PROTECTION AGAINST CAMPYLOBACTER DIARRHEA - ROLE OF MILK IGA ANTIBODIES AGAINST BACTERIAL SURFACE-ANTIGENS

In developing countries, Campylobacter jejuni causes diarrhea and dyse ntery, especially in children less than one year of age. Breast feedin g protects against infectious diarrhea, with milk IgA antibody playing a determining role. Therefore, it has been proposed to increase the p rotective effect of human milk by vaccinating women of child-bearing a ge. To identify antigens which may induce protective breast-milk IgA, we analyzed 60 strains of C. jejuni isolated from asymptomatically- an d symptomatically-infected breast-fed children less than 12 months of age. Surface antigens of C. jejuni, separated by polyacrylamide gel el ectrophoresis, were probed with breast milk collected concurrently wit h the fecal sample from which C. jejuni was isolated, and specific IgA was developed by immunoblotting. Our results indicate that milk antib odies against three high molecular weight bacterial surface antigens o f 95, 110 and 185 kDa are involved in protection of infants infected w ith C. jejuni (p = 0.00964 for one-tailed Fisher's exact test).