Abstract
Summary: Indirect evidence has suggested that increased quantities of antigen may penetrate the intestinal mucosa and enter the systemic circulation during the newborn period compared to adult life. However, no direct measurement of macromolecular transport has been reported as a function of perinatal age. To study this process, we administered 100 mg of tritiated bovine serum albumin ([3H]BSA) by gavage to rabbits at birth, one wk, 2 wk, 6 wk, and one year of age and measured plasma radioactivity 4 hr after gavage. Plasma concentration of trichloroacetic acid insoluble radioactivity and immunoreactive bovine serum albumin radioactivity decreased significantly after one wk of age. When adult animals were gavaged with the same amount of [3H]BSA per body weight as the one-wk-old animals, they failed to transport as much of the antigen as the younger animals. This study, therefore, provides objective evidence that the intestinal mucosal barrier of newborns may be incompletely developed at birth and allow increased intestinal transport of antigens into the circulation.
Speculation: The development of an animal model for the study of gastrointestinal host defense during the neonatal period may ultimately provide the basis for a better understanding of the mechanisms responsible for intestinal uptake of antigenic molecules and their contribution, if any, to the pathogenesis of human disease. Of particular importance is the accurate quantitation of immunologically reactive antigen absorbed by newborn animals. Using immunologic techniques to quantitate macromolecular transport, it can be determined whether conditions (enteric delivery of nutrients, growth factors in natural milk, etc.) thought to stimulate intestinal epithelial cell turnover can also accelerate the development of the intestinal mucosal barrier and thereby contribute to the protection of the infant from potentially harmful luminal antigens.
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Udall, J., Pang, K., Fritze, L. et al. Development of Gastrointestinal Mucosal Barrier. I. The Effect of Age on Intestinal Permeability to Macromolecules. Pediatr Res 15, 241–244 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198103000-00008
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198103000-00008
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