Monoclonal phosphorylcholine antibody binds to beta-lipoprotein from different animal species.

Previously published observations have demonstrated that murine antibody with specificity for phosphorylcholine (PC) binds to a variety of PC-containing polysaccharides and to human beta-lipoprotein. In this investigation it was found that monoclonal anti-PC antibody binds not only to human beta-lipoprotein, but also to beta-lipoprotein from the serum of all vertebrate species examined. beta-Lipoprotein from mouse reacted with autologous antibody; therefore, this antibody must be an autoantibody. This raises the question whether PC antibodies may exert unwanted effects after having been passively transferred or induced by PC-containing antigens, e.g., C-polysaccharide from pneumococci.