The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 2006/08, 106(8):496. doi: 10.7556/jaoa.2006.106.8.471, type of study: ,ani,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Full text    (https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2006.106.8.471/html)

Keywords:

animal experiment [68]
immune response [11]
leukocytes [9]
LPT [27]
lymphatic pump technique [43]

Abstract:

Our long range goal is to evaluate the effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative therapy (OMT) at enhancing the immune response against a variety of infectious and inflammatory diseases. In this study, the thoracic duct of five mongrel dogs was isolated so the immediate effects of lymphatic pump on leukocyte output could be measured. Lymph flow was measured by timed collection and lymph was collected over ice under 1) resting (control) conditions, 2) during application of the osteopathic abdominal lymphatic pump procedure. Baseline leukocyte numbers were 1.7×10^6 ± 0.57×10^6 cells/ml, while lymphatic pump manipulation significantly increased leukocyte numbers in the lymphatic fluid to 6.2×106 ± 1.6×10^6 cells/ml. Flow cytometry and differential cell staining revealed macrophages, neutrophils, lymphocytes, T cells and B cells were significantly enhanced (P<0.05) during LPT. In addition, LPT enhanced lymphatic flow rate approximately five-fold (2.7 ml/min) compared to the baseline lymphatic flow rate (0.5 ml/min). By combining the total cells per ml with the lymphatic flow rate per min, LPT enhanced total cells from 0.75×10^6 ± 0.11×10^6 total cells per minute to 17×10^6 ± 6.9×10^6 total cells per minute. Similar trends were observed in macrophages, neutrophils, lymphocytes, T cells and B cells during LPT. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that lymphatic pump manipulation significantly increases leukocyte numbers in lymphatic fluid during treatment, approximately 23-fold, suggesting that lymphatic pump increases leukocyte output via the lymphatic system, which then releases these cells into peripheral blood circulation. This significant release of immune cells into the lymphatic system during LPT may be one of the immune mechanisms responsible for the increased immune responses observed in patients given OMT. Ongoing and future studies will determine if lymphatic pump manipulation increases protective immune responses during immunization and infection challenge.