IgM rheumatoid factor and the inhibition of covalent binding of C4b to IgG in immune complexes

J N Jarvis1, J C Lockman, R P Levine

  • 1James S. McDonnell Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.

Work by other investigators has shown that IgM-rheumatoid factors (IgM-RF's) can impede complement-mediated inhibition of immune precipitation. We examined the binding of complement component C4b to radiolabelled IgG in model immune complexes and demonstrate that IgM-RF's are capable of reducing the covalent binding of C4b to 125I-IgG in the complexes. Reduced binding to IgG, however, may not be accompanied by binding of C4b to IgM-RF's within the complex, as we also demonstrate that IgM-RF's are relatively poor at C4b capture compared with normal IgM.

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