Contribution of glycolipids to species-specific antigens on erythrocytes of several animal species as to recognition of antigens with rabbit anti-glycolipids and anti-erythrocyte antisera.

Because anti-glycolipid antibodies are involved in the onset of several neurological diseases, the reactivity of glycolipids on erythrocytes and the probability of generating the antibodies were determined to clarify the contribution of glycolipids as antigens. Anti-erythrocyte antisera reacted with the following glycolipids in a species-specific manner, i.e. blood group A-active glycolipid for man, Forssman glycolipid for sheep, Gg(3)Cer for guinea pig, and Gg(4)Cer and fucosyl GM1 for rat, and the hemolytic activities of the anti-erythrocyte antisera were attenuated by absorption of the antisera with liposomes prepared from the lipids of erythrocytes to the following levels, 94.5% for man, 24.5% for sheep, 17.5% for guinea pig, and 54.5% for rat. These species-specific glycolipids on erythrocytes reacted well with the respective anti-glycolipid antisera, but Gb(4)Cer in man and GM1 in rat were shown to be cryptic on immunization with erythrocytes, indicating that the contribution of glycolipids as erythrocyte antigens differs among animal species.