Experimental intramammary inoculation with Mycoplasma bovis in vaccinated and unvaccinated cows: effect on local and systemic antibody response.

Four cows were vaccinated with Mycoplasma bovis five times at two week intervals: three times subcutaneously in Freund's complete adjuvant, and two times with M. bovis alone in two of four quarters by intramammary infusion. The effect of vaccination on the immune response was evaluated in the serum and whey of the four vaccinated and control (placebo) cows experimentally challenged in two of four quarters with live M. bovis. Vaccination resulted in markedly increased M. bovis-specific, serum IgM, IgG and IgG2, but not IgA, reactivity. Challenge exposure with live M. bovis by intramammary infusion resulted in high specific serum IgM, IgG1 and IgG2 reactivity and a noticeable IgA response in both vaccinated and control cows. Whey from quarters on vaccinated cows had elevated, specific IgG1 reactivity at the time of challenge but no other differences were observed. Challenge exposure with live M. Bovis resulted in high antibody levels of all isotypes in quarters which were challenged, but highly elevated reactivities in unchallenged quarters occurred only with IgG1 and IgG2. These results indicate that vaccination elevated M. bovis-specific IgG1 but not other immunoglobulin reactivity in quarters on vaccinated cows, and that live organisms are necessary to elicit a local, specific IgA response.