title: Effect of gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccination on T lymphocyte changes in male rats.
abstract: The aim of this study was to detect the effect of immunization against gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) on cell-meditated immunity. Three-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=32) were randomly and equally assigned to two groups: 1) GnRH-tandem-ovalbumin immunized group; and 2) the control group (injected with an equivalent Al(OH)3adjuvant). Blood samples were collected at two-week intervals to assess the level of GnRH-specific antibodies and testosterone. Moreover, blood and thymus samples were also collected to analyze the T lymphocyte subpopulations one and two months after the last booster immunization. T lymphocyte immunity against GnRH was activated during the first month post-immunization as exhibited by increased numbers of CD3+ (P<0.05) and CD4+ (P<0.05)T lymphocytes following testosterone suppression (P<0.01), which was then restored and maintained at appropriate levels in the second month. In contrast, the differentiation of T lymphocytes in the thymus was reduced during the first month after immunization as exhibited by the significant decreased number of CD3+ (P<0.05) cells, followed by the restoration and heightened numbers at later time points for both the number of CD3+ (P<0.05) and CD4+ (P<0.01)T lymphocytes. These results suggest that immunization against GnRH interferes with the number of lymphocytes during the early time points following immunization. The number of T lymphocytes initially decreased in the peripheral blood following immunization, but was replenished by newly exported cells from the thymus which eventually restored the T lymphocytes to normal levels.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, P.R. China. Electronic address: dlwshch@163.com.
authors.forename: Shiping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: The Biotechnology center of Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiuhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaorong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Sciences and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, P.R. China. Electronic address: fgfang@ahau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fuigui
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003267:Contraception; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D056747:Immunomodulation; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000502:physiology*; D014611:Vaccination; D022642:Vaccines, Contraceptive / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D022642:Vaccines, Contraceptive; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone; D013739:Testosterone
keywords: GnRH; Immunity; Immunization; T lymphocyte