title: A technique for inducing B-cell ablation in chickens by in ovo injection of cyclophosphamide.
abstract: The effect of cyclophosphamide (CY) treatment in ovo on avian B and T cells was studied. CY was injected in ovo on the 16th, 17th, and 18th days of incubation. Blood samples were collected periodically from CY-treated and nontreated birds after hatch and were used to measure blood lymphocyte responses to the T-cell and B-cell mitogens, concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), respectively. Additionally, flow cytometric analysis was used to determine the presence of B and T cells in peripheral blood, and birds were vaccinated with Newcastle disease virus (NDV) antigen at 3 wk of age and booster vaccinated at 5 wk of age. CY treatment reduced hatchability by 35%-40%, increased mortality by 3%-5% within the first 2 wk of life, and induced a significant retardation in body weight gains. At 2 wk of age, approximately 50% of CY-treated birds were devoid of B-cell mitogenic responsiveness while demonstrating significant T-cell mitogenic responsiveness. However, B-cell responses were observed at 4 and 6 wk from a small percentage of birds that were originally T-cell responsive and B-cell nonresponsive at 2 wk of age. Flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes revealed that CY-treated birds had significantly less B cells (or were devoid of B cells) than the corresponding nontreated control birds. However, no significant difference in the T-cell percentage was observed between CY-treated and nontreated birds. CY-treated birds did not produce detectable antibodies specific for NDV during the first and second weeks postvaccination, as demonstrated by hemagglutination inhibition assay. However, antibodies were detected in some CY-treated birds 10 days postbooster. Those antibody-positive birds were found to be the same birds that had subsequently responded to the LPS mitogen on the blastogenesis microassay. This study indicates the importance of monitoring the B- and T-cell responses in CY-treated birds to identify those birds in which B-cell regeneration may have occurred.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Maraqa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002642:Chick Embryo / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D002645:Chickens; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D018655:Lymphocyte Count / Q000187:drug effects; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D009521:Newcastle Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D009522:Newcastle disease virus / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D003520:Cyclophosphamide