TB infection and
interleukin-2 by stimulation of badger lymphocytes
Journal
Veterinary
Immunology and Immunopathology - Vol 87, Iss 1-2 , August 2002, pp 73-78
Authors
A. Southey, E. Costello and E. Gormley from the Department of Large Animal
Clinical Studies, University College Dublin, and the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Dublin
Abstract
Detection of tb infection and production of
interleukin-2 by in vitro stimulation of badger lymphocytes
The badger is considered to be an important wildlife
reservoir for btb infection of cattle in Ireland
and in GB. However, rapid diagnosis of tb in live badgers has been
constrained through a lack of suitable immuno-diagnostic reagents for detection
of tb-infected animals. To date, there have been no reports of cytokine
activity in badgers that might be associated with specific immune
responses to tb infection. In this study, nine badgers were removed
from an area with a persistent tb problem in cattle herds and
tb was confirmed in four of the animals by ‘post-mortem’ examination
and M. bovis culture. In preliminary investigations of interleukin-2
(IL-2) activity, we were able to demonstrate that lymphoblasts prepared from
badger peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) proliferated when cultured in
the presence of human recombinant IL-2 (HrIL-2). Supernatants derived from
purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD-bovine) stimulated PBMC cultures
also induced blastogenesis of badger-derived lymphoblasts. The results
demonstrate that badger lymphocytes are responsive to HrIL-2 and that PPD-bovine
stimulation of badger PBMC results in production of bio-active IL-2.
Keywords
Badger; Tuberculosis; Interleukin-2; Lymphocyte
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