Immunoglobulin G (
IgG) Fc N-glycosylation affects antibody-mediated effector functions and varies with
inflammation rooted in both communicable and
non-communicable diseases. Worldwide, communicable and
non-communicable diseases tend to segregate geographically. Therefore, we studied whether
IgG Fc N-glycosylation varies in populations with different environmental exposures in different parts of the world.
IgG Fc N-glycosylation was analysed in serum/plasma of 700 school-age children from different communities of Gabon, Ghana, Ecuador, the Netherlands and Germany.
IgG1 galactosylation levels were generally higher in more affluent countries and in more urban communities. High
IgG1 galactosylation levels correlated with low total
IgE levels, low
C-reactive protein levels and low prevalence of
parasitic infections. Linear mixed modelling showed that only positivity for
parasitic infections was a significant predictor of reduced
IgG1 galactosylation levels. That
IgG1 galactosylation is a predictor of immune activation is supported by the observation that asthmatic children seemed to have reduced
IgG1 galactosylation levels as well. This indicates that
IgG1 galactosylation levels could be used as a
biomarker for immune activation of populations, providing a valuable tool for studies examining the epidemiological transition from communicable to
non-communicable diseases.