Regulation of mitogenic responses by bovine milk leukocytes

Bovine milk lymphocytes are less responsive to in vitro mitogen stimulation than peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). In this study, milk leukocytes (ML) or their soluble products, were co-cultured with mitogen stimulated PBL to determine if suppression could be transferred to normally responsive cells. Addition of either ML (treated with mitomycin C to prevent cell division), or supernatant from ML cultures to cultures of autologous PBL resulted in a reduction of mitogenesis by the PBL, but no suppression was seen with addition of treated PBL or PBL supernatant. Suppression was greater when the ML were from animals with chronic staphylococcal infection. Suppression by ML supernatant was not due to toxicity to the responders, since addition at the latter stages of culture had no effect on the response. These results indicate that reduced mitogenesis by milk lymphocytes may be due to the presence of suppressor cells or molecules.