Thermoinactivation of human IgE: antigenic and functional modifications

The thermoinactivation kinetics of IgE were studied in experimental models revealing the antigenic properties and the basophil-sensitizing capacity of these immunoglobulins. A pool of human sera containing anti-Dactylis glomerata (Dg) IgE was heated from 5 min up to 4 hr at 56 degrees. The IgE antigenicity was tested by two polyclonal 125I-labelled anti-IgE antibodies; one anti-IgE was specific of the whole Fc epsilon region, while the other had a specificity restricted to the D epsilon 2 domain. Radioimmunoassays showed that the D epsilon 2 epitopes were more rapidly altered than the D epsilon 1 epitopes. The capacity of IgE to bind to basophil Fc epsilon receptors was assayed by passive sensitization experiments. Basophil sensitivity towards the Dg pollen extract was tested by histamine release experiments in the presence of this allergen. A progressive decrease in cell sensitivity was observed when IgE samples used for cell sensitization were heated for longer than 5 min. Thermoinactivation kinetics of IgE revealed an unexpected increase in the apparent quantity and biological activity of IgE heated for 5 min at 56 degrees. This fact could be due to auto-anti-IgE antibodies linked to the unheated IgE and which interfere with the biological activities of IgE and their quantification.