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Investigation of the immune status of mice during and following selective decontamination of the digestive tract

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

A. B. J. Speekenbrink
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Western Infirmary, Glasgow G11 6NT, Scotland, UK
S. R. Alcock
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Western Infirmary, Glasgow G11 6NT, Scotland, UK
D. M. V. Parrott
Affiliation:
Department of Bacteriology and Immunology, Western Infirmary, Glasgow G11 6NT, Scotland, UK
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Summary

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Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) employs oral antibiotics to eliminate aerobic Gram-negative bacilli while retaining the anaerobic flora. A combination of SDD and parenteral cefotaxime has recently been reported to strikingly reduce the incidence of infection in patients treated in an intensive therapy unit. The present study describes the effects of SDB and of cefotaxime on the immune response of mice to protein antigens. The in vivo cellular response to ovalbumin and sheep red blood cells was unchanged. However, SDD appeared to decrease the in vitro mitogenic response of spleen cells to phytohaemagglutinin, and cefotaxime similarly affected the response to Concanavalin A. The antibody response to sheep red blood cells was increased in the period after discontinuation of SDD. The antibody response was otherwise not affected. These results indicate that SDD is unlikely to have adverse effects on the immune response to protein antigens.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

References

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