New fetoproteins, as presumptive antigenic inducers of abortions and congenital anomalies. Temporal forking of immunological abortions. A working hypothesis

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Developmental Delay and Other Anomalies in the Offspring from Hens Immunized Against Soluble and Foreign Chick Embryo Antigens

“…The results presented here and in other works dealing with the same experiment, 9,13,14 (J. Salas, L. Juá rez and A. Rodriguez-Burgos, unpublished data). are part of an investigation into the possible teratogenicity of the set of antigens studied on the most vulnerable tissues both macroscopically and microscopically.…”

“…14 We have therefore made an effort to identify human pathologies that were related to, or caused by, antibodies to auto or alloantigens, in particular, those falling within the broad category of pathologies of unknown etiology, while being similar or identical to the alterations of the embryos reported here. They have also been related to human cases of reproductive immunohumoural pathologies.…”

“…The authors accept that protein phylogeny in warm-blooded organisms furnishes sufficient scientific basis for assuming that human embryos synthesize molecules virtually identical to these sF-TrAg and the sAllAg. 14 We have therefore made an effort to identify human pathologies that were related to, or caused by, antibodies to auto or alloantigens, in particular, those falling within the broad category of pathologies of unknown etiology, while being similar or identical to the alterations of the embryos reported here. In addition to these data reported here with clinical application, there are others which can be of interest for specialists in the field of chick research (Immunology and Embryology, especially).…”

“…9 Passively immunizing pregnant rats with rabbit anti-rat kidney serum, 10 and with rabbit anti-rat placenta or fetal kidney or adult lung or glomerular basement membrane 11 resulted in heteroantibodies specific for all the antigens present in the immunizing material, and consequently many serious malformations were induced, in addition to mortality. 14 In this framework, this study has considered pathological events related to, or caused by, the humoural immune response to maternal antigens (autoantigens) or paternal antigens (alloantigens) by means of antibodies synthesized by the mother (auto and alloantibodies) which cross the placenta and harm the offspring. They induced malformation, resorption, abortion, fetal death, and stillbirth.…”

“…13 All these findings have evidenced the teratogenic and abortogenic effects of the isoantibodies to sF-TrAg and to sAlloAg and in turn have led to postulation that the same might occur experimentally in rodents and naturally in pregnant women. 14 In this framework, this study has considered pathological events related to, or caused by, the humoural immune response to maternal antigens (autoantigens) or paternal antigens (alloantigens) by means of antibodies synthesized by the mother (auto and alloantibodies) which cross the placenta and harm the offspring. The object of this work was to document the consequences of actively immunizing hens with an extract of chick embryo incubated for 53 hr on embryonic development, anatomic growth and congenital anomalies, and on chick mortality at different times during the incubation period and after hatching.…”