ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the potential mechanisms for host recognition and response to Bovine herpesvirus type 1 (BHV-1) and focuses on the immune potential of the host to interact with BHV-1. BHV-1 or infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus is an important pathogen of cattle and can cause severe respiratory infections, vulvovaginitis, abortions, conjunctivitis, meningoencephalitis, and generalized systemic infections. In the efferent arm of antibody- and cell-mediated immunity, lymphocytes through their antigen-specific receptors are triggered to differentiate and secrete soluble mediators, such as interleukin-2 and T cell replacing factor by T lymphocytes, or antibody to BHV-1 antigens by B lymphocytes. To substantiate the role of macrophage involvement in lymphocyte proliferation to BHV-1, others have shown that exogenous stimuli, such as levamisole, enhanced in vitro blastogenic response of bovine lymphocytes to nonspecific mitogens and BHV-1. Natural killer cells have been identified in spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow, and the blood of normal animals using a variety of cellular cytotoxicity assays.
