Low Secretory IgA

[Guest guest]

Rich,

I have very low secretory IGA in my faeces, but I have normal secretory IGA in

saliva,

Can you explain this?

>>Another possibility is that some bacteria are able to produce

>>protease enzymes that can break down IgA

Do you know which bacteria produce protease enzymes?

Thanks, Lene

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Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 00:06:20 -0000

From: " rvankonynen <richvank@...> " <richvank@...>

Subject: Low Secretory IgA

Hi, all.

Somebody from the list sent me a question off-list about low

secretory IgA a while back, and I have misplaced the e-mail and

can't remember who sent it. Sorry about that. So I will answer it

on the list, and hope whoever it was sees this post.

Secretory IgA is the main type of immunoglobulin (antibody) that is

used by the immune system to protect mucosal surfaces, such as in

the intestinal tract, from pathogens. It is secreted as a dimer,

with two antibodies connected together by a so-called J-chain, using

disulfide bonds.

I have heard from several PWCs that they are low in secretory IgA.

So why is it low, and what can be done about it?

When something is found to be at lower than normal amounts in the

body, there are always two possibilities that should be considered.

Either the substance is being taken in or made at a lower than

normal rate, or it is being used or lost at a higher than normal

rate, or both.

Being a proponent of the glutathione and cysteine depletion

hypothesis, I am always on the lookout for this as a possibility to

explain features observed in CFS. In this case, there is an obvious

possible connection. Since secretory IgA must be joined to the J-

chain with disulfide bonds, and since these involve cysteine, it

seems likely that a deficiency in secretory IgA might stem directly

from depletion of cysteine.

Another possibility is that some bacteria are able to produce

protease enzymes that can break down IgA. Perhaps an overgrowth of

such bacteria, resulting from other factors, could be wiping out the

IgA. In this case, you have to wonder how the bacteria got the best

of the secretory IgA in the first place, but maybe this happened

because of the loss of the cleansing peristaltic waves.

In view of these hypotheses, it seems to me that the most promising

approaches to raising the level of secretory IgA would be (1) to

supplement cysteine, either in the form of undenatured whey protein,

such as ImmunePro Rx, or if there is an allergy to whey protein, in

the form of N-acetylcysteine; and (2) to try to get the upper hand

on the bacteria, by one of the methods we have been discussing on

the basis of Dr. Pimentel's work; i.e. by fasting for two weeks, if

you have enough reserves and can tolerate that, or by use of an

elemental diet, or by use of low-dose erythromycin or the other

drug, if you can find a cooperating doctor.

Rich

Venlig hilsen / Kind regards,

Lene