Effects of Lipopolysaccharide on the Recruitment of T Cells in the Seminal Tract of Roosters

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether T cells were recruited in the chicken seminal tract in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The epididymis and ductus deferens were collected from matured roosters before and after 3 or 6 h of intravenous injection with 0.5 mg LPS per kg body-weight (LPS group) or phosphate buffered saline (control group). Their cryostat sections were immunostained using anti-chicken CD4 and CD8 antibodies. The frequencies of immunopositive cells in the rete testis, efferent duct and epididymal duct in the epididymis and ductus deferens were analyzed under a microscope with image analysis software. Both types of T cells were identified predominantly in the connective tissue underlying the mucosal epithelium and occasionally in the epithelium of the ducts in the epididymis and ductus deferens in all birds. Frequency of CD4+ T cell was increased in the ductus deferens 6 h post LPS injection. Their frequency in the efferent duct and ductus deferens was greater in the LPS group than in the control group after 6 h of injection. The frequency of CD8+ T cells in the LPS treated group was significantly increased in the efferent duct after 3 h and in the ductus deferens after 6 h of LPS injection. Significantly higher frequency of CD8+ T cells in the LPS group than in the control group was identified after 6 h of injection in the rete testis, efferent duct and ductus deferens. These results suggest that both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are recruited in response to LPS stimulation in the rooster seminal tract, and the T cell-mediated local immune system is active in that organ.