Elsevier

Microbes and Infection

Volume 9, Issue 9, July 2007, Pages 1061-1069
Microbes and Infection

Original article
Corticotropin-releasing hormone and urocortin expression in peripheral blood cells from experimentally infected cattle with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis

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Abstract

Urocortin (UCN) is a new neuropeptide of the corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) family which plays an important role in immune responses. Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (Map) is the etiological agent of paratuberculosis (Johne's disease). The role of UCN or CRH in the pathogenesis of Map-infection is unknown. In the present study, we first cloned the bovine UCN gene and demonstrated the profile of UCN or CRH expression in peripheral blood cells from Map-infected cattle and uninfected controls by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and ELISA analysis. These data are the first observations of the characteristic kinetics of these neuropeptides in Map-infection. UCN or CRH expression in non-stimulated blood samples from infected cattle was higher than that in similarly treated samples from uninfected controls; however, exposure to Map lysate and live Map resulted in down-regulated expression of UCN in infected cattle compared to their counterparts from uninfected controls. These results have provided a direction in understanding the pathogenesis of paratuberculosis and improving diagnostic methods for Map-infection.

Keywords

Urocortin
Corticotrophin-releasing hormone
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis
Paratuberculosis
Neuropeptide
Bovine

Abbreviations

CRH
corticotropin-releasing hormone
ELISA
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
GSP
gene specific primer
HPA
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal
IFN-γ
interferon gamma
IL
interleukin
LPS
lipopolysacharide
Map
Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis
NGSP
nested gene specific primer
NUP
nested universal primer
PBMC
peripheral blood mononuclear cell
PPD
purified protein derivative
RACE
rapid amplification of cDNA ends
RT-PCR
reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction
TNF-α
tumor necrosis factor alpha
UCN
urocortin
UPM
universal primer mix

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