Antibody response to the lipopolysaccharide and protein antigens of Salmonella typhi during typhoid infection. II. Measurement of intestinal antibodies by radioimmunoassay.

Antibodies to the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and protein antigens of S. typhi in secretions of small intestine obtained from 12 typhoid patients, four typhoid carriers and 16 non-typhoid control subjects were measured by a solid-phase radioimmunoassay technique. Intestinal secretions obtained from typhoid patients as a group had significantly higher anti-LPS and anti-protein antibodies than those from the control group. These antibodies were both IgM and IgA classes. There was no correlation between the IgM or IgA antibody levels in serum and those in the intestinal secretions. In the intestinal secretions obtained from typhoid carriers, on the other hand, only IgA-class antibodies to the LPS and protein antigens of S. typhi were present at high levels.