MATERNAL IMMUNOGLOBULINS AND PARAINFLUENZA-3 VIRUS INHIBITORS IN NASAL AND LACRIMAL SECRETIONS AND SERUM OF NEWBORN LAMBS

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  • 1 January 1976
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 23  (3) , 544-553
Abstract
Concentrations of Ig[immunoglobulin]G, IgM and IgA were measured in the serum, nasal secretions and lachrymal secretions of suckled newborn lambs. The major Ig constituent of precolostral serum was IgM. Maternal Ig, of which IgG was predominant, reached peak values on day 1 of life and then declined over the next 3 wk. Half lives were calculated as IgG, 13.7 days; IgM, 4.1 days; and IgA, 1.8 days. No Ig was detectable in nasal or lachrymal secretions prior to sucking, but IgG was present in all samples of these secretions obtained approximately 24 h after first sucking. IgG was present in nasal washings from suckled lambs, reared naturally or on Ig-free milk substitute; levels declined as the lambs grew older. IgM and IgA did not appear consistently in the secretions until lambs were 2-3 wk old. Colostral IgG reaches the nasal and lachrymal secretions of the newborn lamb. Because the ewes in this experiment had only low serum titers, no maternal antibody to parainfluenza 3 virus (PI3) was detected in the nasal secretions of the lambs, although non-specific inhibitors were present. Low levels of maternal antibody in the secretions may play a valuable role in preventing respiratory virus infections of young ruminants before active local production of IgA and IgM begins at 2-3 wk of age.