Half-life of polyreactive antibodies

Monoclonal polyreactive antibodies bind to a variety of self and foreign antigens. In contrast, monoclonal monoreactive antibodies bind to a single or restricted number of known antigens. The rate at which polyreactive antibodies are removed from the circulation compared to monoreactive antibodies has not been determined. In the present experiments, human monoclonal polyreactive and monoreactive antibodies of different isotypes were injected intravenously into mice and the clearance from the circulation was determined. The half-life of polyreactive IgM, IgA, and IgG antibodies was 8.0, 8.2, and 9.8 hr, respectively, compared to 35.4, 26.6, and 280 hr for monoreactive IgM, IgA, and IgG antibodies, respectively. Examination of tissue sections from animals given intravenous antibody showed substantial deposition of polyreactive, but not monoreactive, antibodies in several organs, the liver being the principal site of deposition. It is concluded that polyreactive antibodies are cleared from the circulation substantially faster than monoreactive antibodies.