Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli elicit different innate immune responses from bovine mammary epithelial cells

Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus are the most important pathogenic bacteria causing bovine clinical mastitis and subclinical mastitis, respectively. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the different host response patterns caused by these bacteria. The aim of this study was to characterize the different innate immune responses of bovine mammary epithelium cells (MECs) to heat-inactivated E. coli and S. aureus. Gene expression of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 was compared. The activation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and the kinetics and levels of cytokine production were analyzed. The results show that the mRNA for TLR2 and TLR4 was up-regulated when the bovine MECs were stimulated with heat-inactivated E. coli, while only TLR2 mRNA was up-regulated when the bovine MECs were stimulated with heat-inactivated S. aureus. The expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 increased more rapidly and higher when the bovine MECs were stimulated with heat-inactivated E. coli than when they were stimulated with heat-inactivated S. aureus. E. coli strongly activated NF-κB in the bovine MECs, while S. aureus failed to activate NF-κB. Heat-inactivated S. aureus could induce NF-κB activation when bovine MECs cultured in medium without fetal calf serum. These results were confirmed using TLR2- and TLR4/MD2-transfected HEK293 cells and suggested that differential TLR recognition and the lack of NF-κB activation account for the impaired immune response elicited by heat-inactivated S. aureus.     

多重PCR快速检测奶牛乳房炎3种主要病原体

奶牛乳房炎是引起奶牛业经济损失的一种重要疫病,目前还没有快速、特异检测奶牛乳房炎主要致病原的方法。本试验根据金黄色葡萄球菌、无乳链球菌、大肠杆菌各自保守的16S或23S rRNA基因序列,合成了3对特异性引物,建立了三重PCR检测方法。特异性试验表明,该方法对所有参与测试的金黄色葡萄球菌、无乳链球菌和大肠杆菌都能扩增出各自的阳性条带,而对所有参与测试的对照菌株则不能扩增出任何条带。敏感性试验表明该方法能检测到4个菌的金黄色葡萄球菌、无乳链球菌和2个菌的大肠杆菌。对送检的乳房炎奶样36份直接进行PCR检测,金黄色葡萄球菌阳性7份,无乳链球菌阳性2份,大肠杆菌阳性6份。     

Identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the bovine Toll-like receptor 1 gene and association with health traits in cattle

ABSTRACT: Bovine mastitis remains the most common and costly disease of dairy cattle worldwide. A complementary control measure to herd hygiene and vaccine development would be to selectively breed cattle with greater resistance to mammary infection. Toll-like receptor 1 (TLR1) has an integral role for the initiation and regulation of the immune response to microbial pathogens, and has been linked to numerous inflammatory diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the bovine TLR1 gene (boTLR1) are associated with clinical mastitis (CM).Selected boTLR1 SNPs were analysed within a Holstein Friesian herd. Significant associations were found for the tagging SNP -79 T > G and the 3'UTR SNP +2463 C > T. We observed favourable linkage of reduced CM with increased milk fat and protein, indicating selection for these markers would not be detrimental to milk quality. Furthermore, we present evidence that some of these boTLR1 SNPs underpin functional variation in bovine TLR1. Animals with the GG genotype (from the tag SNP -79 T > G) had significantly lower boTLR1 expression in milk somatic cells when compared with TT or TG animals. In addition, stimulation of leucocytes from GG animals with the TLR1-ligand Pam3csk4 resulted in significantly lower levels of CXCL8 mRNA and protein.SNPs in boTLR1 were significantly associated with CM. In addition we have identified a bovine population with impaired boTLR1 expression and function. This may have additional implications for animal health and warrants further investigation to determine the suitability of identified SNPs as markers for disease susceptibility.     

冀东地区奶牛隐性乳房炎病原菌的分离鉴定

通过LMT法、乳汁pH检验法和体细胞直接计数等方法相结合,对冀东地区3个大型奶牛场、8个奶牛养殖户选取的1 021头奶牛进行隐性乳房炎流行病学调查与病菌分离鉴定。结果表明,隐性乳房炎发病率为60.63%(619/1021),乳房炎阳性乳样品中细菌分离率达88.21%(546/619)。从543头隐性乳房炎患牛的阳性乳区乳样中分得细菌共4类14种菌82株,其中葡萄球菌36株,占43.90%;链球菌33株,占40.24%;肠杆菌类8株,占9.76%;棒状杆菌5株,占6.10%。冀东地区奶牛隐性乳房炎主要病原菌为金黄色葡萄球菌和无乳链球菌。     

