A study by flow cytometry of lymphocytes in sow colostrum

Mammary secretions contain leucocytes which may be of value to the neonate. The cells obtained from sow colostrum (1 to 2·5 × 10⁶ ml⁻¹) are mainly lymphocytes (10 to 25 per cent) and epithelial cells (more than 20 per cent). In milk, there are few lymphocytes (0·5 to 2 per cent) and mostly alveolar epithelial cells. The study of lymphocytes in the mammary secretions of sows has been made difficult by the high proportion of epithelial cells, which could not be separated from lymphocytes, and by a high background in membrane immunofluorescence labelling. This paper describes a method for the study of the cells in the mammary secretions of sows by flow cytometry. It showed that 70 to 90 per cent of colostral lymphocytes were T lymphocytes, with T8 lymphocytes predominating over T4, and that the ratio T4/T8 was significantly lower in colostrum (0·57) than in blood (0·80). There were no lymphocytes expressing interleukin-2-receptors in the colostrum of sows.