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Oral bacteria become coated with immunoglobulin A in human saliva in vivo. This may indicate that the salivary immunoglobulin A possesses antibacterial activity. Some of the immunoglobulin-coated cocci grow in extremely long chains and exhibit synchronous cell division. The long chain phenomenon may result from growth in the presence of salivary antibody specific to antigenic determinants of the bacterial cell walls.
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Brandtzæg et al. (1968) studied this question.
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