Clinical tolerance and catabolism of plasmin-treated gamma-globulin for intravenous application.

Plasmin-treated gamma-globulin of placental origin was tested in clinical and laboratory studies and found to be suitable for intravenous use both for prophylactic and therapeutic purposes. Plasmin treatment of gamma-globulin (IgG) results in proteolytic cleavage of 60-70% of the molecules into Fab and Fc fragments whereas 30-40% of the molecules are plasmin resistant. The antibody spectrum of plasmin-treated gamma-globulin is similar to that of standard gamma-globulin. Catabolic properties of the plasmin-resistant portion of this preparation and of standard gamma-globulin are identical. Plasmin-treated gamma-globulin has no anticomplementary activity and its intravenous administration is well tolerated even by highly sensitive immunodeficient patients.