Specific antibody to Haemophilus somnus in the bovine uterus following intramuscular immunization

Sources of anti-Haemophilus somnus antibody in bovine uterine secretions following intramuscular immunization and subsequent intrauterine inoculation of killed H. somnus were investigated. Holstein cattle (n = 21) were immunized with a 270-kDa outer membrane protein from H. somnus (omp-270) by intramuscular injection. At estrus, the cattle were given an intrauterine inoculum of a heat-killed suspension of a homologous strain of H. somnus containing omp-270 (n = 7), a heterologous strain of H. somnus lacking omp-270 (n = 7), or phosphate-buffered saline (n = 7). Uterine secretions were sampled by saline lavage immediately prior to inoculation and at 6, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 h after inoculation. Immunoglobulin G subclass I (IgG1) and IgG2 antibody specific for omp-270 were detectable in estrous uterine secretions of all systemically immunized cattle from which an adequate sample was obtained. IgM antibody specific for omp-270 was detected in serum following immunization but was not consistently detected in the uterine secretions of any animal. IgA antibody specific for omp-270 was not detectable in either serum or uterine secretions following immunization or intrauterine inoculation. Ratios of antibody to immunoglobulin and ratios of immunoglobulin to albumin in serum and uterine secretions indicated that about half the IgG1 and essentially all the IgG2 in secretions originated in the serum. Relative titers of IgG1 and IgG2 omp-270-specific antibodies in the uterine lumen and serum gave no evidence for selective transport of either subclass from serum into local secretions. Neither heterologous nor homologous intrauterine inocula detectably altered the serum contribution to antibody in uterine secretions within the sampling period. On the basis of these results, development of a systemic IgG2 antibody response may provide the basis for local immunological protection in the bovine reproductive tract.