Quantitative assessment of the transmission of labelled protein by the proximal and distal regions of the small intestine of young rats.

1. The plasma volume in rats aged 15-16 days was measured by dilution analysis using homologous, 125I-labelled immunoglobulin G. A mean plasma volume of 5-53 ml./100 g and a mean blood volume of 8-01 ml./100 g were obtained.2. After the injection of labelled immunoglobulin G into the heart, homogenates of various abdominal organs and of the carcass were prepared. Labelled immunoglobulin G left the vascular compartment at a rate of about 9-10%/hr over a 3 hr period. About 11% of the labelled immunoglobulin G was catabolized in 2 hr. 3. The data obtained from these studies was used to make quantitative estimates of the amount of intact immunoglobulin G transmitted from the proximal intestine and from the ileum after the intra-intestinal injection of 1000 mug of labelled immunoglobulin G. Homogenates of the experimental animals were prepared and it was estimated that over 40% of the labelled immunoglobulin G was transmitted as intact protein from the proximal intestine. The results suggest that no intact immunoglobulin G was transmitted from the ileum, but about 15% of the protein removed from the ileum was recovered in the whole body as degraded fragments precipitable with trichloroacetic acid. 4. These observations are discussed in the context of the transmission of antibodies, and their relevance to the receptor hypothesis is considered.