| pubmed-article:7862609 | pubmed:abstractText | This study investigated the effects of heat stress and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) on the distribution of lymphocyte populations. Two experiments were conducted; each used 12-wk-old Cornell K-strain male chickens. In Experiment 1, birds were exposed to a temperature of 35 C, 6 h/d for 5 d and control birds were maintained at 24 C. In Experiment 2, birds received daily i.m. injections of 50 IU/kg body weight of ACTH for 5 d and control birds received .9% saline. On Day 6, blood and spleens were collected and lymphocytes were isolated. Indirect immunofluorescent labeling of lymphocytes were performed to detect B lymphocytes, CD4+ cells, and CD8+ cells. Neither ACTH injection nor heat stress affected percentages of B lymphocytes in the blood or the spleen. The CD4+ cells decreased significantly in the blood of ACTH-injected and heat-stressed birds and significantly increased in the spleens of heat-stressed birds. The CD4+ cells in the spleens of ACTH-injected birds did not differ from controls. The CD8+ cells significantly declined in the blood following both ACTH injection and heat stress and significantly increased in the spleen of the ACTH-injected birds but did not differ from controls in the heat-stressed birds. These results indicate that stress factors lead to redistribution of different lymphocyte populations. | lld:pubmed |
