Red cell-bound immunoglobulins and complement measured by an enzyme-linked antiglobulin test in dogs with autoimmune haemolysis or other anaemias

A direct enzyme-linked antiglobulin test ( DELAT) was used to measure IgG, IgM, IgA and C 3 bound to the red blood cells ( RBC) of anaemic dogs. One or more of these parameters was raised in 78 per cent of the cases tested, and elevated levels of bound IgG, IgM, IgA and C 3 was the most common pattern recorded. When the DELAT-positive animals were divided into two groups on the basis of clinical findings, the two categories differed serologically. Cases diagnosed clinically as primary autoimmune haemolytic anaemia ( AIHA) were typified by the demonstration of specific antibody binding to RBC, had significantly higher levels of RBC-bound IgG (P