Detection of specific systemic and local IgG and IgA antibodies of pigs after infection with Bordetella bronchiseptica by ELISA.

An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of IgG and IgA antibodies against Bordetella bronchiseptica in serum and nasal secretions of pigs was developed. The ELISA that used formolized phase I organisms of B. bronchiseptica as an antigen detected antibodies to a capsular K antigen(s) of the organism. In pigs which had an agglutinin titer of less than 10 and an ELISA value of 0.47, on average, of maternal antibodies to B. bronchiseptica, IgG antibody in serum increased 4 weeks on average and IgG and IgA antibodies in nasal secretions rose markedly 1 and 2 weeks, respectively, after appearance of more than 5 x 10(3) colony forming units per ml of the organisms in the nasal cavity. In contrast, IgG antibody response in serum was inhibited strongly and no increase of the antibody was observed in pigs that had high titers (an agglutinin titer of 149 and an ELISA value of 1.49, on average) of the maternal antibody. In the pigs, a typical decrease in the production and marked delay in the time course of the production of IgG and IgA antibodies in the nasal cavity were also observed. Thus, although pigs produced systemic and local antibodies to B. bronchiseptica, the antibody response was affected dose responsively by the maternal antibody. However, the effect seemed to be a little milder in local antibody responses than in systemic antibody responses. The role of the local antibodies in eradication of the organism in the nasal cavity was not elucidated.