Autoagglutinins to Trypsinized Human Erythrocytes

Abstract
615 human sera taken from healthy donors, pregnant women and patients with various diseases were tested against human erythrocytes of blood group·which had been treated with trypsin. In healthy donors, 7 of 252 (2.8%) sera showed positive reaction, whereas in systemic lupus erythematosus 12 of 49 (24.5%) sera were positive. The agglutination occurred at an optimum temperature of 20 °C. Consistently negative results were observed in indirect antiglobulin tests. The agglutinin was a mercaptoethanol-sensitive macromolecule. It was apparently an immune antibody to an antigen which is present under the cell surface of all human erythrocytes.