Gastric acid output and circulating antibovine serum albumin in adults.

  • 1 May 1967
    • journal article
    • Vol. 2  (3) , 321-30
Abstract
Gastric acid output and circulating antibodies to a dietary protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA), were studied in 241 adult human subjects. Among individuals 41 years of age and older there was a higher than expected incidence of circulating anti-BSA which correlated with a high stimulated gastric acid output. When other possible contributing factors such as the site of gastroduodenal disease or a history of allergy were considered, the relationship between high gastric acid and an increased incidence of anti-BSA again was demonstrated. The quantity and immunoglobulin classes of anti-BSA were not correlated with differences in gastric acid output or dietary histories, except that none of the sixteen patients who denied recent BSA intake had demonstrable anti-BSA activity. These data suggest that for a given individual the capacity to maintain or reinitiate anti-BSA production is a multifaceted phenomenon subject to many variables, one of which is gastric acidity.