Chromatographic and electrophoretic studies of immune complexes in non-A, non-B hepatitis

Immune complexes isolated from two patients with chronic non-A, non-B hepatitis, one patient with acute non-A, non-B hepatitis and one patient with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis were examined by means of a combined chromatographic and electrophoretic method. Both analyses showed the presence of complexes consisting of IgG, IgM, complement c1q factor and albumin; no antigen constituents were detected. The IgG-to-IgM ratio varied from 1:1 to 4:1, suggesting that one could be dealing with complexes of both IgG-IgM and IgG-IgG types. Moreover, the detectable presence of c1q factor might indicate that such complexes were capable of activating complement.