FIND ARTICLE

Volume: 
Supplement: 
16
Date of issue: 
Human sera , old world monkeys and primates contain unique anti- Gal antibody directed against an epitope Gala1 - 3Galb1 - 4GlcNAc (a- gal ) . Antibodies with such specificity are the most common antibodies in the sera of a group of species. The anti- Gal are involved in a number of processes related to the defense of the organism , but they may also be involved in the pathogenesis of certain diseases. Anti -Gal could potentially be a first line of defense against certain parasites , viruses and bacteria ; activate the complement cascade on the surface of some tumor cells , regulate the disposal of old and abnormal red blood cells. Elevated levels of anti -Gal demonstrated in several autoimmune diseases , including Graves' disease , where these antibodies activate the thyroid follicular cells . Anti- Gal is also the first barrier for successful transplantation of organs of mammals such as swine , human, as most of the antibodies responsible for hyperacute rejection of such transplants is anti -Gal .
Author of the article: 

The Editorial Board
Andrzej Łukaszyk - przewodniczący, Zofia Bielańska-Osuchowska, Szczepan Biliński, Mieczysław Chorąży, Aleksander Koj, Włodzimierz Korochoda, Leszek Kuźnicki, Aleksandra Stojałowska, Lech Wojtczak

Editorial address:
Katedra i Zakład Histologii i Embriologii Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Poznaniu, ul. Święcickiego 6, 60-781 Poznań, tel. +48 61 8546453, fax. +48 61 8546440, email: mnowicki@ump.edu.pl

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