PEDIATRICS Vol. 48 No. 5 November 1971, pp. 715-729
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BIOLOGIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SECRETORY ggrA IMMUNOGLOBULINS

E. Mead Johnson Award Address

Joseph A. Bellanti M.D.1

1 Georgetown University School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics Microbiology

The secretory ggrA globulins have been shown to be the active antiviral neutralizing principle in the respiratory tract. These antibodies are part of the system found in other fluids in contiguity with the exterior, the external secretory system. The presence of these ggrA associated antibodies has been shown to be correlated with protection particularly in the case of certain infections which are localized in their pathogenesis. The production of these antibodies are favored by either natural infection, attenuated vaccine, or by local application of viral antigens directly to the respiratory tract. When this system is inappropriately stimulated, hypersensitivity phenomena may occur. Finally, these observations suggest that the secretory ggrA globulins serve as a basis for an understanding of resistance mechanisms in the normal, and for the development of new approaches to the use of vaccines.