Local production of anti-Vibrio cholerae mucosal antibody in reproductive tract tissues after cholera

To investigate whether intestinal presentation of an antigen by Vibrio chol erae, a noninvasive organism, could induce an anatomically distant mucosal immune response in reproductive tract tissues, the endocervical immune resp onses of women in Bangladesh were evaluated after cholera. Endocervical sec retions were analyzed for secretory IgA (sIgA) antibody against the B subun it of cholera toxin (CtxB) in 9 women with cholera and 8 women with diarrhe a caused by neither V. cholerae nor heat labile enterotoxin-producing Esche richia coli. Women infected with V. cholerae developed significant sIgA ant i-CtxB responses in endocervical samples (P less than or equal to .02). Ant ibody subtype analysis of endocervical IgA was consistent with local mucosa l production (P less than or equal to .001). Women with cholera did not dev elop sIgA anti-CtxB responses in serum. The ability to generate specific mu cosal immune responses in reproductive tract tissues after intestinal prese ntation of antigen could facilitate development of vaccines effective again st reproductive tract pathogens.