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Published on: May 8, 2016
A study by flow cytometry of lymphocytes in sow colostrum
1Laboratoire de Pathologie Infectieuse et d'Immunologie, INRA Centre de Recherches de Tours, Nouzilly, France.
Insights
Mammary secretions in sows contain valuable leucocytes for neonates. A new flow cytometry method successfully analyzed these cells, revealing insights into T lymphocyte populations in sow colostrum.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Veterinary Science
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Mammary secretions, particularly colostrum, contain leucocytes crucial for neonatal immunity.
- Studying lymphocytes in sow mammary secretions is challenging due to high epithelial cell content and membrane immunofluorescence issues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a flow cytometry method for analyzing cells in sow mammary secretions.
- To characterize the lymphocyte populations, specifically T lymphocytes, in sow colostrum.
Main Methods:
- Development of a flow cytometry technique to overcome challenges in separating lymphocytes from epithelial cells.
- Analysis of lymphocyte subsets (T4, T8) and interleukin-2 receptor expression in sow colostrum and blood.
Main Results:
- Flow cytometry enabled effective analysis of sow mammary secretion cells.
- Colostral lymphocytes primarily consist of T lymphocytes (70-90%), with a predominance of T8 over T4 lymphocytes.
- The T4/T8 ratio in colostrum (0.57) was significantly lower than in blood (0.80), and no lymphocytes expressed interleukin-2 receptors.
Conclusions:
- The established flow cytometry method is effective for studying sow mammary secretion lymphocytes.
- Sow colostrum exhibits a distinct T lymphocyte profile compared to blood, with implications for neonatal immunity.
- The absence of interleukin-2 receptor-expressing lymphocytes suggests specific functional roles or developmental stages.
Abstract:
Mammary secretions contain leucocytes which may be of value to the neonate. The cells obtained from sow colostrum (1 to 2.5 x 10(6) ml-1) are mainly lymphocytes (10 to 25 per cent) and epithelial cells (more than 20 per cent). In milk, there are few lymphocytes (0.5 to 2 per cent) and mostly alveolar epithelial cells. The study of lymphocytes in the mammary secretions of sows has been made difficult by the high proportion of epithelial cells, which could not be separated from lymphocytes, and by a high background in membrane immunofluorescence labelling. This paper describes a method for the study of the cells in the mammary secretions of sows by flow cytometry. It showed that 70 to 90 per cent of colostral lymphocytes were T lymphocytes, with T8 lymphocytes predominating over T4, and that the ratio T4/T8 was significantly lower in colostrum (0.57) than in blood (0.80). There were no lymphocytes expressing interleukin-2-receptors in the colostrum of sows.
