Immunoglobulins & Subclasses
Immunoglobulins (Ig)
IgG,A and M
The quantification of serum immunoglublins is a vital first-line test in the investigation of primary immunodeficiency. These diagnostic assays test fo the presense of a gammaglobulinemia and hypogammaglobulinemia. The results are often the basis for further investigative testing such as IgG Subclass testing and antibody function. Over half of individuals diagnosed with primary immunodiffeciencies have defects in immunoglobulins.
IgE
Measurement of total IgE can be useful to aid in the diagnosis of various disease.
Elevated IgE levels can be found in allergic disorders, atopy, Hyper IgE Syndromes (HIES), immune deficiencies, liver diseases, malignancies, parasitic infections, graft-versus host disease,severe burns and some viral infections.
IgG Subclasses
The measurement of IgG subclasses can aid in the diagnosis of many immunodeficiency disorders including IgG subclass deficiency, IgA with IgG subclass deficiency, common variable immunodeficiency and specific antibody deficiency.
Patients with recurrent infections may still present with normal or elevated IgG levels making diagnosis of immune deficiency difficult. In these circumstances IgG subclass measurements may be a useful tool for diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency alongside other tests. There is often a delayed diagnosis of these patients resulting in a reduction of quality of life.
Standardisation
Calibration of an assay against an internationally recognised reference preparation will ensure that sample results remain accurate and consistent. In 1997 Carr-Smith et al. assigned IgG subclass values to the international serum protein reference material CRM470 which is the most commonly used reference material for commercial IgG assays. All Binding Site IgG subclass
assays were subsequently calibrated against CRM470, with conversion factors available for customers wishing to compare results with those obtained in assays calibrated against the much earlier reference material WHO67/97 which is no longer available. A new international reference material, ERM®-DA470k/IFCC (DA470K; Institute for Reference Materials and Management), has been produced. Binding Site assays have been shown to give accurate results when evaluated against this material.
IgG Subclasses Binding Site Optilite® Analyser
| DESCRIPTION | PACK | CODE |
| IgG1 Optilite kit | 100 test | NK006.OPT |
| Range 0.15-144, sensitivity 0.15 (g/L) | ||
| IgG2 Optilite kit | 100 test | NK007.OPT |
| Range 0.02-28, sensitivity 0.02 (g/L) | ||
| IgG3 Optilite kit | 100 test | LK008.OPT |
| Range 0.0055-8.8, sensitivity 0.0055 (g/L) | ||
| IgG4 Optilite kit | 100 test | LK009.OPT |
| Range 0.0043-64.8, sensitivity 0.0043 (g/L) |
IgA Subclasses
IgA subclass concentrations can assist in the investigation of immunodeficiency, autoimmune and infectious diseases.
Latex enhanced reagents are provided for most assays enabling the quantitation of low levels of specific antibody. Each kit contains controls, calibrators and full instructions for running the assay. Units in brackets apply to both range and sensitivity.
IgA Subclasses Binding Site Optilite® Analyser
| DESCRIPTION | PACK | CODE |
| IgA1 Optilite kit | 50 test | NK087.OPT |
| Range 0.035-6, sensitivity 0.035 (g/L) | ||
| IgA2 Optilite kit | 50 test | LK088.OPT |
| Range 0.005-1.25, sensitivity 0.005 (g/L) |