Immune response in patients with amoebiasis: evaluation of IgG-subclasses

In order to evaluate the immune response with respect to IgG-subclasses (IgG1-IgG4) in patients with extraintestinal amoebiasis, an ELISA technique was established. It was the aim of this pilot study to quantify the IgG subclass response and to compare the resulting pattern with other systemic protozoal infections. Our results give evidence that IgG4 contributes to more than one third of the total immune response, followed by IgG2, IgG3 and IgG1. Regarding the IgG4 response in patients with Plasmodium falciparum malaria or Chagas disease, IgG4 plays only a minor role in these systemic protozoal infections. The interpretation of a prognostic value of the high IgG4 titres in our patients is not possible at present. However, in patients with a prolonged clinical course of extraintestinal amoebiasis, extremely high IgG4 titres were observed.