Interaction between bovine casein and V. cholerae enterotoxin in the rabbit ileal loop.

Abstract

Secretory IgA from human breast milk neutralizes cholera enterotoxin in the rabbit ileal loop system. No similar protection by purified bovine milk proteins could be demonstrated; however, one bovine milk protein, casein, had a deleterious effect on intestine exposed to very small quantities of enterotoxin. Highly purified cholera toxin (10 or 100 ng) was incubated with bovine protein solutions for 60 min at 37 degrees C. One-milliliter aliquots were then injected into prepared rabbit intestine loops. The animals were sacrificed at 18 h and the intestinal loop contents were aspirated, and a volume to length of loop ratio (V/L) was determined. The activity of 100 ng of toxin was not enhanced by the majority of bovine milk proteins, but bovine casein caused a 14-40% increase in the fluid production (V/L of casein + toxin versus toxin, 1.05 versus 0.92 and 1.82 versus 1.30). All of the bovine proteins but casein inhibited the action of low dose enterotoxin. Bovine casein caused a 78-90% increase in fluid production by loops exposed to a suboptimal toxin dose (10 ng) (V/L of casein + toxin versus toxin, 1.12 versus 0.63 and 0.95 versus 0.50). Virtually all of this enhancement of enterotoxin fluid response resided in the purified alpha-casein fraction.