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NATURAL ANTIBODIES AND THE INTESTINAL FLORA OF RODENTS
Author(s) -
Foo MC,
Lee A,
Cooper GN
Publication year - 1974
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.1974.30
Subject(s) - antibody , biology , caecum , organism , microbiology and biotechnology , flora (microbiology) , antigen , immunology , antibiotics , small intestine , bacteria , cecum , ecology , medicine , endocrinology , paleontology , genetics
Summary Members of the rodent intestine microflora colonize the caecum and colon of animals within the first few weeks of life. Shortly after their appearance in the intestine, natural antibodies which specifically opsonize certain indigenous bacterial species develop in the sera of infant animals. When antibiotics are given to eliminate these organisms, the homologous antibody levels decline significantly within a few weeks, suggesting that the continued stimulus of antigen is required to maintain normal levels. This observation has been supported by an experimental model involving continuous oral administration of a Hypho‐microbium sp., a saprophytic bacterium selected because mice do not normally have detectable levels of serum antibodies against it. This organism has also been used to demonstrate that continued presence of organisms in the intestine does not induce immunological memory.