Effects of allogeneic blood transfusion on the immunity parameters in recipient rabbits

Abstract

Blood transfusion is always associated with immunological risks. In animals, immune conflicts can occur, because other than erythrocytes and plasma factors, many other antigens (leukocytes, trombocytes) are not accounted for. This publication is focused on morphological changes in blood of recipient rabbits following allogeneic transfusion. Modeling of blood transfusion was performed on five clinically healthy rabbits by intravenous injection of allogeneic whole blood in estimation of 5.5 mL/kg of body weight. The materials for the study were the blood samples, gathered on the 3rd, 7th, and 23th days after the transfusion. We determined that in the organism of the recipient animals, there occurred post-transfusion leukocytosis. Increase in the number of leukocytes in the experimental animals did not exceed the physiological parameters. After whole-blood transfusion, the amount of lymphocytes and granulocytes in the recipient rabbits did not significantly change over 23 days of the experiment. We recorded significant decrease in the amount of monocytes on the 3–23rd day after allogeneic transfusion in the organism of the recipient rabbits. Following the blood transfusion, percentage of T-lymphocytes in the recipient rabbits increased compared with the initial condition on the 3rd and 7th days of the experimental studies, and decreased on the 23rd day. Percentage of B-lymphocytes in the recipient rabbits after the allogeneic blood transfusion increased compared with the initial level, indicating activation of specific immunity. The whole-blood transfusion led to decrease in the percentage of O-lymphocytes in the recipient on the 3rd day of the experiment, and increase on the 7th and 23rd days of the experiment, as compared with the initial condition. The conducted studies of allogeneic transplantation of whole blood demonstrate that whole-blood transfusion entails a cascade of complex immunological reactions in the recipient animals. The prospects for further research are studies of influence of allogeneic transfusion of blood components on the parameters of specific and non-specific links of immunity of the recipient animals.