Cellular immune responses in the guinea pig model with a 9-color phenotypic flow cytometry panel

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Presentation Time: 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Poster Board Number: B831
Abstract ID: 5954

Presenting Author:
Scott M. Anthony , Immunologist at NIAID, DCR, IRF-Frederick, NIH

Abstract:

Guinea pigs serve as a valuable animal model for many aspects of infectious disease research. A primary limitation of the guinea pig model is the lack of a robust toolbox to probe the underlying immune responses in these animals. We developed an optimized 9-color flow cytometric assay for immunophenotyping peripheral and tissue-associated immune cells in the guinea pig. Using this assay, we can delineate CD45+ cells as well as monocyte and macrophage populations, in addition to further differentiating lymphocyte populations of B and T cells. Importantly, we found that this panel is able to detect these populations in both inbred Strain 13 and outbred Hartley guinea pigs in whole blood and from fresh and frozen cells isolated from several peripheral tissues. We utilized this panel to separately interrogate the immune responses in whole blood and spleen tissue samples after exposure of Hartley guinea pigs with Ebola virus (EBOV) and Strain 13 or Hartley guinea pigs with Lassa virus (LASV). We believe this flow cytometry panel will serve as an important tool to interrogate the underlying immune responses to risk group 4 pathogens in addition to numerous other infectious diseases with the guinea pig model.