Immunomorphologic and morphometric changes in pulmonary lymph nodes of sheep with progressive pneumonia

Morphologic, immunohistochemical, and morphometric studies were conducted on the posterior mediastinal lymph nodes of eleven sheep with naturally occurring ovine progressive pneumonia and four apparently healthy sheep with no pulmonary lesions (three seropositive, one seronegative for antibody to ovine progressive pneumonia virus). Compared with lesion-free sheep, sheep with ovine progressive pneumonia had a seven-fold increase in B lymphocyte areas and a 21/2-fold increase in T lymphocyte areas of these lymph nodes. Immunochemistry revealed cytoplasmic immunoglobulin G in scattered cells of germinal centers, medullary cords and interfollicular areas and membrane-associated immunoglobulin G in dendritic cells of germinal centers. Immunoglobulin M staining cells were widely scattered in germinal centers and medullary cords. Although B cell hyperplasia seemed to be the predominant process in lymph nodes of sheep with ovine progressive pneumonia, this was not accompanied by the expected degree of plasmacytosis, morphologically and immunohistochemically. These findings may represent an aberrancy of immunoregulation in ovine progressive pneumonia.