Transfer of maternal anti-rotavirus IgG to the mucosal surfaces and bile of turkey poults.

Turkey poults from hens vaccinated against avian group A rotavirus were examined to study the transfer of maternally derived anti-rotavirus IgG (rIgG) to the mucosal surfaces (intestinal and tracheal), serum, yolk, and bile. During the first week of life, maternal rIgG titers in intestinal mucosal washings were 200-to-500-fold less than rIgG titers in the circulation, as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The intestinal titers in 10- and 13-day-old poults were negligible. A moderate linear correlation (r = 0.6) was present between rIgG titer in the blood circulation and the intestines, with a serum cutoff level of 10,000 ELISA units. Maternal rIgG was detected in tracheal washings only during the first 3 days of life. Biliary rIgG titers were fourfold higher than intestinal titers at day of hatch but had declined considerably in 1-day-old poults. Yolk had relatively high rIgG titers at hatching. Maternal rIgG titer in the small intestine was determined after in situ ligation of the individual segments; it was highest in the duodenum, followed by the ileum and jejunum. There was evidence that rIgG in the intestine was transferred from the blood and not directly from the yolk sac. Bidirectional movement of rIgG between circulation and intestine was also detected. Maternal rIgG was not detected in the intestinal washings of progeny from hens naturally infected with rotavirus.