Serum immunoglobulin G subclasses in children infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1

We studied serum concentrations of IgG subclasses in 47 human immunodeficiency virus 1-infected (17 asymptomatic and 30 symptomatic) children. Thirty-nine of 47 (83%) had an abnormality of at least 1 subclass. Sixteen had only elevated IgG1, 6 had only elevated IgG3 and 12 had elevated IgG1 and IgG3 concentrations. IgG2, IgG4 and combined IgG2-IgG4 deficiency was found in 3, 4 and 4 patients, respectively. IgG2 concentrations did not differ between patients with (n = 23) or without (n = 24) bacterial infections. Additionally the number of bacterial infections was similar between the patients with normal or low IgG2 and/or low IgG4. These data indicate that IgG subclass abnormalities are found in most children with human immunodeficiency virus 1 infection, but quantitative deficiencies of specific subclasses do not appear to explain the high frequency of bacterial infections occurring in these patients.