Unique features of bovine lymphocytes exposed to a staphylococcal enterotoxin

Analysis of Inflammatory and Regulatory Cytokines in the Milk of Dairy Cows with Mastitis: A Comparative Study with Healthy Animals

Bovine mastitis remains a major problem in the global dairy cattle industry. The acute invasion of udder by pathogens induces innate immune response as the first defence mechanism in subclinical and clinical mastitis. The aim of the study was to determine inflammatory and regulatory cytokines IL-2, IL-4, TGF-β1, IL-17A, beta-defensin 3 and IL-10 and their potential changes in milk of dairy cows with subclinical and clinical mastitis, and to compare the findings with healthy animals. Milk samples from 15 holstein Friesian breed cows were used in the study. Cows were divided into three groups based on their health status (5 healthy, 5 subclinical and 5 clinical animals). All samples were tested using immunohistochemistry to evaluate IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL17A, TGF-β1 and β-Def 3 proteins. Expression of all proteins was detected in all milk samples. High expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL17A, TGF-β1 was detected in healthy cows' milk and in milk of cows with subclinical and clinical mastitis. However, expression of IL-10 and β-Def 3 in milk samples of healthy cows was significantly higher compared to the milk of cows with subclinical and clinical mastitis (p < .001). IL-10 and β-Def 3 can be considered as informative biomarkers in diagnosis of subclinical and clinical mastitis.

Effect of Lipopolysaccharide and Muramyl Dipeptide on Apoptosis of Bovine Mammary Gland Lymphocytes

Simple Summary

Inflammation of the mammary gland in dairy cattle is a global problem and causes huge financial loss to dairy farmers. Inflammation is caused by many species of bacteria penetrating through the teat canals into the udder. Those bacteria are usually eliminated by treatment with intramammary injection of antibiotics, while they are also eliminated by the immune cells of the cow. One of the immune cells are lymphocytes which are responsible for specific immunity. When viable, they are able to carry out their normal functions. The present study focused on the investigation of cell death of lymphocytes during bovine mammary gland inflammation. We analyzed apoptosis in mammary gland lymphocytes under the stimulation of lipopolysaccharides and muramyl dipeptide as the endotoxin of Gram-negative bacteria and the natural content of the cell wall of Gram-positive bacteria. We found that they induce lymphocyte apoptosis in the early phase of inflammation, which can be associated with the expression of CD44 receptors on lymphocytes. This receptor is important in many physiological processes, including apoptosis of cells. For a better understanding of immune responses in mammary glands and for developing of immunotherapy without antibiotics, the process of inflammation, including cell death of immune cells necessitates further holistic studies.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether apoptosis of lymphocytes is modulated by stimulation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Escherichia coli or muramyl dipeptide (MDP). Cell populations were obtained by lavaging of the mammary glands 24, 48, 72, and 168 h following intramammary induced inflammation. The portion of apoptotic lymphocytes peaked at 48 h after treatment with LPS or MDP. The analysis of CD44 expression of the same cell populations showed a higher percentage of CD44-positive lymphocytes 24- and 48-h following induction of inflammation by LPS or MDP. The results demonstrate that during both experimental infection of bovine mammary glands with LPS or MDP, apoptosis of lymphocytes was induced in the initial phase of the inflammatory response and CD44 was also overexpressed at the beginning of inflammation. These data suggest a connection of lymphocyte apoptosis with the expression of CD44 receptors.

Molecular epidemiology of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) isolated from milk of cows with subclinical mastitis

Bovine mastitis has been a concern for dairy herd for decades. The adaptation capacity of one of the main species responsible for this disease, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), plays a pivotal role in this issue. The aim of this study was to establish a molecular and phenotypic profile of 285 S. aureus strains isolated from milk of subclinical mastitis cows from 18 different farms in São Paulo State using spa typing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), agr cluster (I, II, III and IV) typing, PCR for genes including enterotoxins (sea, seb, sec, sed, see, seg, seh, sei), toxic shock syndrome toxin (tsst-1), and Panton-Valentine leucocidin (pvl), as well as in vitro resistance assays for 12 antibiotics. The results showed a wide variety of strains with a high toxigenic potential; concomitantly, sec, seg and seh were prevalent. In addition, we observed a predominance of the spa types t605 (ST 126, CC126) and t127 (ST1, CC1) and the unusual presence of t321 causing bovine mastitis, which has been previously reported only in swine. The most frequent ST were ST126 (70.5%) and ST1 (10.5%). Regarding PFGE, we observed four major groups and six profile patterns. The highest resistance was observed for streptomycin (9.5%), followed by tetracycline (3.5%), clindamycin (9.3%), and erythromycin (2.8%). The tsst-1 gene was detected in 36.8% of isolates and pvl was not observed. One hundred and thirty-six (47.7%) isolates possessed agr type II, followed by types III (20%) and I (8.1%), with type IV not being detected. We observed that the same spa type could result in different PFGE profiles, so the exclusive use of spa type sequences can lead to incorrect interpretations regarding the spread of clones in an epidemiological context.

