Lymphocyte proliferation and antibody responses to select antigens in the brushtail possum

• Main Author: Khalil, Ashraf M
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English

Content Partner: Lincoln University. The aim of this study was to compare the in vitro lymphocyte proliferation and antibody responses to ovalbumin (OVA) and keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) after being given intragastrically or subcutaneously to female possums. Fifty four mature female possums were assigned to nine treatment groups (6 possums /group). For intragastric treatments (6 groups), possums received either 2 mg KLH, 2 mg KLH + 100 µg cholera toxin (CT), 2 mg OVA, 2 mg OVA + 100 µg CT, 100 µg CT or phosphate buffer saline (PBS). For subcutaneous administration (3 groups), possums received either 2 mg KLH incorporated in Freund's adjuvant (FA), 2 mg OVA with FA or FA alone, where complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) was used at week 0, and incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) was used at weeks 2 and 4. Treatments were administered and blood samples collected at 2 weekly intervals and all animals were euthanised at week 6 of the trial to allow for collection of samples for the lymphocyte blastogenic test (LBT) and ELISA. Intragastric administration of KLH or OVA did not enhance antigen-specific lymphocyte blastogenic activity from blood, mesenteric or axillary lymph nodes. The addition of CT as a mucosal adjuvant enhanced lymphocyte proliferative responses to KLH (and to a lesser extent OVA) from mesenteric and axillary lymph nodes (p