Intestinal K99+ escherichia coli adhesion and absorption of colostral IgG1 in the newborn lamb: effect of fetal infusion of thyroid hormones.

Continuous infusion of thyroid hormones during the last 12 days of gestation in ovine fetuses was associated with: a reduction of the rate of appearance of blood IgG1 after colostrum feeding in the newborn lambs; an important reduction of the number of jejunal cells filled with IgG1, 12 hours post partum, suggesting a premature closure of the intestinal permeability to IgG1; and a significant reduction of the K99+ Escherichia coli adhesion on the intestinal villi. These results could partly explain relationships observed previously between perinatal thyroid function abnormalities and the occurrence of neonatal diseases.