title: Humoral antibody and lymphocyte blastogenesis responses in BALB/c, C3H/HeJ and AKR/N mice following Ehrlichia risticii infection.
abstract: Three strains of mice, two susceptible to Ehrlichia risticii induced disease (BALB/c and C3H/HeJ) and one resistant (AKR/N), were evaluated for the development of humoral and cell mediated immune responses following infection with E risticii. The production of serum antibody was determined by indirect fluorescent antibody testing of sera from mice of each strain challenged with one of three different dose levels of E risticii. Antibody was assayed on days 7, 9, 12, 15 and 20 after inoculation. Cell mediated immune responses were evaluated by measuring the blastogenesis response of spleen cells from E risticii infected mice 28 days after inoculation. All three strains of mice at the high challenge level responded with the production of antibody by day 9 after inoculation. Overall, the antibody response occurred earlier and was of greater magnitude in the susceptible BALB/c and C3H/HeJ strains. A marked blastogenesis response occurred in splenocytes from E risticii infected mice of all three strains upon re-exposure to ehrlichial antigen. The findings of this study indicate that susceptibility to E risticii induced disease was not the result of deficient or delayed humoral immune responses and that E risticii infection induced the development of strong cell mediated immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546-0099.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Granstrom
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Timoney
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood; D000917:Antibody Formation; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D004536:Ehrlichia / Q000254:growth & development; D016873:Ehrlichiosis / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D008806:Mice, Inbred AKR; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D013045:Species Specificity; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies