Analysis of leukocyte populations in Canadian Holsteins classified as high or low immune responders for antibody- or cell-mediated immune response

Selection of dairy cattle for increased milk production with little or no emphasis on health traits leads to an increased prevalence of disease. A possible genetic solution to this problem is to combine production and immune response traits in a weighted selection index. In the current study, leukocyte populations in heifers identified as having a high antibody-mediated immune response (HiAMIR) or high cell-mediated immune response (HiCMIR) phenotype were compared before and after immunization in order to identify leukocyte population profiles associated with these phenotypes. The results demonstrated that the HiCMIR-phenotype animals had a higher baseline proportion of gamma-delta T-cells in peripheral blood. Also, the observed increase in the proportion of B-cells in peripheral blood in response to immunization was greater in the HiAMIR-phenotype animals. It is expected that identifying leukocyte population profiles associated with immune response phenotypes will improve our ability to identify animals with enhanced overall immune responsiveness.