Total protein concentration was determined in serum, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, and nasal flush fluid obtained from specific-pathogen-free cats from birth to maturity and from adult conventionally raised cats. Protein components were analyzed by immunoelectrophoresis and isoelectric focusing. Albumin, and alpha, beta, and gamma-globulins were among the proteins identified in BAL fluid, and their isoelectric point ranged from 3.1 to 5.1. gamma-Globulin was not detected in serum or BAL fluid of newborn kittens before they had ingested colostrum. By day 3 after ingestion of colostrum, IgG was detected in high concentration in serum and was the predominant immunoglobulin in serum and BAL fluid of older cats. Nasal flush fluid from cats > 6 months old contained albumin, and alpha, beta, and gamma-globulins, with IgA being the predominant immunoglobulin. Total protein concentration in nasal flush fluid increased progressively with increasing age, and albumin was the predominant protein. Protein concentration was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in BAL fluid from conventionally raised adult cats than in that from specific-pathogen-free cats.

Piglets infected intranasally with Bordetella bronchiseptica were injected with two fluorochrome markers. Transverse sections of undecalcified nasal conchae (cut between the third incisor and the third premolar teeth) were examined by microradiography and fluorescence microscopy; surface-stained sections were evaluated by light microscopy. The fluorescent surface of the nasal ventral conchae from the infected piglets was increased as compared with the controls. This was due to an increased amount of fluorescent mineralization fronts as well as to the presence of abnormal fluorescent areas within trabeculae. Trabecular mineral content of the microradiographs was irregular and varied from hypo- to hypermineralized. When compared with the corresponding surface-stained sections, no correlation could be made between the mineral content and the type of tissue. These findings suggest that an increased number of osteoblasts which secrete prebone matrix but are modified so that mineralization does not occur normally.