CD56 is Expressed Exclusively on CD3⁺ T Lymphocytes in Canine Peripheral Blood

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CD56⁺ cells in canine blood leukocytes were characterized by flow-cytometric analysis of peripheral blood of 30 healthy adult beagle-dogs (15 males and 15 non-pregnant females). In 19 of the 30 dogs, anti human CD56 antibody, Leu-19, reacted with 8.8-21.7% of peripheral blood lymphocytes. All CD56⁺ cells simultaneously expressed CD3 molecules on their surface. Further phenotypic analysis revealed that 50.6 ± 13.1% of the CD56⁺ cells showed CD4^-CD8⁺ phenotype and 43.7 ± 10.1% showed CD4⁺CD8^- phenotype. Expression intensity of CD56 on the CD4^-CD8⁺CD56 ⁺ cells was significantly higher than that on CD4⁺CD8 ^-CD56⁺ cells (P<0.001). These findings indicate that CD56, which is a neural cell adhesion molecule, is uniquely expressed on subsets of T lymphocytes in canine peripheral blood.