Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Ruminant Diseases and Immunology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #187055
Title: INTERLEUKIN-8 EXPRESSION BY MAMMARY GLAND ENDOTHELIAL AND EPITHELIAL CELLS FOLLOWING EXPERIMENTAL MASTITIS INFECTION WITH E COLI

Author
item MCCLENAHAN, DAVID - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
item KRUEGER, REBECA - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
item LEE, HAA-YUNG - IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY
item THOMAS, CHET - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
item Kehrli Jr, Marcus
item CZUPRYNSKI, CHARLES - UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Submitted to: Comparative Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/4/2006
Publication Date: 5/3/2006
Citation: Mcclenahan, D., Krueger, R., Lee, H.Y., Thomas, C., Kehrli, Jr., M.E., Czuprynski, C. 2006. Interleukin-8 expression by mammary gland endothelial and epithelial cells following experimental mastitis infection with E coli. Comparative Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. 29:127-137.

Interpretive Summary: Mastitis is an infection of the mammary gland that affects more than half of the dairy cows on over 95% of all dairy farms. On average, the U.S. dairy farmer will lose more than $180 per cow annually. Mastitis is also a legitimate concern to consumers because of potential antibiotic residues as a result of treating cows for mastitis. The research reported here was designed to study how cows, who have mastitis, use an important messenger (interleukin 8) of the immune system to trigger the immune system to fight the infection. The main benefit of this work was obtaining additional insight about how the immune system of the cow fights disease. A potential benefit of this type of research would be less use of antibiotics in cows to treat mastitis.

Technical Abstract: Epithelial and endothelial cells play a pivotal role in initiating and controlling the movement of leukocytes into tissues during inflammation through the production of cytokines and chemokines such as interleukin-8 (IL-8). In situ hybridization with an IL-8 riboprobe was used to determine IL-8 mRNA expression by mammary gland epithelial and endothelial cells in cows with experimental E. coli mastitis. Epithelial cells of the gland, especially epithelial cells surrounding the alveolli, had increased IL-8 mRNA levels at all time points in which tissue samples were collected (8, 12, and 24 hours). Levels of IL-8 expression in the epithelial cells decreased at 24 hours post infection. IL-8 expression by mammary gland endothelial cells was low, but did increase at 24 hours post infection. Therefore, both mammary gland epithelial and endothelial cells are possible sources of IL-8 during coliform mastitis.