Abstract
Summary
Immunohistological localization of γG, γA, γM, secretory component (SC) and lactoferrin (LF) in various tissues of 8–22 week human fetuses was studied, using direct immunofluorescent staining technique.
No immunoglobulin-containing cells have been detected in various tissues studied. However, SC was found in the lungs of the earliest fetuses studied (8 weeks) and is readily recognized in most secretory tissues by 18–22 weeks of gestation. The role SC may play in the intrauterine development of the immune system is not known but it is present at a time when immunoglobulins (specifically γA) are not detectable.
Lactoferrin was found regularly in the older fetuses (18–22 weeks) only in polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Epithelial cells such as those of the kidney tubules which contain this protein in the adult, were apparently not synthesizing lactoferrin in sufficient quantity to be detectable by the fluorescent antibody method.
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