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Globulin Synthesis in Pregnant Rabbits¹

From the Department of Microbiology and the Department of Pediatrics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

Abstract

Five days before to 2 weeks after parturition the popliteal lymph node cells of rabbits were more active with respect to synthesis of globulin than the corresponding cells of non-pregnant female or male rabbits. The increased activity associated with pregnancy was less conspicuous in mesenteric lymph node cells.

Many of the rabbits used in this study, both pregnant and non-pregnant, had callous-like lesions on their hind foot pads. In the pregnant animals, unlike the non-pregnant controls, the presence of these lesions was associated with especially enhanced globulin synthesis. However, even in the absence of grossly detectable foot pad lesions, the globulin synthesis of popliteal lymph node cells of pregnant animals was still significantly greater than that of the controls.

In two experiments the enhanced activity of popliteal nodes was duplicated in non-pregnant animals by injections of estrogens, but the stimulatory effect was not consistently elicited.

The enhanced activity of the isolated popliteal lymph node cells was correlated with an increase in the frequency of globulin containing cells, as measured by fluorescein-labeled antibody, but was not reflected in the total levels of serum globulin.

Footnotes

This work was supported, in part, by Research Grant AI-03231 and Training Grant 5T1-AI-257 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health.