Medycyna Wet. 67 (4), 254-257, 2011
| Stenzel T., Tykałowki B., Śmiałek M., Kwiatkowska-Stenzel A., Koncicki A. |
| Effect of different immunomodulators on the percentage of the CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes and the antibody titres in pigeons immunised against PPMV-1 |
| As a consequence of frequent immunosuppression in pigeons, with resultant decreased post-vaccination immunity and deteriorated health of the birds, a study was taken up in order to determine the effect of three immunomodulators (β-glucans, metisoprinol and levamisole) on the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in peripheral blood and spleen, and the titre of anti-NDV antibodies in the serum of pigeons in four groups (A, B, C, D), 20 birds in each. The birds in each group were immunized against paramyxovirosis in week 6 and 9 of their lives, and water for injection was given intramuscularly 1 day before each injection (group A - control), metisoprinol was given intramuscularly for 3 days at a dose of 300 mg/kg of body weight (group B), levamisole was given as a 7.5% solution of levamisole hydrochloride at a dose of 2 mg/kg of body weight intramuscularly, 1 day (group C), or β-glucans were given 10 days before vaccination per os at a dose of 5 mg/kg of body weight (group D). The immunological examinations were carried out by flow cytometry and the ELISA test. The results indicate that levamisole and β-glucans at the doses used in the study stimulate an increase in the anti-NDV antibody titre and the percentage of CD4+ T lymphocyte subpopulation in peripheral blood (levamisole) along with an increase in the percentage of CD8+ T lymphocytes in the spleen of pigeons vaccinated against paramyxovirosis. The absence of such an effect following the administration of metisoprinol at a dose of 300 mg/kg of body weight for 3 days may have resulted from an excessively high dose. |
| Keywords: pigeons, immunomodulation, levamisole, β-glucans, metisoprinol |