title: Gene expression profiling of PBMCs from Holstein and Jersey cows sub-clinically infected with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis.
abstract: Infection of calves with intracellular Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis (MAP) commonly results in a granulomatous, chronic inflammatory bowel disease known as Johne's disease. The asymptomatic stage of this infection can persist for the entire production life of an adult cow, resulting in reduced performance and premature culling, as well as transmission of MAP to progeny and herd-mates. It has been previously shown that the gene expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy cows, and those chronically infected with MAP are inherently different, and that these changes may be indicative of disease progression. Since resistance to MAP infection is a heritable trait, and has been proposed to differ amongst domestic dairy cattle breeds, the objective of the present study was to compare gene expression profiles of PBMCs from healthy adult Holstein and Jersey cows to those considered to be sub-clinically infected with MAP, as indicated by serum ELISA. Microarray analysis using a platform containing more than 10,000 probes and ontological analysis identified differences in gene expression between a) healthy and infected cows, including genes involved in the inflammatory response, and calcium binding, and b) infected Holsteins and Jerseys, including genes involved in the immune response, and antigen processing and presentation. These results suggest a mixed pro- and anti-inflammatory phenotype of PBMCs from MAP-infected as compared to healthy control animals, and inherently different levels of immune and inflammatory-related gene expression between MAP-infected Holsteins and Jerseys.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Genetic Improvement of Livestock, Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G2W1, Canada. cverscho@uoguelph.ca
authors.forename: Chris P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Verschoor
authors.forename: Sameer D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Pant
authors.forename: Qiumei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Kelton
authors.forename: Niel A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Karrow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology*; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D010283:Paratuberculosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018417:Th1 Cells / Q000276:immunology; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology