Depression of lymphocyte responses to phytohaemagglutinin in lambs experimentally infected with bovine respiratory syncytial virus.

Eight lambs were experimentally infected with bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) and the responses of their peripheral blood lymphocytes to the mitogen phytohaemagglutinin and BRSV antigen compared with that of control lambs injected with tissue culture fluid. The lymphocyte transformation responses to phytohaemagglutinin were significantly reduced five and 10 days after experimental infection with BRSV (P less than 0.05). It appears that these reductions were associated with CD4+ lymphocytes because CD4-enriched lymphocytes obtained five days after infection had more significantly reduced responses to phytohaemagglutinin than those obtained from the same group before infection and from the control group five days after inoculation (P less than 0.01). There were no significant lymphocyte transformation responses to BRSV antigen in both groups of lambs up to 21 days after inoculation (P greater than 0.05).