CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ANTI-A ANTIBODY-RESPONSE FOLLOWING AN ABO INCOMPATIBLE (A2 TO O) KIDNEY-TRANSPLANTATION

Anti-A,B antibodies produced in a blood group OLe(a - b -) recipient receiving a kidney graft from a blood group A2Le(a - b +) donor have been analysed for their ability to bind to different glycosphingolipid antigens. Solid-phase RIA using pure glycosphingolipid antigens and a chromatogram binding assay using total nonacid glycosphingolipid fractions from erythrocytes of different human blood group phenotypes together with pure glycolipid antigens were used as assay systems. Serum antibodies were shown to bind equally well to A (types 1, 2, 3 and 4) and B (types 1 and 2) antigenic structures but no binding to H antigens (types 1, 2 and 4) was detected. After adsorption of serum antibodies on A1Le(a - b +) erythrocytes there was a residual anti-A antibody activity which could not be adsorbed by synthetic A-trisaccharides coupled to crystalline silica (Synsorb(R)-A). These residual antibodies, which are not present in a pretransplant serum sample, had a specificity for the A antigen with type 1 core saccharide chain and the binding epitope obviously included both the N-acetylgalactosamine and the N-acetylglucosamine. The fucose residue was apparently not obligate for binding. The conformation of the sugar units involved in the binding epitope was determined.