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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #98093
Title: THE EFFECTS OF DEXAMETHASONE IMMUNOSUPPRESSION ON BACTERICIDAL ACTIVITY OF TURKEY MONOCYTES

Author
item Huff, Geraldine
item Huff, William
item Rath, Narayan
item Balog, Janice

Submitted to: American Society for Microbiology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/30/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Female turkeys appear to be more resistant to respiratory infections associated with stress-induced immunosuppression than are male turkeys. In order to determine the mechanism of this resistance, male and female turkeys were treated with 3 intramuscular injections of dexamethasone (DEX) at 0, 0.5 and 2.0 mg/Kg body weight on alternate days. Twenty-four hours after the third injection birds were bled and white blood cell (WBC) differentials of individual birds were determined. Pooled samples of glass-adherent mononuclear cells were cultured, challenged with Escherichia coli, and stained. The antibacterial activity of monocytes was quantitated by monitoring the percentage of cells infected over time. Dexamethasone at both 0.5 and 2.0 mg/Kg significantly (P