Spectrin autoantibodies in normal human serum and in polyclonal blood grouping sera

Naturally occurring spectrin autoantibody was detected in normal human sera and in polyclonal blood grouping sera by the immunoblotting technique. The autoantibody seems to be IgG, stable, of high titre and low affinity. It was detected in all sera tested. Preparations of monoclonal antibodies directed against some blood group antigens and anti-A1 lectin reagent were devoid of spectrin autoantibody as expected. This autoantibody may be instrumental in clearing red cell membrane components from the circulation during haemolysis. Care must be exercised in studies designed to determine the association of some blood group antigens with the red cell membrane skeleton, when using polyclonal sera which contain spectrin autoantibodies in addition to the antibodies against the blood group antigen in question.