Richard Rodewald investigated selective transport of maternal antibodies across the newborn rat intestine. His 1973 study followed ferritin-linked immunoglobulins and antiperoxidase antibodies through intestinal epithelial cells, using tracer localization to distinguish selective uptake from nonspecific entry.[ref]
Intestinal transport of antibodies in the newborn rat by Richard Rodewald. Abstract and Discussion, pp. 202–205: immunoglobulin tracers and transport controls
In proximal intestinal cells, suitable antibodies bound at the apical surface and entered transport vesicles. Contrasting tracers and intestinal regions helped show that a molecule entering a cell is not necessarily carried into the circulation. The experiment made the route and selectivity of transcytosis visible, rather than relying only on a final blood concentration.
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