Immunological Indicators in Dogs Affected by Deep Pyoderma

Abstract

We examined the immune state of dogs with deep pyoderma to elucidate the relationship between clinical symptoms and immunological processes. We measured selected immunological parameters in control dogs (n = 10) and dogs of various breeds (German Shepherds were not included) affected by deep pyoderma (n = 25). We found that the affected dogs had increased relative counts of neutrophils, decreased relative and absolute counts of lymphocytes, higher relative counts of CD3+ lymphocytes and CD8+ lymphocytes but lower relative counts of CD21+ lymphocytes and CD4+ lymphocytes. The affected dogs exhibited a reduced activity of nonstimulated as well as mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes. Lower values of circulating immune complexes (CIC) in affected dogs were conditioned by the young age of animals. Nevertheless, the changes found in our study were not expressed in all animals.