International Journal of Microbiology and Immunology Research Vol. 4(1), pp. 001-008, September 2016 ISSN 2327-7769 ©2016 Academe Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Relationship between intestinal bifidobacteria content and ABO antibody titer

Alexandre Geraldo¹*, Andriele Letícia de Souza¹ and Flávia Martinello²

¹Universidade do Vale do Itajaí - UNIVALI, Itajaí - 88302-901, Santa Catarina, Brasil.
²Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - UFSC, Florianópolis - 88040-900, Santa Catarina, Brasil.

Abbreviations: AT; Ambient temperature, HAG; Indirect human antiglobulin.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: alexandregeraldo@univali.br.

Accepted 27 August, 2016

Abstract

Intestinal biota may stimulate the development of anti-ABO antibodies. The goal of this study was to verify whether there is a relationship between fecal bifidobacteria concentration and anti-ABO titer in healthy subjects. This study recruited individuals with A, B, and O blood types for anti-ABO antibody titer at AT and through the HAG test. Fecal pH was verified and the concentration of fecal bifidobacteria was determined using a selective-medium quantitative culture. Among the 129 volunteers, the frequency of ABO phenotypes was 44.5% of Group A, 9% of Group B, and 46.5% of Group O. No relationship was observed between the bifidobacteria concentration and the anti-A and anti-B titer in AT and HAG. Between the ABO phenotypes, the one with the highest bifidobacteria concentration was Group A, followed by O and B. The differences fecal bifidobacteria concentration significantly differed between Groups A and B and between O and B, but not between A and O. The results suggest that the antigens present in the bifidobacteria seem not to impact immunomodulation in Group B individuals and that the anti-ABO titer is not related to this bacteria genus. More studies on may explain which bacteria are able to increase the ABO antibodies titer.

Key words: Antibody formation, Bifidobacterium, ABO blood group system.