title: Phenotypic characterization of lymphocyte subpopulations in horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in normal controls.
abstract: The alterations in lymphocyte subsets in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the horse were investigated by using monoclonal antibodies to identify CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and surface immunoglobulin positive (sIg+) lymphocytes in peripheral blood, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and pulmonary biopsy frozen tissue sections. COPD-affected horses (n = 5) and normal controls (n = 5) were sampled prestabling and 14 days poststabling, at which time the COPD-affected horses wee exhibiting clinical signs of COPD. The peripheral blood absolute CD4+ lymphocyte count was significantly elevated in the COPD-affected horses pre- and poststabling. The CD4:CD8 ratio in peripheral blood of COPD-affect horses was unaffected by stabling, but the same ratio in the control horses was significantly decreased. These findings support a hypothesis of deficient regulation of a systemic immune response to indoor air in the COPD-affected horses. A large population of leukocytes in pulmonary biopsy immunohistochemical sections from both groups of horses appeared to be CD3+ CD4- CD8-, an uncommon phenotype in both the peripheral blood and BALF.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Stott
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Gershwin
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006736:Horses; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016130:Immunophenotyping / Q000662:veterinary; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008173:Lung Diseases, Obstructive / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000662:veterinary