Eve B. Gordon

Blood Groups of Apes and Monkeys: I. The A‐B‐O Blood Groups in Baboons

Saliva and serum from 124 baboons have been tested for A‐B‐H specificity. All the baboons were secretors and could be classified into one of the three groups, A, B, and AB; there were no baboons of group O. Occasional seeming contradictions to the Landsteiner rule, namely, baboons with A in the saliva and anti‐A in the serum were shown to be due to two different kinds of serological specificity of A, one shared by saliva and red blood cells and designated as As and the other peculiar to red cells alone and designated as Ac. Baboons of groups A and AB have only As, and so can produce antibodies of specificity anti‐Ac‐ A similar explanation accounts for previous observations of occasional spider monkeys with B in the saliva and anti‐B in the serum. Analysis of population data and family material indicates that the A‐B‐O groups are inherited by allelic genes in baboons as in man.

The Relationship of the H Specificity to the ABO Blood Groups

Abstract. Racial differences are demonstrated in the reactions of human red cells of groups A1 and B with anti‐H lectin. These and other findings argue against the concept that H is a precursor of A and B. A more likely hypothesis appears to be that there are individual, racial and species differences in the precursor substance which provides the chemical skeletons to which are added the determinant sugar groups responsible for specificities H, A and B. The differences in reactivity with anti‐H are ascribed to differences in the proximity between the various determinant groups with resulting steric interference with the serologic reactions.

Human‐Type Blood Factors in Gibbons, with Special Reference to the Multiplicity of Serological Specificities of Human Type M Blood

The human‐type blood groups of 20 gibbons of subspecies Hylobates lar lar and of four gibbons of subspecies Hylobates lar pileatus have been determined. Differences in distribution of the ABO blood groups and MN types were observed for the two subspecies, but all 24 gibbons were of Rh‐Hr type RhGi. All the animals also lack both factors I and i. By absorption experiments anti‐M reagents were shown to contain antibodies of at least three distinct M specificities; one M specificity is shared by all gibbon red cells, a second is absent from all gibbon red cells, while a third is shared only by gibbons red cells of type (M)Gi and type (MN)Gi. The theoretical and practical significance of the multiplicity of M factors in human M blood are pointed out.

Comparison of the A-B-H blood group specificities and M-N blood types in man, gibbons (Hylobates), and siamangs (Symphalangus).

Bloods from a total of 57 gibbons (52 Hylobates lar lar, four Hylobates lar pileatus, and one Hylobates hoolock) and two siamang apes (Symphalangus brachytanites) have been tested for human‐type A‐B‐H, M‐N, and Rh‐Hr blood factors. Croups A, B, and AB have been identified in these apes but not group O, and three types corresponding to the human types M, N and MN have been found. All the apes tested gave reactions corresponding to type rh. Tests with anti‐H lectin on gibbon red cells showed a very strong association of this blood factor with red cells of group B, in contrast to the situation in man where factor H is strongly associated with groups O and A2. Corresponding to each of the human agglutinogens M and N are multiple different antisera of specificities anti‐M and anti‐N, of which only particular reagents can be used for M‐N typing of gibbons blood. Findings are also described which demonstrate the usefulness of lectins for A1, H and N blood factors in studies on individual blood differences in man and other primates, as well as of certain bean extracts for demonstrating species‐specific differences among primates.

Blood group homologues in orangutans and gorillas of the human Rh-Hr and the chimpanzee C-E-F systems.

In a previous study on homologues of the human Rh-Hr types in apes, weak agglutination of orangutan red cells by human anti- Rho and anti- hr ’ sera was o

Immunological Relationship between Serum Globulins of Man and of Other Primates, Revealed by a Serological Inhibition Test

By a quantitative inhibition technic chimpanzee serum reacted to almost the same titer as human serum with rabbit anti‐human immune serum; gorilla serum reacted in considerably lower titer, while serum from gibbons, orangutans and monkeys gave little or no inhibition. Thus, this test for serum gamma globulin indicates that among non‐human primates, chimpanzee is most similar to man. Gorilla is next, while sera of other apes and monkeys show little or no crossreactivity.

Hemagglutinins in the Plasma of Catfish (Ictalurus nebulosus) Injected with Saliva from Human Secretors of Various A‐B‐O Blood Groups

Serums from non‐immunized catfish contain hightitered thermolabile hemolytic activity for all human red cells, and for red cells of other species such as rabbits. However, after heat inactivation, these sera only weakly agglutinate human red cells.

Blood Groups of Macaques

19 of the 22 rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) isoimmunized by us since 1965 produced hemagglutinating antisera. Seven contain the Erh specific antibody. Other antibodies d

Simian Blood Groups Two “New” Blood Factors of Gibbon Blood, Ag and Bg

By isoimmunization of gibbons with blood of other gibbons, isoantisera have been obtained for two previously unknown blood factors of gibbon red cells designated A8 and B8 respectively. The small number of gibbons available up to the present time has prevented satisfactory statistical analysis of the findings. The findings do indicate, however, that the blood factors A8 and B8 are not related to the human‐type A‐B‐O or M‐N‐S blood group systems of gibbons.

Further Observations on the Serological Specificity C of the A‐B‐O Blood Group System

Summary: *A simple method has been described for producing antisera containing anti‐C antibodies of high titre and avidity, by immunizing group O individuals having low titres of isoagglutinins with porcine blood group substance A. Such injections can stimulate a rise not only of the anti‐A titre but also of anti‐C with no noticeable effect on the anti‐B titre. The only disadvantage is that although the suitably diluted reagents are potent, they contain anti‐A in addition to anti‐C, and therefore can be used for testing for the presence of C only those red cells or other materials which lack group A specificity. However, reagents suitable for testing for C in the presence of A could be prepared by immunizing group O subjects with group B red cells or B group substance.