Immune tolerance produced by pre- and postnatal exposure to dietary antigens.
Circulating food antibody levels were measured by ELISA in groups of weanling rabbits fed 320 g/kg diet soya or milk protein. Soya-fed rabbits of milk-fed mothers (and vice versa) showed at least tenfold increase in antibody levels within 3-4 weeks. In contrast, animals fed the same diet as their dams had received in pregnancy and the postnatal period showed little change in antibody levels. These results indicate that contact with a dietary antigen before birth and during the suckling period is important in the induction of tolerance to food proteins in young animals.
D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000941:Antigens / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D006041:Goats; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011817:Rabbits; D013025:Glycine max / Q000276:immunology
D000941:Antigens; D004044:Dietary Proteins