Adult Beagles were used to evaluate clinical signs and serologic response after inoculation with, or exposure to, Borrelia burgdorferi. An indirect immunofluorescent assay (IFA) and 2 ELISA were used to monitor the serologic response to B burgdorferi. Feeding infected ticks on 4 dogs (group 1) failed to cause seroconversion, and SC inoculation with 500 organisms caused minimal seroconversion in 2 of 4 dogs (group 2). At 56 days, approximately 3.01 X 10(8) B burgdorferi organisms were injected IV into group-1 dogs, and intraperitoneally into group-2 dogs. A control group of 4 dogs (group 3) had noninfected ticks feed on them, and then were given IV injection of physiologic saline solution. Increases in immunoglobulin M (IgM) titers were detected in 2 of 4 group-2 dogs approximately 7 days after the initial exposure. These titers returned to negligible values 20 days later. Immunoglobulin G titers increased approximately 10 days after the initial exposure and were mildly increased 56 days later, when dogs were exposed a second time. Both the IV and intraperitoneal injections (second exposures) resulted in increased IgM titers, which in both groups eventually returned to preexposure values after approximately 2 months. Immunoglobulin G titers increased within a week after the second exposure, and in 3 dogs monitored for 8 months, returned to negligible values after the 8-month period. One control dog had a slightly increased IgG titer 24 days after the second inoculation. The possibility of urine transmission is suggested. Clinical status, hemograms, serum biochemical profiles, ECG and results of urinalyses remained normal throughout the study. Borrelia burgdorferi was not isolated from either the blood or urine of these dogs. Gross or microscopic pathologic changes were not detected on necropsy.

Bovine fibroblast interferon (BoF-IFN), produced in primary bovine embryonic kidney cell cultures after priming and infection with bluetongue virus, was purified by controlled pore glass (CPG) chromatography to a specific activity of 10(6) U/mg of protein, with 40% recovery of the original activity. The crude IFN was concentrated more than sevenfold during purification. This proved to be a relatively simple, practical method of obtaining sufficient quantities of partially purified natural BoF-IFN for further studies. The CPG-purified BoF-IFN was further concentrated by sequential ultrafiltration and was analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Interferon, recovered from denaturing conditions either by dialysis against phosphate-buffered saline solution or by dilution in cell culture medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum, migrated as a single stainable protein with molecular weight of 21,000 on analytic SDS-PAGE gels. Recovered IFN activity from preparative SDS-PAGE totalled 8.7% of that applied. Attempts to further purify CPG-purified BoF-IFN by zinc chelate affinity chromatography were unsuccessful.