Failure of antisomatostatin antibodies to stimulate the growth of crossbred lambs

Abstract

The effect of antisomatostatin antibodies on the growth of crossbred female and wether lambs was studied over 8 months. The antibody response profile established in the immune lambs, following a sequence of 3 vaccinations with an immunogenic somatostatin-haemocyanin conjugate in Freund's complete adjuvant, reached a maximum mean antisomatostatin antibody titre of 1:11 400. There were no effects (P>0.05) of the treatment on liveweight or shoulder height of immune lambs. There were predictable overall effects due to sex but not to level of antibody titre within the immunisation treatment. These data indicate circumstances where immunological growth promotion does not result when antisomatostatin antibodies are raised in growing crossbred lambs that are typical of a commercial breed.