CIRCULATING SOLUBLE IMMUNE-COMPLEXES IN RECURRENT ORAL ULCERATION AND BEHCETS SYNDROME

Abstract

Circulating Ig[immunoglobulin]G immune complexes were assayed by means of agglutination inhibition of IgG-coated latex particles to human IgG by rabbit IgM antibodies. Sera from 30 patients with Behcet''s syndrome, 30 patients with recurrent oral ulcers and 30 healthy control subjects were analyzed. There were raised levels of immune complexes in 60% of patients with Behcet''s syndrome and in 40% of patients with recurrent oral ulcers. There were significant differences in the levels of immune complexes between the neuro-ocular and arthritic types of Behcet''s syndrome as compared with the muco-cutaneous type of Behcet''s syndrome or recurrent oral ulceration. A close association was found between the disease activity and the amount of immune complexes. Immune complexes may play a part in the transition from the epithelial involvement of mucosa or cutaneous tissues to the neuro-ocular and arthritic types of Behcet''s syndrome. Another factor in tissue distribution might be the size of immune complexes, as multi-focal involvement of tissues in the neuro-ocular type of Behcet''s syndrome is associated with a broad range of immune complexes from 3 .times. 105 to 3 .times. 106 daltons.