Local immune response to repeated topical antigen application in the simian labial mucosa

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Abstract
The possible immune response of simian oral mucosa to repeated topical application of a chemically defined antigenic solution at the labial and gut mucosa was studied. Ten female Macaca fascicularis animals were challenged topically at the lower lip mucosa at weekly intervals for a variable period of 4-8 wk with a solution consisting of horseradish peroxidase, ferritin and special India ink. Transmission EM examination of immunohistochemically treated sections of the labial glands revealed the presence of plasma cells containing specific anti-horseradish peroxidase antibody. These cells resided in the interacinar regions. Enteric and gut priming with the same antigen in 4 other monkeys, bypassing the oral mucosa, failed to reveal the presence of horseradish peroxidase-positive plasma cells in the labial mucosa of any of the 4 animals; in 1 animal, such cells were identified in a mesenteric lymph node. Evidently, a local immune response of the oral mucosa, independent of systemic involvement, exists in primates.