Spectrotypic analysis of IgM and IgA rheumatoid factors

The spectrotypes of IgA and IgM rheumatoid factors (RF) were analysed in whole serum as well as immunoglobulin fractions and purified RF from patients with one of three autoimmune disorders. As predicted from the pI ranges of normal human serum IgM and IgA in agarose, IgM RF had near neutral pIs, whereas IgA RF showed more acidic (lower) pI values. Serum IgA and IgM RF from patients with rheumatoid arthritis or the sicca syndrome showed considerable charge heterogeneity whereas IgM RF from mixed cryoglobulinaemia or rheumatoid vasculitis patients showed monoclonal and oligoclonal banding patterns respectively. Clonotypic analysis was best achieved with isolated light and heavy chains from highly purified RF. The IgA RF spectrotypes from unmodified paired serum and saliva IgA were clearly different whereas after desialation, similar pI values and, in one case, similar spectrotypes were observed. These observations are compatible with the hypothesis that serum and saliva IgA RF are derived from similar clonal precursors. The methods used in these studies may also be of use in the analysis of IgA and IgM antibody diversity in a number of other situations.