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Evidence for non‐specific immunosuppression during the development of immune responses to Equid Herpesvirus‐1
Author(s) -
Hannant D.,
O'Neill T.,
Jessett D. M.,
Mumford Jennifer A.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1991.tb04756.x
Subject(s) - immunosuppression , immune system , immunology , biology , polyclonal antibodies , lymphocyte , antibody , serology , in vivo , virology , microbiology and biotechnology
Summary Six ponies were experimentally infected with an isolate of Equid Herpesvirus type 1 (EHV‐I) recovered from an aborted foetus. Clinical, virological and serological observations confirmed that infection was established in all ponies. EHV‐I specific cellular immune responses as measured by T cell proliferation developed in parallel with specific antibody. In contrast to this, non‐specific lymphocyte function was shown to be compromised after infection in that polyclonal T cell activation was depressed for at least 40 days. The dissociation of specific and non‐specific cellular immune responses suggests that an immunological defect may develop in horses after EHV‐I infection. The mechanism for this immunosuppression is not understood but it is unlikely to reflect a reduction in responding lymphocyte numbers in vivo because the observed immunosuppression continued well beyond the period of transient leucopaenia commonly seen with EHV‐1.