Clinical and Immunological Features Associated with Bovine Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency

Granulocytopathies in dogs (1), humans (2), and cattle (3,4) characterized by persistent progressive neutrophilia in patients affected with severe recurrent bacterial infections and failure to form pus were reported between 1975 and 1987. In all three species, these conditions were determined to be heritable deficiencies of leukocyte surface glycoproteins associated with diminished cell adherence between 1984 and 1990 (5–9). Although published reports of its diagnosis are few, the bovine granulocy-topathy syndrome has been diagnosed at veterinary schools throughout the world during the past 8 y. In vitro assessments have identified abnormalities of motile, phagocytic, and oxidative functions of neutrophils which appear to mediate inflammatory deficits in vivo (3,4,7,8). Factors contributing to low frequency of diagnosis of this syndrome may relate to the impracticality of intensive clinical laboratory studies in food-producing animal species.