A Factor in Respiratory Tract Secretions Interfering with the Wonium Sulfate Test of Faftr

Abstract

Human nasal fluids, sputum and saliva inhibited the precipitation of globulins by ammonium sulfate. The factor responsible for such inhibition has been partly characterized, and could be separated from the immunoglobulins in these exocrine fluids by Sepharose 4B gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography or ultracentrifugation. These exocrine fluids also agglutinated tanned red blood cells non-specifically and prevented precipitation of nanogram quantities of antigen-antibody complexes, although immune precipitation of microgram quantities of antigen-antibody complexes was not inhibited. Fractions of exocrine fluids that interfered with one test also affected the others. The mechanism of such interference remains obscure.