EFFECTS OF METYRAPONE AND ACTH ON INTESTINAL-ABSORPTION OF IMMUNOREACTIVE BOVINE IGG IN CESAREAN-DERIVED PIGS

  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 37  (12) , 1409-1413
Abstract
Newborn cesarean-derived pigs were injected with 5.0 mg of metyrapone/kg, 1 USP U [unit] of ACTH/kg or the vehicle 1.0 ml of 44 mM sodium tartrate and 88 mM NaCl soon after delivery (0 h) and again 4, 8 and 12 h later. Beginning at 2 h, each pig in the 3 groups was given 40 ml of pooled bovine colostrum/kg by stomach tube every 8 h for the duration of the experiment. Four hours after each feeding, pigs were killed; plasma and serum were collected and assayed for cortisol and bovine immunoglobulin G(IgG), respectively. Some nonfed, nontreated pigs were killed at 0 h also. Metyrapone significantly decreased plasma cortisol (hydrocortisone) concentrations at all times tested; ACTH-treated pigs demonstrated a biphasic increase of plasma cortisol. Immunoreactive serum bovine IgG was not detected in nonfed, nontreated pigs. In vehicle-injected control pigs, bovine IgG was present in the serum at 6 h; the concentration increased consistently to 22 h, but not significantly thereafter. The concentration of bovine IgG in the serum of metyrapone-treated pigs also increased steadily before plateauing at 22 h, but the values were significantly less than those of the controls at 14, 22, 30 and 38 h. The concentration of bovine IgG in the serum of ACTH-treated pigs did not differ significantly from the control values at any of the times tested.

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