Study of the immunological profile towards Mycobacterium bovis antigens in

FEDERICO C BLANCO; PABLO SCHIERLOH; MARÍA VERÓNICA BIANCO; KARINA CAIMI; VIRGINIA MEIKLE; ALICIA E. ALITO; ANGEL A CATALDI; MARÍA DEL CARMEN SASIAIN; FABIANA BIGI

Microbiology and Immunology

Wiley Blackwell

Año: 2009 p. 460 - 467

Abstract A number of studies have determined the contribution of Th1 and Th2 responses to protective immunity and pathology of Mycobacterium bovis infection. However, much of that information is derived from experimentally infecting cattle with M. bovis and few data from naturally infected animals is available. The aim of this study was to characterize the immunological profile towards M. bovis antigens of naturally infected cattle by measurement of cytokine mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and to determine which lymphocyte subsets are involved in recall responses of PBMCs from M. bovis infected cattle to M. bovis antigens. Consistent with data from experimentally M. bovis infected cattle, naturally infected animal displayed a Th1 cytokine profile in response to M. bovis purified protein derivative (PPD) B stimulation. Production of IFN-g mRNA by PBMCs after PPDB stimulation statistically distinguishes between infected and healthy herds, suggesting that this molecule is usable as an M. bovis-infection marker. As it happens in experimentally infected cows, CD4, CD8 and gdTCR cells from a naturally M. bovis-infected herd are the predominant T cell subsets expanded in response to PPDB. Keywords: Mycobacterium bovis, flow cytometry, cytokine