like those of humans. The ABO system appeared to be polymorphic, with three alleles occurring at the following frequencies: A = 0.26, B = 0.66, and O = 0.08. The observed distribution fitted the expected on the basis of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.