ABSTRACT
The lamina propria of the bowel is filled with plasma cells that contain predominantly immunoglobulin A (IgA). It has been difficult to study optimal means of stimulating the mucosal IgA response of the intestine. This chapter describes a chronically isolated ileal Thiry-Vella loop model in rabbits which allows to study the secretory IgA response in intestinal secretions. It demonstrates that a secretory IgA memory response can be elicited by priming the animal with live, orally-administered Shigella flexneri antigens. Chronically isolated segments of ileum, 20 cm long, were created in 2 to 3 kg New Zealand White rabbits. Animals were anesthetized with a combination of ketamine and xyzaline. A midline abdominal incision was made and the terminal ileum identified. A 20 cm segment of ileum containing a single, grossly identifiable Peyer's patch was isolated; care being taken to retain patency of its vascular stalk. Specific immunoglobulin activity was estimated by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay.
