[Efficacy of immunized milk for preventing viral infection]

This paper investigated the efficacy of passive protection provided by milk (immunized milk) against enterovirus infection in mice experimentally infected with enterovirus. Milk with a high antibody titer against six enterovirus serotypes was prepared from hyperimmunized goat. In vivo and in vitro experiments were performed and the results showed that immunized milk has an antiviral activity against enterovirus infection. Further observation was performed using Coxsackie B 3 virus (CVB 3). When immunized milk was orally applied to mice prior to oral inoculation with CVB 3, preventive effects against viral infection such as reduction of histopathological changes in the heart and reduced detection of the virus genome in the organs were seen. The antiviral effect was also indicated by the increase of CD4+T cells proportion in the i-IEL. The proportion of virus specific CD4+T cells was increased in mice treated with immunized milk, whereas no such increase was detected in control mice. These results suggest that oral application of immunized milk is not only capable of preventing viral infection but also induces specific immunological responses. These phenomena may play an important role in host defense mechanisms.