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TRANSFER OF CIRCULATING γ‐GLOBULIN INTO MILK AND EFFERENT MAMMARY LYMPH DURING EXPERIMENTAL MASTITIS
Author(s) -
Mackenzie DDS,
Outteridge PM,
Lascelles AK
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1966.19
Subject(s) - udder , lymph , lymphatic system , mastitis , globulin , mammary gland , chemistry , endocrinology , medicine , pathology , cancer , breast cancer
Summary Experiments were carried out on 9 lactating ewes to study the changes in 131 I 7S γ‐globulin content of mammary lymph and of whey during the course of experimentally induced staphylococcal mastitis. In 4 of the ewes the efferent lymphatic duct draining one side of the udder was cannulated prior to an intravenous injection of 131 I 7S γ‐globulin. The specific activities of the globulin in plasma and in lymph were followed until they had become equal at approximately 30–40 hr. after injection. The side in which the lymphatic duct had been cannulated was then infected by infusing virulent staphylococci into the teat cistern. In the other 5 ewes, the radioactivity in whey and plasma was followed for 20–47 hr. after the injection, and then one side of the udder was infected. There was a 3–4‐fold increase in the lymph flow, and an almost 2‐fold increase in the concentration of radioactivity in lymph 6–12 hr. after infection, which indicated a greater capillary permeability during mastitis. The increases in lymph flow and radioactivity in lymph were greater and persisted for longer periods in the more severe cases of mastitis. The molecular site and electrophoretic mobility of the radioactivity bound to protein, in whey samples collected from both normal and infected sides, were found to be similar to those for 7S γ‐globulin of serum. The concentration of radioactivity bound to protein in whey increased slowly after infection, and did not reach peak levels until at least 24 hr. later. Since the milk production decreased as the concentration of radioactivity increased, there was little change in the total amount of radioactivity bound to protein in whey secreted after infection. The results have been discussed in relation to the mechanism of transfer of γ‐globulin from plasma into milk before and during mastitis.