Produção de biocompostos com atividade antimicrobiana de Streptomyces sp. ante isolados de mastite caprina

Actinomicetos são um dos principais produtores de enzimas, vitaminas e metabólitos secundários, destacando-se o gênero Streptomyces, o qual tem uma ampla capacidade de produção de antibióticos eficazes no combate a diferentes microrganismos, entre eles o Staphylococcus sp. Em virtude dessa eficiência no combate a patógenos, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a produção de metabólitos com atividade antimicrobiana produzidos por 67 Streptomyces isolados de liquens da região amazônica, ante isolados de mastite caprina (Staphylococcus aureus) do estado de Pernambuco, Brasil. Foi utilizado um planejamento fatorial para avaliar a influência das fontes de carbono (glicose) 0%, 0,5% e 1% e de nitrogênio (farinha de soja) 1%, 2,5% e 4% na produção dos antimicrobianos, bem como das variáveis pH, biomassa e atividade antimicrobiana. Dos Streptomyces estudados, o DPUA 1566 foi o que se destacou por formação de halos de inibição entre 18 e 26mm ante os isolados de mastite caprina. Foi possível verificar que a fonte de carbono inibiu a produção de antimicrobianos quando submetidos a uma concentração de glicose de 1%; com a retirada desta, os Streptomyces apresentaram uma elevada capacidade de produção de metabólitos com atividade antimicrobiana tendo potencial para o tratamento de mastite caprina.

Staphylococcus aureus in veterinary medicine

Staphylococcus aureus is a major opportunistic pathogen in humans and one of the most important pathogenic Staphylococcus species in veterinary medicine. S. aureus is dangerous because of its deleterious effects on animal health and its potential for transmission from animals to humans and vice-versa. It thus has a huge impact on animal health and welfare and causes major economic losses in livestock production. Increasing attention is therefore being paid to both livestock and companion animals in terms of this pathogen. In this review, we summarise the current knowledge on the animal host adaptation of S. aureus. Different types of S. aureus infections in animals are also presented, with particular emphasis on mastitis in dairy herds, which is probably the costliest and therefore the best documented S. aureus infection seen in animals.

Targeting mucosal immunity in the battle to develop a mastitis vaccine

The mucosal immune system encounters antigens that enhance and suppress immune function, and serves as a selective barrier against invading pathogens. The mammary gland not only encounters antigens but also produces a nutrient evolved to protect and enhance mucosal development in the neonate. Efforts to manipulate antibody concentrations in milk to prevent mastitis, an infection of the mammary gland, have been hampered both by complexity and variation in target pathogens and limited knowledge of cellular immunity in the gland. Successful vaccination strategies must overcome the natural processes that regulate types and concentrations of milk antibodies for neonatal development, and enhance cellular immunity. Furthermore, the need to overcome dampening of immunity caused by non-pathogenic encounters to successfully prevent establishment of infection is an additional obstacle in vaccine development at mucosal sites. A significant mastitis pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus, not only resides as a normal flora on a multitude of species, but also causes clinical disease with limited treatment options. Using the bovine model of S. aureus mastitis, researchers can decipher the role of antigen selection and presentation by mammary dendritic cells, enhance development of central and effector memory function, and subsequently target specific memory cells to the mammary gland for successful vaccine development. This brief review provides an overview of adaptive immunity, previous vaccine efforts, current immunological findings relevant to enhancing immune memory, and research technologies that show promise in directing future vaccine efforts to enhance mammary gland immunity and prevent mastitis.

Prevalence of genes for enterotoxins, toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 and exfoliative toxin among clinical isolates of Staphylococcus pseudintermedius from canine origin

A total of 74 Staphylococcus pseudintermedius strains were isolated from the 99 clinical cases of canine pyoderma or chronic otitis in our veterinary teaching hospital during May 2006-February 2008. In this study, we examined the genetic distribution of staphylococcal pyogenic toxins such as staphylococcal enterotoxins A (sea), B (seb), C (sec), D (sed), E (see), and toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (tst) as well as the previously characterized S. intermedius exfoliative toxin (siet) among those isolates. The polymerase chain reaction analyses with the toxin gene-specific primers revealed that 18 (24.3%) of 74 S. pseudintermedius isolates carried the sec genes, but none of the sea, seb, sed, see and tst genes. Further DNA sequencing analysis of the amplified sec genes revealed that they all belonged to the canine type C staphylococcal enterotoxin (SEC(canine) ) whose superantigenic activity has been demonstrated. In addition to the sec(canine) genes, our polymerase chain reaction results showed that all the 74 isolates carried the siet gene. Since both SEC(canine) and SIET toxins are known to be biologically active, it would be interesting to investigate how those toxins are involved in the pathogenesis of the canine diseases by S. pseudintermedius such as pyoderma or chronic otitis.

