title: Immunoregulatory signal FoxP3, cytokine gene expression and IFN-γ cell responsiveness upon porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) natural infection.
abstract: The study aims at evaluating gene expression of pro-inflammatory (IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α), pro-immune (IFN-γ), anti-inflammatory (IL-10) cytokines and of the immunoregulatory signal FoxP3 in association with PRRSV-specific IFN-γ secreting cell (SC) responsiveness upon PRRSV natural infection. Forty PRRSV-negative pigs were assigned to two groups: 20 pigs were vaccinated at 3 weeks of age (weaning) against PRRSV (V-PRRSV) with a modified live virus vaccine (MLV) and 20 pigs were kept non-vaccinated (NV) as controls. Blood samples were collected at 3 (vaccination), 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, and 16 weeks of age. Natural infection occurred from 8 weeks of age onward in both groups and viremia lasted 8 weeks. In the early phase of infection, pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α) showed a delayed increase concomitant with the peak of viremia in both groups. In both groups, IL-10 peaked at 12 weeks in association with the increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Conversely, in vaccinated pigs (V-PRRSV), IFN-γ showed higher gene expression during the early phase of infection and a more intense secreting cell (SC) response in the late phase. Differently, gene expression of the transcription factor FoxP3, expressed by T regulatory lymphocytes (Tregs), increased significantly in controls only and was associated with the rise of the viral load. Moreover, FoxP3 levels remained significantly higher during the late phase of infection and paralleled with lower levels of IFN-γ SC detected by ELISPOT. The expression/production of immunoregulatory signals involved in Treg activation could be a promising marker to study the immunobiology of PRRSV infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio, 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: giulia.ferrarini@studenti.unipr.it.
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ferrarini
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio, 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.borghetti@unipr.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Borghetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio, 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: elena.deangelis@unipr.it.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Angelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio, 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: luca.ferrari@unipr.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio, 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: elena.canelli@libero.it.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Canelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio, 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: alessia.catella@alice.it.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Catella
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio, 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: rosanna.dilecce@unipr.it.
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Lecce
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Parma, Via del Taglio, 10, 43126 Parma, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.martelli@unipr.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D019318:Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D019316:Porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus / Q000276:immunology*; D013552:Swine
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors
keywords: Cytokines; Forkhead box P3 (FoxP3); Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) secreting cell (SC) responsiveness; Pig; Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV)