Autorosette formation of erythrocytes on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in dogs vaccinated with canine distemper live-virus vaccine.

A time course study of the peripheral blood leukocytes of dogs vaccinated with canine distemper live virus (a paramyxovirus) vaccines showed that autorosette-forming leukocytes appeared from day 3 to day 10 after vaccination. The number of these cells peaked at day 7 when as many as 35% of mononuclear cells formed rosettes with autologous erythrocytes. In contrast, in nonvaccinated dogs, only 0.6 +/- 0.3% (standard error of the mean) of mononuclear cells formed rosettes throughout the 2-week period.