[Ordering of antibodies, that react with cardiac muscle fiber and interstitial connective tissue antigens, in...

Sera of patients suffering from rheumatic diseases and myocarditis were examined on the sections of human and bovine myocardial tissue by indirect immunofluorescence with the use of pure IgG antibodies or monospecific sera against IgG, IgA and IgM. It was shown that antibodies reacting with different myofibers and interstitial connective tissue of the heart belong to the main immunoglobulin classes (IgG, IgA and IgM). There was a significant predominance of IgG antibodies as shown by the frequency of their detection and by the titer height. The predominance of antibodies to certain classes of immunoglobulins did not correlate with a specific disease entity. The frequency of detecting antibodies to a certain immunoglobulin class was in good agreement with the time of the disease onset. Moreover, the frequency of positive reactions due to IgG, IgA, and IgM antibodies correlated with the level of the appropriate immunoglobulins in the test sera.