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Previous Volume 330:1192-1196 April 28, 1994 Number 17 Next

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ABSTRACT

Background The presence of a specific cellular receptor is thought to be necessary for susceptibility to viral infection. The erythrocyte P antigen is the cellular receptor for parvovirus B19. We hypothesized that the rare persons with the p phenotype, whose erythrocytes do not have this receptor, would be naturally resistant to B19 infection, which causes erythema infectiosum.

Methods Blood samples were collected from two populations in cross-sectional studies. We determined the P antigen phenotype of the red cells and tested plasma for anti-B19-specific antibodies. Bone marrow from donors of known P antigen phenotype was inoculated with parvovirus B19. Infectivity was measured by assays of erythroid progenitor cells, dot blot analysis, and in situ hybridization for B19 DNA, and an immunofluorescence assay for viral-capsid proteins.

Results Of the 17 subjects with the p red-cell phenotype, who did not have P antigen on their erythrocytes, none (0 of 11 and 0 of 6) had serologic evidence of previous parvovirus B19 infection. In contrast, the seropositivity rates in the two control groups were 71 percent (53 of 75, P<0.001) and 47 percent (32 of 68, P = 0.03). In vitro, bone marrow from donors with the p phenotype maintained normal erythropoiesis despite very high concentrations of virus, with no evidence of infection of erythroid progenitor cells by parvovirus B19.

Conclusions People who do not have P antigen, which is the cellular receptor for parvovirus B19, are naturally resistant to infection with this pathogen.

Source Information

From the Hematology Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Md. (K.E.B., J.R.H., G.G., S.M.A., N.S.Y.); Mount Eaton Clinic, Mount Eaton, Ohio (E.D.L.); and the American Red Cross, Cleveland (P.M.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Brown at Bldg. 10, Rm. 7C218, National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892.

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