Urinary secretory immunoglobulin A and free secretory component in XXXX .

@entity1 @entity13654 @entity281 @entity1011 @entity2885 @entity2335 @entity293
The immune defense mechanisms of mucosal surfaces involve secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) antibodies and, to a lesser degree, other specific and nonspecific immune factors. These antibodies are dependent on a secretory component (SC) for their transmission through the epithelium. This SC is also secreted without Ig as @entity13654 ( @entity13654 ). The kidney does produce these proteins; however, the ability of the lower urinary tract to secrete them has not been shown. Thus, an @entity293 should produce more urinary sIg and possibly more @entity13654 than a lower tract @entity281 . To demonstrate this, urine was obtained from normal controls (N = 33), @entity2335 @entity1 (N = 22), and @entity2885 @entity1 (N = 27). Monoclonal antibodies binding to specific conformational epitopes were used in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect the levels of sIgA and @entity13654 in these groups. Previous sIgA measurements have been hampered by lack of specificity of the capture antibody. Urine @entity1011 was obtained to correct for the effect of diuresis. A one-tailed Student's t-test for nonparametric populations was performed to assess differences. The sIgA levels in the normal and @entity2335 groups were equivalent (1.4 micrograms/mg/mL and 1.3 micrograms/mg/mL, respectively; P = 0.32). When these two groups were compared with the @entity2885 group (24.1 micrograms/mg/mL), a statistically significant difference was seen (P = 0.012 and P = 0.011, respectively), with no overlap. There was a statistical difference in the levels of @entity13654 in these same groups, but a large degree of overlap.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
