Basic science for the clinician 58: IgG subclasses

In evolutionary terms, IgG is the most recent addition to the human humoral immune response, the most recent of the 5 isotypes (classes). The IgG 4 subclasses and their multiple receptors, each with a unique structure and functions, speak to their broad repertoire of often overlapping functions. The IgG subclasses differ only slightly in structure, but therein lies their unique qualities. Focusing solely on the clinical niches filled by each and the clinical correlations thereof allows one to clearly see nature in its abhorrence of, and skill in filling, vacuums. One of the IgG subclasses, IgG4, the least in serum concentration, has recently become the topic of intense interest, as the linkage of certain diseases with IgG4 becomes apparent. As this association is studied, the molecular biology at the root of these diseases becomes the predominant cytokines explaining the pattern of histopathology.