Skip to main content
PMC home page
Canadian Journal of Comparative Medicine logoLink to Canadian Journal of Comparative Medicine
. 1973 Jan;37(1):47–55.

Glycogen in Leukocytes from Bovine Blood and Milk

T G Naidu 1, F H S Newbould 1
PMCID: PMC1319724  PMID: 4119673

Abstract

Glycogen content was determined quantitatively by the Anthrone reagent method in leukocytes obtained from blood and milk of five cows. Distribution of glycogen in leukocytes was studied by microscopic examination of slides stained by Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) reaction. Blood glucose concentrations were investigated in these animals by standard procedures. In two of five cows both blood glucose levels and blood leukocyte glycogen levels on the same day were determined for six consecutive days. One hundred and two blood leukocyte samples from five cows had a mean glycogen content of 1.32 ± 0.04 (S.E.) mg/109 WBC, and 6.11 ± 0.17 (S.E.) mg/109 PMNs. Leukocyte preparations from 80 samples of milk comprising 97 to 98% PMNs contained 3.81 ± 0.18 (S.E.) mg glycogen/109 milk leukocytes. In PAS preparations of blood and milk leukocytes glycogen was found almost exclusively in PMNs. Glycogen granules, present frequently in PMNs and occasionally in monocytes and large lymphocytes from blood, were not observed in those from milk. The glycogen level in milk leukocytes was significantly lower (P = <0.01) than that of the blood PMNs in every cow, and the overall mean difference between levels for milk leukocytes and blood PMNs was highly significant (P = <0.001). Mean blood glucose concentration in the five cows was 44.46 ± 0.66 (S.E.) mg%. There was no significant relationship between blood glucose and blood leukocyte glycogen levels in the five corresponding cows; nor between blood glucose and blood PMN glycogen levels on the same day in either of two cows investigated. Leukocyte preparations from milk samples obtained on the second day following intramammary infusion of endotoxin consistently contained markedly less glycogen than the leukocyte preparations from first day post-infusion samples.

These tended to level off and became intermediate between first and second day levels. It is postulated that the poor phagocytic competence of leukocytes from bovine mammary glands compared to their counterparts in blood observed by various workers may be due partially to low energy reserves in these cells.

Full text

PDF
47

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BLOBEL H., KATSUBE Y. EFFECTS OF EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED LEUKOCYTOSIS IN BOVINE MAMMARY GLANDS UPON INFECTIONS WITH STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS, STREPTOCOCCUS AGALACTIAE, AND AEROBACTER AEROGENES. Am J Vet Res. 1964 Jul;25:1085–1089. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. HAYHOE F. G., QUAGLIONO D., FLEMANS R. J. Consecutive use of Romanowsky and periodic-acid-Schiff techniques in the study of blood and bone-marrow cells. Br J Haematol. 1960 Jan;6:23–25. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1960.tb06212.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Jain N. C., Lasmanis J., Schalm O. W. Influence of egg albumin-induced leukopenia on experimental Aerobacter aerogenes mastitis and on natural infection of mammary gland with coagulase-negative staphylococcus in a cow. Am J Vet Res. 1967 Sep;28(126):1243–1250. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. KARNOVSKY M. L. Metabolic basis of phagocytic activity. Physiol Rev. 1962 Jan;42:143–168. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1962.42.1.143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kent G. M., Newbould F. H. Phagocytosis and related phenomena in polymorphonuclear leukocytes from cow's milk. Can J Comp Med. 1969 Jul;33(3):214–219. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. McDowell G. H., Lee C. S., Lascelles A. K. Collection of polymorphs and macrophages from the involuted mammary gland of the ewe. Res Vet Sci. 1969 Jan;10(1):13–17. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Newbould F. H. Enhancement of phagocytosis in bovine milk leukocytes in vitro. Can J Comp Med. 1970 Jul;34(3):261–264. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Newbould F. H. Some effects of the source of bovine milk leucocytes and strain of staphylococcus on their interaction in vitro. Can J Comp Med Vet Sci. 1967 Dec;31(12):303–308. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Reite B., Oram J. D. Bacterial inhibitors in milk and other biological fluids. Nature. 1967 Oct 28;216(5113):328–330. doi: 10.1038/216328a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. SKOOG W. A., BECK W. S. Studies on the fibrinogen, dextran and phytohemagglutinin methods of isolating leukocytes. Blood. 1956 May;11(5):436–454. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. STAHELIN H., SUTER E., KARNOVSKY M. L. Studies on the interaction between phagocytes and tubercle bacilli. I. Observations on the metabolism of guinea pig leucocytes and the influence of phagocytosis. J Exp Med. 1956 Jul 1;104(1):121–136. doi: 10.1084/jem.104.1.121. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Schalm O. W., Lasmanis J., Jain N. C. Effects of humoral and cellular phases of acute inflammation in the bovine mammary gland on Aerobacter aerogenes introduced en masse and on leukocytes existing in milk. Am J Vet Res. 1967 Sep;28(126):1251–1256. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Schalm O. W., Lasmanis J. The leukocytes: origin and function in mastitis. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1968 Dec 15;153(12):1688–1694. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Scott R. B. Glycogen in human peripheral blood leukocytes. I. Characteristics of the synthesis and turnover of glycogen in vitro. J Clin Invest. 1968 Feb;47(2):344–352. doi: 10.1172/JCI105730. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Scott R. B. The role of glycogen in blood cells. N Engl J Med. 1968 Jun 27;278(26):1436–1439. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196806272782607. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Seitz I. F. Biochemistry of normal and leukemic leucocytes, thrombocytes, and bone marrow cells. Adv Cancer Res. 1965;9:303–410. doi: 10.1016/s0065-230x(08)60449-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. VALENTINE W. N., BECK W. S., FOLLETTE J. H., MILLS H., LAWRENCE J. S. Biochemical studies in chronic myelocytic leukemia, polycythemia vera and other idiopathic myeloproliferative disorders. Blood. 1952 Oct;7(10):959–977. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. VALENTINE W. N., FOLLETTE J. H., LAWRENCE J. S. The glycogen content of human leukocytes in health and in various disease states. J Clin Invest. 1953 Mar;32(3):251–257. doi: 10.1172/JCI102734. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Vercauteren R. E. On the intracellular distribution of glycogen and phosphatases in leucocyte homogenates. Enzymologia. 1965 Jul 30;29(1):45–52. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Journal of Comparative Medicine are provided here courtesy of Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

RESOURCES