A Naturally Occurring Monospecific Anti‐HL‐A8 Isoantibody

Abstract

Aided in part by a grant from the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research. A case is reported of a 34‐year‐old female with chronic thyroiditis, multiple upper respiratory ailments, and a monospecific anti‐HL–A8 lymphocytotoxic isoantibody occurring in her serum in the absence of prior pregnancy or transfusion. The antibody showed a rise in titer over several years of observation and was contained wholly within the IgM serum fraction, which fraction was mildly increased above normal values. Whether the antibody reflects cross‐reaction to exogenous antigens or a spontaneous monoclonal proliferative phenomenon, the case is of interest in relation to Jerne's theory of the generation of antibody diversity.