Elimination of Escherichia coli K88 adhesion determinant by antibody in porcine gut and mammary secretions following oral immunization.

1. Although virulence of enteropathogenic E. coli in the pig is essentially associated with the K88 adhesion determinant, protection of the neonate and weanling is not necessarily dependent upon antibodies to this surface antigen. 2) Modification of the surface antigenic characteristics of enteropathogens occurs in the presence of antibody, suggesting an immune mechanism of induced loss of the genetic elements responsible for the synthesis of K88. 3) Antibodies directed against the K88 antigen do not seem to participate in the elimination of the K88 antigen. These observations provide a new concept that antibody mediated mechanisms of host defense include elimination of virulence determinants, a feature vital to maintaining the balance of the host pathogen relationship favorable to the host.