Cellular and humoral responses in the respiratory tract of goats followingintranasal stimulation using formalin-killed Pasteurella haemolytica A2

A study to determine the immunoglobulin and cellular responses in the respi ratory tract of goats following intranasal exposures to formalin-killed Pas teurella haemolytica A2 was carried out. Forty-two goats were divided into two groups. Goats in Group 1 were subjected to double intranasal exposures to formalin-killed P. haemolytica A2 while goats in Group 2 were the unexpo sed control. Prior to and at weekly intervals post-exposure, three goats fr om each group were killed, serum samples were collected while the lungs wer e flushed with 50 mi normal saline before the right apical lobes were fixed in 10% buffered formalin. Both serum and lung lavage fluid were subjected to enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to determine the levels of IgA , IgM and IgG while the formalin-fixed tissues were examined histologically . IgA levels in the lung lavage fluid increased rapidly to reach a signific antly (p < 0.05) high level as early as Week 2 post-exposure and remained s ignificantly (p < 0.05) high throughout the study period. The IgM levels in creased at an intermediate rate to reach a significantly (p < 0.05) high le vel at Week 3 post-exposure before they decreased to an insignificant (p > 0.05) level the following week and the weeks thereafter. IgG levels increas ed gradually and only reached a significantly (p < 0.01) high level at Week s 5 and 6 of the study. The size of the bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) and the number of lymphocytes in BALT increased significantly from Week 2 and remained high thereafter. However, differences in the numbers of BALT were insignificant (p > 0.05) initially before becoming significantly (p < 0.05) high at Weeks 5 and 6. The BALT responses were parallel to thos e of immunoglobulins in the lung lavage fluid. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science E. V. All rights reserved.