The ovine immune response to Chlamydia psittaci; histopathology of the lymph node

The histopathological response of the ovine popliteal lymph node to infection by an ovine abortion strain of Chlamydia psittaci was studied. After infection of 10 seronegative sheep by the subcutaneous route, the draining popliteal lymph nodes enlarged considerably. By day 6, expansion was more marked in the medulla than in the cortex but, by day 18, cortical follicles were prominent. Immunoglobulin-containing cells increased in number both in the medulla and cortex between days 6 and 18. C. psittaci was re-isolated from three nodes on day 6 and one on day 12, but at no stage was it demonstrated in tissue sections by an immunoperoxidase method. Thus it was shown that while C. psittaci could apparently become "latent" in lymphoid tissue, it could also stimulate a profound response at the same site.