Immune functions in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas): evaluation of phagocytosis and respiratory burst with peripheral blood leukocytes using flow cytometry

Flow cytometric assays using peripheral blood were developed to study phagocytosis and respiratory burst, the two major functions of neutrophils and among the most important non-specific defense mechanisms, in beluga whales. The use of flow cytometry avoids the problems associated with the isolation and purification of different cell types, and allows the measurement of a large number of cells (10 000) in a very short period of time. The methods described will be used to compare these functions in blood samples from highly contaminated beluga whales from the St. Lawrence and from relatively clean arctic beluga whales.