PASTEURELLA-MULTOCIDA ANTIGEN-INDUCED INVITRO LYMPHOCYTE IMMUNOSTIMULATION, USING WHOLE-BLOOD FROM CATTLE AND TURKEYS

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 26  (1) , 25-31
Abstract
A whole blood lymphocyte stimulation assay to study cell-mediated immune responses in bovine pasteurellosis was developed. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from cattle artificially immunized with 3 Asiatic hemorrhagic septicemia strains of P. multocida exhibited higher stimulation indices when incubated with antigen preparations from homologous strains than with the heterologous shipping fever strain. Lymphocytes from cattle immunized with the shipping fever strain of P. multocida exhibited a higher stimulation index when incubated with an antigen preparation from the homologous strain than with antigen preparations from heterologous hemorrhagic septicemia strains. Immunogenic differences exist between hemorrhagic septicemia strains and the shipping fever strain of P. multocida. An assay using turkey whole blood lymphocytes was developed. Use of small amounts of whole blood, microtiter plates, 125I iododeoxyuridine or 3H-thymidine as the labeling agent and a multiple cell-culture harvester makes the method simple, rapid and suitable for the study of immune competence and cell-mediated immune responses in turkeys on a flock basis.