Effects of immunization with bovine herpesvirus-1 glycoproteins on bovine herpesvirus-1-induced alteration of bovine neutrophil chemotactic and anti-Pasteurella haemolytica activities.

It has been reported previously that active bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) infection greatly enhances the susceptibility of cattle to secondary bacterial pneumonia involving Pasteurella haemolytica. The present study examines the possibility that immunization of BHV-1 naive calves with purified BHV-1 glycoproteins would protect them against changes in neutrophil function that might compromise their ability to eliminate P. haemolytica during an active BHV-1 infection. The results show that circulating neutrophil chemotactic activity was generally reduced at 7-8 days after BHV-1 challenge; immunization with a 77 kilodalton BHV-1 glycoprotein (gIV) prevented impairment of neutrophil chemotaxis. BHV-1 infection did not markedly affect the ability of neutrophils to ingest and kill P. haemolytica in vitro. Immunization and challenge with BHV-1 had little effect on the chemiluminescence response of bovine neutrophils to opsonized P. haemolytica in vitro, although in one experiment a marked increase in baseline neutrophil chemiluminescence was observed which may be relevant to understanding the pathogenesis of pulmonary damage that occurs in BHV-1 infected calves.