Immunogram indices in seropositive and seronegative cats for Toxoplasma gondii

V. Kusturov, M. Broshkov

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Odesa State Agrarian University,
13 Panteleimonivska str., Odesa, 65012, Ukraine

The article presents the data of immunogram studies in seropositive and seronegative for Toxoplasma gondii cats and the dependence of the absolute number of immunocompetent cells on their housing conditions. The blood from domestic and stray cats aged 3 to 5 years in which IgG to T. gondii was detected during a serological study was used in the study. During analyzes of the average values of seropositive (SP) cats it was detected that 10 animals (22%) had sufficiently high IgG titers of 3.24±0.835 (P≤0.05) and only 5 cats (11%) can be considered as animals that did not come into contact with the causative agent of toxoplasmosis. Neutrophils, as immunoregulatory cells, are among the first to encounter and become infected with Toxoplasma after the parasite crosses the intestinal epithelium. Determination of phagocytic activity of neutrophils showed that in the SP stray cats this indicator is 2 times lower than in the SP domestic cats and more than 4.0 times in the seronegative (SN) domestic cats. Analysis of the absolute content of lymphocytes and their T-subpopulation in the blood of different cats’ groups showed that in the SP stray cats, these indicators were lower. It is a proven fact that in order to control the adequate immune response in animals, it is extremely important not only the quantitative value of the immunoregulatory cells’ population, but also the ratio between them. The obtained results indicate that among homeless animals the seropositivity for toxoplasmosis is twice that of domestic cats. It was found that the SP domestic cats have a higher rate of T-suppressors and due to this IРI is 2.38±0.175. While the SP homeless cats have a larger T-helper subpopulation of lymphocytes and IРI is 4.13±0.506. In the SP domestic cats, the absolute content of B-lymphocytes was 0.616±0.038 and this indicator is the highest compared to other groups. There are also differences in the blood content of NK cells, namely in the homeless SP animals, it is higher than in the domestic cats. From this it should be noted that stray cats infected with T. gondii are mainly responsible for the widespread and constant pressure of infection in the region.

Key words: Toxoplasma gondii, IgG titer, phagocytic activity of neutrophils, NK cells

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