Autoantibody Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.
These are the MediaLab courses that cover Autoantibody and links to relevant pages within the course.
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| Example Of An Autoantibody (warm) The auto control and all panel cells are showing reactivity at the AHG phase which indicates a possible autoantibody (warm).IS = Immediate Spin; AHG = Antihuman Globulin Phase; CC = Check Cells; AC = Auto Control; ND= Not done | View Page |
| Cold antibodies Most are IgM and not clinically significant May interfere with detection of clinically significant antibodies if they react at AHG phase. Screen cells and panel cells will have positive reactions in IS phase and strength will diminish or antibody will not be detected at AHG phase. Auto control will be positive if the cold antibody is an autoantibody. Binding of antibody to antigen occurs at room or colder temperatures and may start to disassociate from the red cell membrane at warmer temperatures. Reactions will appear weaker or be negative at warmer temperatures. (Example: 4+ at IS phase and W (weak)+ at AHG phase.) PrewarmingIf a non specific cold antibody or cold agglutinin is suspected, warm the sample and testing reagents, including saline, to 37° C. Only do reaction readings at AHG; bypassing the optimum reaction temperature prevents activation and binding of the cold antibody . | View Page |
| Is It a Cold or a Warm Autoantibody? Cold antibody Immediate spin screen and panel cell reactions will be postive (W+ to 4+). The auto control may also be positive. AHG reactions may be weakly positive if the cold antibody is bound strongly to the red cells. Prewarming should prevent binding from occuring. So, prewarm panels and tests should have negative reactions.Warm antibody Immediate spin screen, panel cell and auto control usually not positive. AHG reactions will be positive including auto control (W+ to 4+). Prewarming of sample and reagents will not change positive reactions since they react best at 37°C and AHG phase. So, reactions will still be positive. Elution and autoadsorption techniques may be used to help further identify the antibody or to help identify other clinically significant antibodies that may be present.AutoadsorptionAutoadsorption is a technique that involves adsorbing unbound autoantibody from the patient's serum using the patient's own red cells. Once the autoantibody is removed, then testing can be performed to determine if any clinically significant antibodies are present. | View Page |
| What is an advanced technique that can help to determine the identity of other clinically significant antibodies that are present if a patient has a warm autoantibody? | View Page |
| Cold Autoantibody Example Reactions are occurring strongly in IS phase but are weaker in AHG phase which could be due to some disassociation of the cold antibody occurring at the warmer testing phase.Prewarming of all reagents and sample will prevent binding of cold antibody. If the W+ reactions at AHG are due to residual cold antibody, the reactions should be negative with a prewarmed panel. No IS phase reading is performed. Prewarmed Panel | View Page |
| When to Suspect an Autoantibody Autoantibody (Cold or Warm)Suspect an autoantibody if: All panel and screen cells are positive and auto control is positive. Reaction strength in all the cells will be the same.Cold autoantibody: strongest reactions occur at immediate spin phase. Reactions may weaken in strength at 37°C and AHG.Warm autoantibody: strongest reaction occurs at AHG. Reactions may be seen at 37°C and usually not seen at immediate spin. | View Page |
| Immune Antibodies Immune antibodies occur in the serum of individuals who become sensitized to foreign antigens through pregnancy or transfusion. IgM predominates in the primary response, IgG in the secondary response. Most react at 37°C and are considered clinically significant. Examples include antibodies in the Kell, Rh, Duffy, and Kidd systems. Immune antibodies can be classified as alloantibodies or autoantibodies.Alloantibodies Produced by exposure to foreign red cell antigens which are non-self antigens but are of the same species. They react only with allogenic cells. Exposure occurs through pregnancy or transfusion. Examples include anti-K and anti-E. Autoantibodies Produced in an autoimmune process and directed against one's own red cell antigens. React with patient's own cells and all cells tested. Can possibly mask the presence of other significant antibodies. It is very important to make sure that no underlying significant antibodies are present if an autoantibody is suspected. A positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT) or auto control could indicate the presence of an autoantibody. Examples include cold auto (P or I) or warm auto (Rh specificity). | View Page |
| Which of the following antigen groups is closely related to the ABO system: | View Page |