Institution: | a Department of Parasitology, Institute of Zoology, University of Warsaw, Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland b Witold Stefanski Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland c Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Glasgow University Veterinary School, Bearsden Road, Glasgow G61 1QH, USA |
Abstract: | A longitudinal study of sheep, naturally infected with gastrointestinal helminths, was carried out to quantify the relationships among eosinophilia, eosinophil peroxidase activity, interleukin-5 level and faecal egg counts. Faecal egg counts, peripheral eosinophilia and peroxidase activity per eosinophil were moderately repeatable but interleukin-5 concentrations had a remarkably high repeatability. Animals with higher concentrations of interleukin-5 had greater peripheral eosinophilia and those animals with higher numbers of eosinophils had lower faecal egg counts. These associations were statistically significant but quite weak. Variation in interleukin-5 levels does not appear to be responsible for most of the variation in eosinophil responses in outbred sheep. |