Abstract
Phenotypes of lymphocytes from laparoscopically biopsied liver tissues of eleven healthy beagle dogs were analyzed. The proportion of CD3+ lymphocytes (T cells), CD3 -CD21+ lymphocytes (B cells) and CD3 -CD21- lymphocytes (non-T non-B lymphocytes), and the CD4+/CD8+ ratio in the canine hepatic lymphocytes were 54.8 ± 11.9%, 4.7 ± 3.1%, 40.7 ± 13.2%, and 0.33 ± 0.12, respectively, while those in peripheral blood lymphocytes were 85.4 ± 6.5%, 9.3 ± 6.1%, 5.3 ± 1.8%, and 1.64 ± 0.36, respectively. These results indicated that the constitution of hepatic lymphocytes quite differed from that of peripheral blood lymphocytes in dogs, and suggested that the regional immunity in canine liver might be specific.
