Abstract
In the course of preparing a 66-year—old female patient, Mrs. D. S. J., for gastric resection of a tumor later diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, difficulties were encountered in selection of compatible donors.∗ The patient was in group O, Type MNS, presumably of the Rh genotype DCe/DCe (R1R1), Duffy and Cellano positive. The factors P, Lewis, and Lutheran could not be demonstrated in her blood. Among 3000 random group O individuals, all bloods were hemolyzed by the unheated serum or agglutinated by the inactivated serum. The hemolysin could also be demonstrated in the patient's inactivated serum by adding sensitive red cells suspended in pooled fresh group compatible unheated serum from normal individuals. The unusually high incidence of positive reactions is apparently attributable to a single antibody since all activity is removed after treatment of the serum with each of 10 different bloods.
These observations suggested the presence of a new hereditary factor which is present in the red blood cells of almost all individuals tested. For identification purposes, the blood factor and its antibody may be designated as “Jay” and “anti—Jay” respectively. Because of the relationship to the tumor described below, the abbreviated symbols for the gene, blood factor, and antibody are Tia, Tja, and anti—Tja, the letter “T” referring to the tumor. The corresponding symbols for the theoretical allelic gene, factor, and antibody can be designated as Tib, Tjb, and anti—Tjb, respectively.
Tests of anti—Tja with the blood of her 3 siblings, all in group O, showed that the blood of one of her sisters did not contain the factor, but it was present in the red cells of the sister's 4 children.† The factor could be demonstrated in the blood of the patient's husband and their 4 children, all in group A, since their red cells absorbed anti—Jay.
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