| Popis: |
Rabbits serve as valuable animal models to study the immunopathogenesis of human diseases that gain entry through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Rabbits possess abundant mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), both in the GALT and at other mucosal sites. This makes them uniquely suited to studying diseases which are transmitted across these surfaces. This study looks at the gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALT), as well as, the lymphoid populations in the spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, and peripheral blood of twelve week old New Zealand White rabbits. Herein, we used flow cytometric and immunohistochemical methods to phenotypically characterize lymphoid populations. Results obtained via flow cytometric analysis were comparable to the distribution of leukocyte subsets in other animal species, including humans, both in the GALT inductive and effector sites and in mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, and peripheral blood. Immunohistochemical analyses of tissues were comparable to results obtained via flow cytometry. Our data collectively indicate that New Zealand White rabbits compared to humans and mice contain a predominant CD4+ T cell population throughout their GALT and associated lymphoid tissues. Furthermore, these data will support future studies that utilize the rabbit model to study human gut-associated disease or infectious agents that gain entry via the oral route. |
