Human IgE synthesis in vitro by pokeweed mitogen-stimulated human lymphoid cells: Verification with a reconfirmed ε-specific radioimmunoassay

This study was performed to address the controversy concerning human IgE biosynthesis in vitro induced by stimulation with pokeweed mitogen (PWM) or other agents. The controversy has focused on the specificity of reagents employed for quantitatively determining human IgE in culture supernatant fluids. Specifically, questions have been raised as to whether certain anti-human IgE antibody reagents possess anti-idiotypic reactivities, thereby resulting in reactions with Fab determinants of polyclonal immunoglobulins which would yield false-positive readings of IgE protein levels. We present a detailed analysis confirming that the goat anti-human IgE antibody designated GAHE(PS), which was initially isolated by affinity chromatography with the same IgE(PS) myeloma protein used for immunization, binds poorly, if at all, with IgG, IgA, or IgM immunoglobulins, even at excessive concentrations (100 μg/ml). Moreover, GAHE(PS) displayed no reactivity with Fab fragments of IgG or free L-chains prepared from pooled polyclonal IgG isolated from Cohn fraction II. A second GAHE reagent was prepared by purification by affinity chromatography on a second, completely unrelated IgE myeloma protein (DZA), which differed from IgE(PS) in light chain class, thereby resulting in a reagent, designated GAHE(DZA), which was completely devoid of any possible reactivity with L-chain or idiotypic determinants affiliated with IgE(PS). By utilizing both reagents, the studies presented here confirmed that PWM-stimulated human lymphoid cell cultures synthesize increased quantities of IgE, which can be detected in comparable amounts by both GAHE(DZA) and GAHE(PS) in supernatant fluids from such cultures. Because incorporation of the reversible protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide, totally abolished the PWM-induced increases in IgE levels in such cultures, these results verify that such increases reflect de novo synthesis of human IgE as a result of PWM stimulation in vitro.