title: The influence of colostral leukocytes on the immune system of the neonatal calf. III. Effects on phagocytosis.
abstract: The influence of colostral leukocytes on the activity of phagocytic cells from the blood of calves, in particular the concentration of neutrophils (PMN) in blood, ingestion of Streptococcus agalactiae, reduction of NBT-dye and activity of lysozyme, was investigated for four weeks using four groups. The calves received either complete colostrum (COL+, n = 16), cell depleted colostrum (COL-, n = 16), cell-supplemented milk-substitute (MS+, n = 7) or pure milk-substitute (MS-, n = 6). Calves of the COL+ group had a significantly lower PMN concentration in their blood on day 2 and a significantly higher activity of lysozyme during their first three weeks of life as compared to the COL- animals. A postnatal increase in number of ingested Streptococcus agalactiae test bacteria per 100 phagocytic cells occurred later in the COL+ calves than in the COL-. No difference between both COL groups in NBT-reduction was observed. The calves of the MS+ group showed higher lysozyme activity and a retarded increase in the ingestion of test bacteria during the first week of life as compared to the MS-. The MS+ group had a transient neutrophilia on the second day of life while the concentration of PMN was not altered in the MS- from the first to the second day.
authors.affiliation: Tierärztliches Institut, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Riedel-Caspari
authors.forename: F W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000276:immunology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000276:immunology*; D003126:Colostrum / Q000166:cytology*; D007112:Immunity, Maternally-Acquired; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000276:immunology; D010587:Phagocytosis