IgG red blood cell autoantibodies in autoimmune hemolytic anemia bind to epitopes on red blood cell membrane band 3 glycoprotein

Abstract

Red blood cell (RBC) autoantibodies from patients with IgG warm-type autoimmune hemolytic anemia were labeled with iodine 125 and their RBC binding behavior characterized. Epitope-bearing RBC membrane polypeptides were identified after autoantibody immunoprecipitation of labeled membranes and immunoblotting. Immunoaffinity isolation of labeled membrane proteins with 12 different IgG hemolytic autoantibodies with protein A-agarose revealed a major polypeptide at Mr 95 to 110 kd, which coelectrophoresed on sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a membrane component isolated with sheep IgG anti-band 3. Immunoprecipitation studies with chymotrypsinized RBCs resulted in the recovery of two labeled membrane polypeptides with molecular weights characteristically resulting from the chymotryptic fragmentation of band 3. Immunoblotting with sheep IgG anti-band 3 of the immunoprecipitated polypeptides confirmed that hemolytic autoantibody binding led to recovery of band 3 or its fragments. Two 125I-labeled IgG hemolytic autoantibodies showed binding behavior consistent with epitope localization on band 3. The labeled RBC autoantibodies bound immunospecifically to all types of human RBC tested, including those of rare Rh type (Rh-null, D--) at a site density of approximately 10(6) per RBC. The 125I-IgG in two labeled autoantibodies was 84% and 92% adsorbable by human and higher nonhuman primate RBCs. Antigen-negative animal RBC bound less than 10% (dog, 2.6%; rhesus monkey, 7.4%), consistent with immunospecific RBC binding. IgG-1 was the major subclass in five autoantibodies tested; one of six fixed complement; and autoantibody IgG appeared polyclonal by isoelectric focusing. We conclude that IgG eluted from RBCs of patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia consists predominantly of a single totally RBC-adsorbable antibody population that binds to antigenic determinants on band 3. Unlike RBC autoantibodies from antiglobulin-positive normal blood donors, autoantibodies from patients with autoimmune hemolytic anemia did not show Rh-dependent properties as judged by antigen site density, absence of differential binding to RBC of different Rh phenotypes, failure to immunoprecipitate 30 kd Rh-epitope bearing membrane polypeptides, absence of multiple antibody populations, and the lack of a significant nonadsorbable IgG population that has been associated with the presence of antiidiotypic IgG. The absence of antiidiotypic IgG in hemolytic autoantibodies may be a contributory factor in the development of autoimmune hemolytic anemia.