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Intestinal lymph-duct cannulae were established in normal and mesenteric lymphadenectomized (MLNx) pigs for the 6-day duration of a local intestinal immune response to a protein antigen (ovalbumin). The daily output of anti-ovalbumin-containing cells (AOCC) in intestinal lymph and the numbers of AOCC in the intestinal lamina propria at the end of the experiment were recorded. Very few AOCC were recovered in the intestinal lymph of normal pigs whereas in MLNx pigs large numbers were recovered reaching a peak output on day 4. However, there were significantly more AOCC detected in the jejunal lamina propria of normal pigs than MLNx pigs despite continuous drainage of intestinal lymph throughout the response. The absence of AOCC from efferent intestinal lymph of normal pigs, the failure of chronic intestinal-lymph drainage to abrogate the AOCC response in the intestine of these pigs and the reversal of these findings m MLNx pigs indicate that, in contrast to other species, lymphoblasts are diverted from porcine intestinal lymph, and probably enter the blood circulation at the level of the mesenteric lymph node (MLN). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence is presented which indicates that recirculating lymphocytes originating from the intestine in pigs are returned to the blood circulation at the level of the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) and not via efferent intestinal lymph. This was demonstrated by three observations: (1) removal of all MLN resulted in a thirty-fold increase in lymphocyte numbers in efferent lymph of pigs, but not in rats: (2) there are about twenty-five times more lymphocytes in afferent intestinal lymph than efferent intestinal lymph in normal pigs; (3) 51Cr-labelled lymphocytes injected into afferent lymphatics are mostly recovered in the node tissue or efferent lymph of sheep, and very few in the venous drainage, whereas in pigs relatively few labelled cells are recovered in the node or in efferent lymph. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of these studies was to determine the proportion of each immunoglobulin class/subclass in blood and colostrum of the pig and sheep, which would bind to staphylococcal Protein A. The concentrations of porcine IgG, IgM, and IgA were determined for serum and colostral whey from five sows. Similar measurements were made on two fractions produce by elution of the sample through a Protein A-Sepharose column: fraction 1, immunoglobulins which did not bind to Protein A, and fraction 2, immunoglobulins which bound to Protein A. The concentrations of ovine IgG1, IgG2, IgM, and IgA were measured for serum and colostral whey from six ewes, and again similar measurements were made after elution of each ovine sample through Protein A-Sepharose. All classes/subclasses of porcine and ovine serum and colostral immunoglobulins bound to Protein A to some extent. More than 90% of IgG from both porcine colostral whey and serum bound to Protein A. Ovine IgG1 from most ewes possessed a low affinity for Protein A whereas ovine IgG2 generally possessed a high affinity; 100% of the IgG2 in ovine colostral whey samples bound to Protein A. There was remarkable variation between individuals in the binding capacity of porcine IgM and each of the ovine immunoglobulins. For the ovine samples, in particular there were distinct differences between Protein A binding capacity of serum and colostral immunoglobulins of the same class/subclass.

A study was made of the local immune response in the udder of the sow following infusion of a soluble antigen. Four mammary glands of each of four pregnant sows were infused with ferritin prepartum. Samples of blood, colostrum, and milk were collected during the following lactation; animals were slaughtered and mammary tissue removed for immunohistology. Blood, colostrum, milk, and mammary tissues were similarly collected from nonimmunized (control) sows. Colostral and milk whey from immunized sows contained higher levels of immunoglobulins than whey from control sows. There was an increase in numbers of IgA-containing plasma cells and total lymphoid cells in mammary tissue of immunized sows compared with controls. The results suggested that the local immune response was at least as great in non-infused glands as infused glands of immunized sows.

Experiments are described which demonstrate that intraperitoneal injection of a soluble protein antigen (ovalbumin) in Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) followed 14 days later by seven days of repeated infusions of an ovalbumin/DEAE-dextran mixture resulted in the appearance of IgA-specific antiovalbumin-containing cells (AOCC) in the intestinal lamina propria and IgA associated specific antibody in intestinal secretion of pigs. Neither intraperitoneal injection alone nor infusion of the antigen mixture alone resulted in a significant local intestinal immune response. In intraperitoneal primed animals the repeated infusion of ovalbumin without DEAE-dextran or a single intraduodenal injection of ovalbumin both resulted in a similar AOCC response in the intestine but, in the absence of DEAE-dextran, IgA was not the predominant class specificity of AOCC. Evidence is also presented for a depression of the intestinal immune response when intraperitoneal immunisation was performed using a large dose of antigen in FCA.

Experiments were undertaken to provide basic immunological data on the intestinal lymph of young pigs. For this purpose indwelling cannulae were established in the main efferent intestinal lymphatic ducts of 12 animals and measurements were made of lymph flow rate, and concentrations of IgG, IgA and IgM. Measurements were also made of cell numbers, differential counts and immunoglobulin specificity of lymphoid cells in lymph. Similar measurements were also made on six pigs in which experimental diarrhoea was induced. The mean number of leucocytes in intestinal lymph was extremely low (0.66 X 10(5)/ml). However a high proportion of lymphocytes contained cytoplasmic IgA (19.65 per cent) and IgM (12.53 per cent), with few containing IgG (1.35 per cent). The concentrations of IgM and IgA in intestinal lymph were 0.51 mg/ml and 1.64 mg/ml respectively, values which suggest that the intestine is an important organ for synthesis of these two classes of immunoglobulin in young pigs. Following induction of diarrhoea and consequent dehydration of the intestine, the lymph: serum concentration ratios for immunoglobulins increased but subsequently declined when the water balance in the intestine returned to normal.