Immunoglobulin-secreting cells in primary immunodeficiency diseases.

To assess immunoglobulin production in vivo, the numbers of immunoglobulin-secreting cells were measured in uncultured peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with primary immunoglobulin deficiency. The numbers of immunoglobulin-secreting cells were found to be variable, and they were well correlated with the serum concentrations of all three major immunoglobulin classes. Our results suggest that measurement of immunoglobulin-secreting cells in PBMCs is useful in the assessment of the ability to produce immunoglobulin in vivo.