title: Failure of SCID mice to generate an oral tolerogen after a feed of ovalbumin: a role for a functioning gut-associated lymphoid system.
abstract: The role of the mucosal immune system in the generation of circulating tolerogenic ovalbumin (OVA) moieties has been investigated after a single feed of the protein. Serum collected from SCID mice 1 hr after a 25-mg feed of OVA was unable to transfer tolerance of delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) into naive BALB/c recipients. This is in contrast to serum collected from BALB/c mice which was able to transfer DTH tolerance to naive BALB/c recipients. The levels of circulating OVA detected in the serum of SCID mice 60 min after feeding OVA were approximately half those detected in the serum of BALB/c mice at the same time-point. However even dose adjustment of SCID mouse serum to a level of immunoreactive OVA equivalent to that found in BALB/c serum was unable to induce DTH tolerance in BALB/c recipients. This failure of SCID serum to transfer tolerance was shown to be unrelated to the germ-free conditions under which SCID mice are kept. Serum from OVA-fed germ-free BALB/c mice transferred DTH tolerance at equivalent levels to serum from conventionally reared BALB/c mice. When the intestinal morphology and intraepithelial lymphocyte (IEL) numbers in the duodenum of SCID mice were compared to conventionally reared and germ-free BALB/c controls, SCID mice were characterized by a lower number of IEL with a different morphology from the majority of IEL found in BALB/c mice.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cell and Molecular Biology, Institute of Child Health, London, UK.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Furrie
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Strobel
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed / Q000276:immunology; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000096:biosynthesis; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D016513:Mice, SCID; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D016511:Severe Combined Immunodeficiency / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D010047:Ovalbumin