Camacho M T, Outschoorn I, Echevarría C, Kovácová E, Yebra M, Maté I, Auffray P, Téllez A
Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Majadahonda, Spain.
Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1998 Jul;88(1):80-3. doi: 10.1006/clin.1998.4547.
The progression of Coxiella burnetii infection to acute or chronic Q fever has been attributed to biological characteristics of the bacterium and to the host immune response. We measured whether serum levels of total and specific subclasses IgA1 and IgA2 could be correlated with the course of disease in acute and chronic Q fever infections, and with the occurrence of endocarditis. In patients with chronic infection, total IgA2 levels were significantly increased. Q-fever-specific IgA1 antibodies were detectable in both acute and chronic infections, but only patients with endocarditis had IgA2 antibodies to C. burnetii phase II antigens. These findings indicate that the measurement of IgA subclasses may be a useful aid in the serological diagnosis of Q fever. Our results reinforce the idea that immunologically mediated host factors are important in the pathogenesis of Q fever and in the disease outcome of this infection.
伯氏考克斯体感染进展为急性或慢性Q热归因于该细菌的生物学特性和宿主免疫反应。我们测定了总IgA1和IgA2以及特异性亚类IgA1和IgA2的血清水平是否与急性和慢性Q热感染的病程以及心内膜炎的发生相关。在慢性感染患者中，总IgA2水平显著升高。在急性和慢性感染中均可检测到Q热特异性IgA1抗体，但只有心内膜炎患者具有针对伯氏考克斯体II期抗原的IgA2抗体。这些发现表明，IgA亚类的检测可能有助于Q热的血清学诊断。我们的结果强化了这样一种观点，即免疫介导的宿主因素在Q热的发病机制和这种感染的疾病转归中很重要。
