title: Natural killer cells in normal horses and specific-pathogen-free foals infected with equine herpesvirus.
abstract: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from an adult horse and from foals demonstrated natural killer (NK)-type cytotoxicity against a range of xenogeneic and allogeneic cell targets. The human tumour cell line, Chang liver was consistently the most susceptible. Chang liver, rabbit kidney (RK-13), equine sarcoid (ES) and embryonic equine kidney (EEK) cells were more susceptible when presented to horse PBMC than monolayer cultures. Embryonic equine lung (EEL) and murine YAC-1 cells conversely, were more susceptible in a trypsinized state. Horse PBMC demonstrated higher levels of NK-type activity against EEK, EEL and RK-13 cells infected with equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) compared with uninfected cells. Similarly, EEK and EEL cells infected with Semliki forest virus (SFV) were more susceptible. Cytotoxicity against EHV-1-infected EEK cells developed faster, between 4 and 8 h of incubation and reaching a maximum at 24 h. By contrast, cytotoxicity against uninfected fibroblasts was not significant until approximately 16 h of incubation with maximum cytotoxicity observed between 32 h and 48 h. Specific pathogen-free (SPF) foals were inoculated with live EHV-1. PBMC isolated from these foals at different days after inoculation did not display appreciably reduced or elevated NK cytotoxicities against Chang liver cells and EHV-1-infected EEK targets, when compared with that of a PBMC reference from a healthy adult horse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Duffus
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hannant
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006566:Herpesviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004861:Herpesvirus 1, Equid / Q000276:immunology*; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006736:Horses / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D011817:Rabbits; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms / Q000276:immunology; D014357:Trypsin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014357:Trypsin