Hemorrhagic enteritis virus induced changes in the lymphocyte subpopulations in turkeys and the effect of experimental immunodeficiency on viral pathogenesis

We examined the changes in the lymphocyte subpopulations in the spleen and peripheral blood of turkeys and the effects of experimental immunodeficiency in the B and T cell compartments on the pathogenesis of hemorrhagic enteritis (HE) in turkeys. Inoculation of turkeys with hemorrhagic enteritis virus (HEV) induced a drop in the relative proportions of IgM bearing cells on Day 2, 3, and 9 post-infection and an elevation in the relative proportions of CD4⁺ cells on Day 4 and 6 post-infection. Elevated levels of CD8+ cells were observed in the infected turkeys only on Day 16 after infection. Marked depletion of IgM⁺ cells may play a role in immunodepression caused by HEV. Cyclophosphamide (CY) treatment induced B cell deficiency in turkeys severely impaired HEV replication in the spleen suggesting that B lymphocytes are important for viral replication. Cyclosporin A (CsA) selectively impaired T cell mitogenesis and protected the turkeys against HEV-induced intestinal hemorrhages. CsA did not prevent viral replication in the spleen or the associated splenomegaly. This result suggested that T cell immunity may be important for intestinal hemorrhaging induced by HEV.