The lymphocate subsets were investigated by using monoclonal antibodies to identify CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, and surface immunoglobulin positive (sIg+) lymphocytes.
COPD-affected horses (n = 5) and normal controls (n = 5) were sampled prestabling and 14 days poststabling, at which time the COPD-affected horses wee exhibiting clinical signs of COPD. The peripheral blood absolute CD4+ lymphocyte count was significantly elevated in the COPD-affected horses pre- and poststabling.
The CD4:CD8 ratio in peripheral blood of COPD-affect horses was unaffected by stabling, but the same ratio in the control horses was significantly decreased.
These findings support a hypothesis of deficient regulation of a systemic immune response to indoor air in the COPD-affected horses.
A large population of leukocytes in pulmonary biopsy immunohistochemical sections from both groups of horses appeared to be CD3+ CD4- CD8-, an uncommon phenotype in both the peripheral blood and BALF.
Source: J. L. Watson, J. L. Stott, M. T. Blanchard, J. P. Lavoie, W. D. Wilson, L. J. Gershwin and D. W. Wilson (1997): Phenotypic characterization of lymphocyte subpopulations in horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and in normal controls. In: Veterinary Pathology, Vol 34, Issue 2 108-116.
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