Interactions of IgM ABO antibodies and complement with methoxy-PEG-modified human RBCs

RBCs modified with cyanuric chloride activated methoxy-PEG (CmPEG; 5000 Da) are less immunogenic than untreated RBCs, and their use thus may reduce the risk of alloimmunization in chronically transfused patients.

To further examine the potential utility of CmPEG-RBCs, the effects of derivatization on an arm of the immune system that plays an important role in transfusion rejection-the complement system--were determined.

When CmPEG-RBCs were incubated in autologous or heterologous ABO-matched serum, no classical or alternative pathway consumption was found, no C3a was generated, no cell-bound C3b or C9 was detected, and no cell lysis occurred. Cell-bound complement regulation was normal for CmPEG-RBCs, as determined by acidified serum or reactive lysis assays. CmPEG-RBCs differed from control RBCs only when incubated in ABO-mismatched serum. In that case, CmPEG modification failed to protect against ABO antibody-dependent complement-mediated lysis. Indeed, cell lysis was actually enhanced at CmPEG concentrations >1.0 mM.

The enhanced lysis of CmPEG-RBCs in ABO-mismatched serum correlated with increased IgM binding and C3a generation and elevated C3b and C9 membrane deposition. While PEG modification effectively blocks non-ABO antigens, these data show that ABO matching is still required. Once ABO-matched, these modified RBCs retain great potential for the prevention of alloimmunization.