ABSTRACT
Studies of 521 sera from the Icelandic cousin marriage project were made to assess the incidence of various anti-tissue antibodies and the levels of immunoglobulins, as these were considered to be useful markers of the humoral immune response. Comparisons were made between these parameters and the HLA-A and B antigens, the blood groups, the immunoglobulin allotypes (Gm, Km and Am), the properdin factor (Bf), and other markers. These investigations offered another approach to the study of the sites of action of immune response genes in man. Because the immune response may be expected to differ for each individual and depend at least in part, on the degree of exposure to different antigens, no absolute correlation was expected. There was, however, a marked association between certain IgG anti-tissue antibodies and HLA antigens. This was most marked for HLA-A10, B18 and b27, but not for HLA-A1 or B8. The comparison of immunoglobulin levels with HLA antigens, was less striking, although HLA-A2 appeared to be associated with low levels of IgE. There were also some associations between immunoglobulin levels and ABO blood groups.