Relationship between S. aureus gene pattern and dairy herd mastitis prevalence

The importance to evaluate Staphylococcus aureus virulence analysing the combination of virulence genes is largely recognised, and the recent availability of simplified microarray tools allows performing these analyses also in the dairy field. The combined availability of herd-specific S. aureus mastitis prevalence data, isolates from these herds, and microarray technology offered the opportunity to investigate the relationship between S. aureus genetic pattern and their prevalence among dairy herds. Eleven commercial dairy herds following a S. aureus control programme were enrolled in the study, and 33 S. aureus isolates were collected from these herds. Diagnostic DNA microarrays based on the array-tube platform were used for genotyping of staphylococcal DNA. The genetic analysis of the 157-genes microarray showed as only 19 genes were present in all the isolates considered, and among them the genes coding for the leukocidin subunits (LukF, LukS and LukY), haemolysins (hla, hld and an unnamed haemolysin) and enterotoxin X. Several genes considered in the arrays were absent in all the isolates, including the ones encoding the resistance to most of the antimicrobials, except for tetracycline. In our isolates, some agr alleles were never identified (B-III, C-III, D-III, C-IV and D-IV). The comparison of epidemiological data with the genetic pattern suggests that agr type II is associated to the most diffusive isolates, being recovered from the largest number of herds and with the highest frequency. Microarray technique showed to be a useful method to assess the characteristics of virulence of S. aureus isolated in dairy herds and to investigate the relationship with the prevalence of the microorganism. These results support previous evidence that specific gene patterns could be associated to S. aureus mastitis.

Bacteriological and molecular investigations of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy goats

In order to investigate reservoirs of Staphylococcus aureus in dairy goats, samples for bacteriological analyses were collected from seven herds. S. aureus was detected in 353 (6.2%) of 5671 milk samples, 53 (9.9%) of 535 teat skin swabs, 392 (68.9%) of 569 nasal swabs and in 180 (31.6%) of 569 vaginal swabs. Vaginal swabs were more often S. aureus-positive after kidding (44.9%) than before drying off (19.1%), while nasal swabs were more often positive before drying off (75.6%) than after kidding (62.0%). Retrieved S. aureus isolates were compared by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and selected isolates were tested for enterotoxin genes (se) by PCR. By PFGE, 505 S. aureus isolates were divided into 33 pulsotypes (PTs). The five most prevalent PTs included 73.3% of the isolates and were found in 3-5 herds. Pairs of S. aureus isolates from persistent intramammary infections (IMI), repeated vaginal swabs, and from milk and teat skin from the same animal were usually identical. Paired isolates from other body sites of the same animal, including from bilateral IMI, were identical in less than 50% of the situations. The majority (71.9%) of analysed S. aureus isolates were se-positive. The genes sec, sell and tst were detected almost exclusively, but no correlation was observed between persistence of IMI and the enterotoxin gene profile of the causal S. aureus strains. The frequent presence of S. aureus on the mucous membranes may contribute to dispersal of the bacteria among dairy goats, hampering effective transmission control in dairy goat herds.

Effect of Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus uberis on apoptosis of bovine mammary gland lymphocytes

The aim of this study was to determine whether lymphocyte apoptosis is modulated by infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus uberis. Samples of cell populations were obtained by lavage of the mammary glands at 4 intervals (24, 48, 72 and 168 h) following infection. The percentage of apoptotic lymphocytes peaked at 168 h after challenge with S. aureus or S. uberis. Subsequent experiments focused on in vitro cultivation of mammary gland lymphocytes with S. aureus and S. uberis. These experiments showed a lower percentage of apoptotic lymphocytes following 3h of cultivating cells with bacteria than after cultivation without bacteria. The results demonstrate that during both experimental infection of bovine mammary glands with S. aureus or S. uberis and during in vitro cultivation of lymphocytes with S. aureus or S. uberis, apoptosis of lymphocytes is delayed.

Pathogenomics of the staphylococci: insights into niche adaptation and the emergence of new virulent strains

Because of its importance as a major human and animal pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus has been the focus of intensive research efforts. At the time of writing, the genomes of 14 isolates of S. aureus have been published and released into the public domain with many more genome sequencing projects underway, representing an excellent resource for studies of bacterial evolution and pathogenesis. Recently, whole genome sequences of several other species of the Staphylococcus genus have been completed allowing a comparative genomic analysis of the adaptation of different species to their natural habitats. Here, we summarize selected comparative genomic studies that have contributed to our understanding of how staphylococci adapt to different environments, combat antibiotics and acquire increased virulence.

Evaluation of the changes of immune cells during lipopolysaccharide-induced mastitis in rats

The aim of this study was to evaluate in rats, changes in peripheral blood immune cells and mammary tissue after an intramammary infusion of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The results of the study showed that infusion of LPS induced a rapid migration of neutrophils (PMNs) from the blood to mammary alveoli, increased the activity of myeloperoxidase (MPO) and the concentration of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in mammary tissues, decreased the activity of myeloperoxidase in serum and reduced the CD4+/CD8+ ratio. This is the first report of changes in peripheral blood immune cells and mammary tissue in rat mastitis.