Specific lymphocyte stimulation in cattle naturally infected with strains of Brucella abortus and cattle vaccinated with Brucella abortus strain 19.
Cell-mediated immune responses in cattle naturally infected with strains of Brucella abortus and in cattle vaccinated with B abortus strain 19 during calfhood were studied by an in vitro lymphocyte-stimulation procedure. Lymphocytes were prepared from peripheral bovine blood by the Ficoll-diatrizoate technique, suspended in RPMI-1640 medium (1.5 X 10(6) lymphocytes/ml), cultured with B abortus-soluble antigen or phytohemagglutinin, and incubated for 6 days. Sixteen hours prior to termination of incubation, cultures were labeled with 1 muCi of [3H]thymidine (3HdT) and, after harvesting, assayed for 3HdT incorporation into DNA by liquid scintillation spectrometry. Lymphocytes from cattle with bacteriologically confirmed isolation of B abortus underwent a significantly higher lymphocyte stimulation with B abortus-soluble antigen than did cattle vaccinated with B abortus strain 19 during calfhood (P less than 0.005). Standard seroagglutination tests were conducted simultaneously with lymphocyte-stimulation tests, but there was no apparent correlation between levels of humoral antibodies and the cell-mediated immune responses as measured by in vitro specific lymphocyte stimulation.
D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D002003:Brucella abortus / Q000276:immunology*; D002007:Brucellosis, Bovine / Q000276:immunology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D014611:Vaccination / Q000662:veterinary*
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial