Cow milk protein antigens and antibodies in serum of premature infants during the first 10 days of life.

Antigenic beta-lactoglobulin and alpha-casein were measured in the sera of 45 formula-fed infants of 31 to 41 weeks of gestation at 5 days and at 10 days of age. Quantitation was performed by a sensitive ELISA inhibition assay. On day 5 of life antigenic lactoglobulin was detected in 14 of 19 infants of less than 37 weeks gestation, but in only one of 10 infants of more than 36 weeks gestation. On day 10 of life the sera of all infants contained antigenic lactoglobulin. In contrast, on day 5 antigenic casein was present in four of 17 infants of less than 37 weeks gestation, but in 10 of 12 infants of the more mature group. On day 10 casein was detected in seven of 28 infants, with no difference between groups; anti-casein was found in eight of 12 infants. Infants of less than 37 weeks gestation have different absorption patterns than more mature infants do. "Gut closure" is an unlikely explanation for these findings.

Reconstitution of T-cell function in severe combined immunodeficiency disease following transplantation of early embryonic liver cells.

In a 51/2-month-old male infant with adenosine deaminase-positive severe combined immunodeficiency disease, who had no suitable bone marrow donor, immunologic reconstitution was attempted with lymphoid cells obtained from the liver of a 4- to 5-week-old-male human embryo. A mild graft-versus-host reaction began three weeks later. T-cells, which were absent prior to infusion of hepatic lymphoid cells, rose to a maximum of 554/mm3 at 16 weeks post transplantation. A normal lymphocyte response to pokeweek mitogen was not present until 25 to 30 weeks and to allogeneic cells until 39 weeks. Postive in vitro lymphocyte responses to Candida albicans were found repeatedly after 52 weeks. Twenty months following transplantation the patient is free of clinical infection, although he requires regular injections of gamma globulin.

Development of the capacity to produce specific antibody to an ingested food antigen in the premature infant.

Thirteen premature infants were given bovine serum albumin, a cow milk protein, by addition to their formula. Serum antibodies to BSA developed in three infants 36-38 weeks' gestation, confirming that exposure to the antigen in the gastrointestinal tract will immunize infants born after 36 or more weeks' gestation. Serum antibodies to BSA, however, were detected in only one of two infants of 35 weeks' and in none of eight infants of 30-34 weeks' gestation. The results show that the capacity to make specific antibodies to BSA develops around 35-36 weeks' gestation, despite the prior appearance of organized lymphoid tissue and independent of antigen exposure.