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. 1988 Jun 1;167(6):1945–1950. doi: 10.1084/jem.167.6.1945

Passive acquired mucosal immunity to group A streptococci by secretory immunoglobulin A

PMCID: PMC2189674  PMID: 3290383

Abstract

We present a model in which animals are passively immunized at a mucosal site, allowing one to evaluate immunological protection at the mucosal level only. Affinity-purified, anti-M protein sIgA administered intranasally protected mice against systemic infection after intranasal challenge with group A streptococci. In contrast, anti-M protein serum Ig administered intranasally was not protective at this site, although it neutralized the antiphagocytic property of M protein and promoted phagocytosis. Protection by sIgA occurred despite the lower immunoreactivity of sIgA to purified M protein compared with serum Ig. The data suggest that sIgA can protect at the mucosa and may preclude the need for opsonic IgG in preventing streptococcal infection.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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