Pasteurella multocida antigen-induced in vitro lymphocyte immunostimulation, using whole blood from cattle and turkeys.

A whole blood lymphocyte stimulation assay to study cell-mediated immune responses in bovine pasteurellosis was developed. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from cattle artificially immunised with three Asiatic haemorrhagic septicaemia strains of Pasteurella multocida exhibited higher stimulation indices when incubated with antigen preparations from homologous strains than with the heterologous shipping fever strain. Lymphocytes from cattle immunised with the shipping fever strain of P multocida exhibited a higher stimulation index when incubated with an antigen preparation from the homolgous strain than with antigen preparations from heterologous haemorrhagic septicaemia strains. These results suggest that immunogenic differences exist between the haemorrhagic septicaemia strains and the shipping fever strain of P multocida. An assay using turkey whole blood lymphocytes was also developed. The use of small amounts of whole blood, microtitre plates, either 125I iododeoxyuridine or 3H-thymidine as the labelling agent, and a multiple cell-culture harvester makes the method simple, rapid and suitable for the study of immune competence and cell-mediated immune responses in turkeys on a flock basis.