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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
The Bovine Lung in Biomedical Research: Visually Guided Bronchoscopy, Intrabronchial Inoculation and In Vivo Sampling Techniques
Published on: July 3, 2014
Phenotypic analysis of lymphocytes obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage of normal sheep
1Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, UK.
Insights
This study characterizes ovine lung lymphocytes, finding T-lymphocytes (CD5+) dominate the population. These findings establish a baseline for understanding ovine respiratory health and disease.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Immunology
- Pulmonary Cell Biology
- Ovine Research
Background:
- Lymphocyte populations in the ovine lung are not well-characterized.
- Understanding normal lung immunology is crucial for diagnosing respiratory diseases in sheep.
Purpose of the Study:
- To phenotypically characterize lymphocytes obtained via bronchoalveolar lavage in healthy sheep.
- To establish a reference range for ovine lung lymphocyte subtypes.
- To compare lung lymphocyte populations with peripheral blood counterparts.
Main Methods:
- Excised lungs from healthy sheep at slaughter.
- Lymphocyte isolation using bronchoalveolar lavage.
- Buoyant density separation of lymphocytes.
- Phenotypic characterization using flow cytometry (CD5, sIg, CD4, CD8, gamma delta T cells).
Main Results:
- T-lymphocytes (CD5+) comprised the majority of lung lymphocytes.
- B-lymphocytes (sIg+) were typically less than 10% of the population.
- CD4+ T cells outnumbered CD8+ T cells significantly (at least 3:1 ratio).
- CD4-/CD8- (gamma delta) T cells constituted approximately 6% of the population.
- Significant differences were observed between lung and peripheral blood lymphocyte proportions.
Conclusions:
- Established the normal phenotypic profile of ovine lung lymphocytes.
- The characterized lymphocyte populations provide a critical baseline for future studies on ovine respiratory disease.
- The data highlights distinct immune cell compositions in the ovine lung compared to peripheral circulation.
Abstract:
Lungs were excised from apparently healthy sheep at slaughter and lymphocytes obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage were separated by buoyant density and characterised phenotypically. In most animals T-lymphocytes (CD5+ cells) accounted for almost the entire population, with B-lymphocytes (sIg+ cells) generally accounting for less than 10%. In the main, CD4+ T cells exceeded CD8+ T cells by at least a factor of three and CD4-/CD8- (gamma delta) T cells represented around 6% of the population. Proportions of subtypes of lymphocytes obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage differed from those in peripheral blood. The normal range of lymphocyte phenotypes in the ovine lung established in this study will be of value in subsequent work on animals with defined respiratory disease.
