Antibody synthesis in the rat liver: a source of biliary IgM, IgA and IgG following injection of horse erythrocytes into the intestine or Peyer's patches.

Intestinal injection of HRBC into rats leads to: 1. an anti-HRBC response in serum and bile - HA activity in bile is associated with IgM, IgG and IgA. 2. an increase in total IgM in bile. 3. the presence of IgM, IgA and IgG AFC in liver. Equivalent AFC responses occur in livers of splenectomized rats. It is concluded that the results are consistent with the proposal that the liver is a site for localization of antibody-secreting cells which enter the blood and that these cells are a source of biliary antibody.