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The causes of increase and decrease in B-lymphocytes carrying IgM
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 19.10.2021
An increase in the number of B-lymphocytes with IgM-receptors is characteristic of the acute phase of the inflammatory process. If increases in B-lymphocytes with IgM receptors in the acute period of the disease are not detected, this indicates a lack of humoral immunity associated with a violation of the synthesis of IgM. The number of B-lymphocytes with IgM receptors increases earlier than the increase in IgM concentration in the blood, so this indicator can be used for the early diagnosis of infectious diseases. Myeloma, synthesizing IgM, is characterized by a predominance of B-lymphocytes with IgM receptors in the blood. With lymphocytic leukemia, the determination of the number of B-lymphocytes with IgM receptors in the blood makes it possible to clarify the localization of the B-lymphocyte maturation block. Absence or a small amount of B-lymphocytes with IgM receptors indicates that the block occurred at the level of pre-B lymphocytes.
Diseases and conditions leading to a change in the number of B-lymphocytes carrying IgM
| Increase in the | Decrease in the indicator |
|
Acute and chronic bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections Chronic liver disease, cirrhosis Autoimmune diseases Rheumatoid arthritis Systemic lupus erythematosus Acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia |
Physiological hypogammaglobulinemia (in children aged 3-5 months) Congenital hypogammaglobulinemia or agammaglobulinemia Diseases that lead to the exhaustion of the immune system: Neoplasms of the immune system; Condition after spleen removal; Treatment with cytostatics and immunosuppressants; Ionizing radiation Chronic viral infection |