Importance of the liver in immunoglobulin catabolism

The catabolism of IgG labelled with radioactive iodine was investigated in sheep. The half-life time, fractional catabolic rate and daily loss of radioactivity through the bile were measured. No IgM or IgA were found in sheep bile. The results are discussed in relation to the recent finding that large quantities of oligomeric IgA is excreted in rat bile.

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