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O. W. Dixon

Publications and source records attributed to O. W. Dixon.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Cellular immune response in rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri Richardson to Yersinia ruckeri O-antigen monitored by the passive haemolytic plaque assay test

The specificity and kinetics of the immune response of rainbow trout ( Salmo gairdneri ) to single injections of an O-antigen extracted from the bacterial pathogen Yersinia ruckeri , which causes enteric redmouth in fish, were investigated by the passive haemolytic plaque assay and serum antibody quantitation. Doses ranging from 5 ng to 500 mg in 10-fold increments were injected intraperitoneally into groups of trout held at 17 × 1°5°C. The occurrence of plaque forming cells (PFC) and humoral antibody was followed for 35 days after injection. Trout gave an immune response to doses of 500 ng and above. Seven days after injection no humoral antibody was detected, but PFC were found in the spleen. The maximum PFC numbers occurred 11 days after injection. On day 21, few PFC were found, whereas serum antibody titres were highest. The antibody from immunized trout showed little or no cross-reactions with sheep red blood cells passively labelled With antigens from other fish pathogens.

Journal of Fish Diseases

Induction of antibody-producing cells in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri Richardson, by flush exposure

Splenic antibody-producing cells were produced by rainbow trout that had been exposed to O-antigens extracted from Yersinia ruckeri and Aeromonas salmonicida by adding the concentrated antigen preparation directly into the water of the tank holding the fish for a flush exposure. This method was compared with the proven techniques of exposure: intraperitoneal injection or a 2 minute immersion of the fish in the antigen preparation. Dosage experiments showed that the production of antibody-producing cells was induced by the immersion of trout for 2 minutes in water with 5.0 μg/ml-1 (or more) with the Y. ruckeri O-antigen, or 500 μg ml-1 (or more) of the A. salmonicida O-antigen. Similar differences were evident when the respective antigens were added directly to the water.

Journal of Fish Biology

Temperature comparisons for antibody production in vitro by plaque-forming cells from trout Salmo gairdneri (Richardson), and mice

Anterior kidney and splenic cells were taken from rainbow trout and splenic cells from BALB/c mice immunized with a T-dependent (sheep red blood cells) or T-independent (DNP-Ficoll) antigen. The cells were incubated at different temperatures in Jerne plaque assays (direct or passive haemolytic plaque assays). The optimum numbers of in vitro plaque-forming cells (PFC) after incubation with homologous complement were directly correlated with normal body temperatures of the respective species. The optimum incubation temperature was 37°C for mouse cells and 10°C for fish cells. Incubation of mouse cells at lower temperatures of 30, 20, 10, 4 or 0°C appeared to yield a direct line reduction in numbers of PFC. Trout cells developed significantly fewer PFC at 4 and 20°C and none at 30°C or above; however, significant numbers still appeared at 0°C. More PFC per million white blood cells were obtained from the anterior kidney; however, related to temperatures, no differences in development of numbers of PFC could be seen between the spleen and anterior kidney cells of trout. When the incubation time was lengthened for both trout and mouse cells held at low temperatures, the numbers of PFC approached those of the cells incubated at the optimum temperatures for 10 h.

Journal of Fish Biology

Immunostimulation of antibody-producing cells and humoral antibody to fish bacterins by a biological response modifier

Numbers of splenic antibody-producing cells and humoral antibody titres were elevated during immunization regimes in rainbow trout when the bacterins Yersinia ruckeri or Aeromonas salmonicida O-antigen preparations were mixed with the immunostimulator FK-565. Fish sampled 14 days after injection showed a marked increase in the immune response when doses of 5, 10 or 100 μg of antigen were used. The immunostimulator may aid initial antigen uptake and processing.

Journal of Fish Biology

In vivo and in vitro transfer of trout spleen sections for early analysis of the immune response

To determine the earliest time after in vivo immunisation that the spleen could be excised and held in vitro to detect an immune response, lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) were exposed to DNP-Ficoll or Yersinia ruckeri O antigen administered by intraperitoneal injection or by bath. The spleens were excised from the fish at selected times after immunisation, placed in vitro and held in tissue culture media at 14°C until 10 days after the in vivo immunisation. They then were analysed for an immune response by counting the numbers of plaqueforming cells (PFC). PFC were first detected in samples taken 3 days after injection with either antigen. With bath immunisation, however, PFC were first seen 6 days post-immunisation when using the Y. ruckeri O antigen and no PFC above background levels appeared in fish bathed in the DNP-Ficoll solution. On day 10 after immunisation, the spleens taken directly from immunised fish always produced more PFC than when the spleens were taken through in vitro culture. A unique feature of this method, is that an immune response to an antigen may be detected by excising the spleen and holding it in in vitro culture without necessarily holding the fish for long periods of time after antigen injection or bath. This technique also adds more information on how rapidly the bacterins or antigens are processed by fish to initiate an immune response.

Fish and Shellfish Pathology

Ultrastructure of the spleen and head kidney of striped bass

The spleen and head kidney of striped bass Morone saxatilis were examined by electron microscopy, including examination of ultrastructural localization of peroxidase. The spleen is composed of a loosely organized reticulum that supports the red and white pulp. The principal hematopoietic and mature blood cells observed were erythrocytes, erythroblasts, lymphocytes, macrophages, thrombocytes, and aggregates of pigmented macrophages. In addition, limited numbers of neutrophils, neutrophilic myelocytes (immature neutrophils), plasma cells, eosinophils and monocytes were identified. Reticular cells and fibers appeared to provide a structural framework for both cells and blood sinuses in the spleen. Like the spleen, the head kidney contained erythrocytes, macrophages, monocytes, lymphocytes, and other less frequently observed cell types. A distinct difference in the cytologic composition of the two organs, however, was in the greater number of neutrophilic myelocytes found in the head kidney, where these cells were often arranged in groups. Positive peroxidase reactions were observed for neutrophils, neutrophilic myelocytes, macrophage phagolysosomes, and pigmented macrophages in both the spleen and head kidney.

Journal of Aquatic Animal Health

Suppression of antibody-producing cells in rainbow trout spleen sections exposed to copper in vitro

Immunosuppression was demonstrated in sections of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss (formerly Salmo gairdneri ) spleens immunized in vitro and exposed in culture to different concentrations of copper chloride. The sections were immunized with dinitrophenyl-Ficoll and cultured in Eagle's minimum essential medium with 2% fetal calf serum; half of the medium was withdrawn and replaced every other day. The passive hemolytic plaque assay was used to determine the number of antibody-producing cells 10 d after injection. In the sections cultured with the high copper concentration (100 μg/mL), all cells died; at copper concentrations of 0.1–10 μg/mL, leukocytes remained viable, but fewer antibody-producing cells were present than in organ sections cultured in medium without copper. This in vitro method reduces the number of animals needed and the length of time required to determine toxicity and immunosuppression, and it provides information on the effects of certain environmental pollutants on fish.

Journal of Aquatic Animal Health