多重PCR检测奶牛乳腺炎金黄色葡萄球菌、无乳链球菌、停乳链球菌和酵母菌方法的建立与应用

参照GenBank发表的序列，在金黄色葡萄球菌、无乳链球菌和停乳链球菌16SrRNA与23SrRNA之间的区域设计了3对引物，参照念珠菌和隐球菌的18SrRNA的序列设计1对引物，建立了检测金黄色葡萄球菌、无乳链球菌、停乳链球菌和酵母真菌4种乳腺炎主要致病菌的多重PCR方法。参照Skladny的方法制备模拟了细菌感染l临床标本。结果表明：本试验建立的多重PCR方法具有较好的特异性，多重PCR方法检测乳样中的金黄色葡萄球菌的细菌最小浓度为10^4CFU／mL，检测无乳链球菌、停乳链球菌和酵母真菌的细菌最小浓度分别为10^4CFU／mL、10^3CFU／mL和10^3CFU／mL。通过对采自临床型乳腺炎（46个）和隐性乳腺炎（167个）动物共计213个乳样分别用传统细菌学培养法和多重PCR方法进行检测，多重PCR对金黄色葡萄球菌和酵母真菌的检测具有更高的检出率（P〈0．01），但该方法对无乳链球菌和停乳链球菌的检出率与培养法差异不显著（P〉0．05）。     

Antibacterial activity of thionin Thi2.1 from Arabidopsis thaliana expressed by bovine endothelial cells against Staphylococcus aureus isolates from bovine mastitis

Bovine mastitis is mainly caused by Staphylococcus aureus and antimicrobial therapy, commonly used for its control, has resulted in an increase in the frequency of resistant staphylococci in recent years. Thus, alternative therapies are desirable and the antimicrobial peptides represent attractive control agents. In this work, we expressed the antimicrobial peptide thionin Thi2.1 cDNA from Arabidopsis thaliana in the bovine endothelial cell line BVE-E6E7 and evaluated its activity against bovine mastitis S. aureus isolates. A polyclonal population from BVE-E6E7 cells transfected with the pThi2.1 construct was obtained and thionin Thi2.1 expression was confirmed by RT-PCR. From this population, eight stably transfected cell clones were obtained and their conditioned media (CM) were evaluated against the S. aureus ATCC 27543 strain. Clones showed high antibacterial activity (>95%) relative to the activity of the polyclonal population. The C8 clone showed the highest antibacterial activity (>99%) and its CM was evaluated against eleven bovine mastitis S. aureus isolates. A 2.5microg aliquot of total protein from the C8 clone's CM inhibited the growth of S. aureus isolates (>40%) relative to the CM from BVE-E6E7 cells used as control. Growth inhibition of S. aureus isolates was dose-dependent, showing a total inhibition at concentrations higher than 3.12microg/ml. These results suggest that thionin Thi2.1 antimicrobial peptide could be use in the treatment of bovine mastitis.     

Characterisation of antibodies to bovine Toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 and cross-reactivity with ovine TLR2

Host recognition of conserved pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and their interactions with pattern-recognition receptors, including the Toll-like receptors (TLR) is essential for innate immune response induction. The TLR1 family (TLR1, 2, 6 and 10) is involved in the recognition of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria and heterodimers of TLR1 or TLR6 with TLR2 are crucial for the identification of several PAMPs. Studies on cell surface expression of TLR in ruminants are hampered by the lack of specific antibodies and no convincingly cross-reactive anti-human antibodies have been described so far. We describe herein four antibodies which recognise bovine TLR2. Differences in TLR2 expression were evident on bovine antigen presenting cells with high level expression on peripheral blood monocytes and monocyte-derived macrophages. Lower levels of expression were evident on dendritic cell populations derived in vitro and ex vivo, and on alveolar macrophages. One of the antibodies recognised TLR2 expression on ovine peripheral blood monocytes. The identification of antibodies specific for bovine and ovine TLR2 will facilitate studies of the role of this important PRR in the initiation of immune responses to important pathogens.     

In vitro antimicrobial activity of Combretum molle (Combretaceae) against Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from crossbred dairy cows with clinical mastitis

Following the rapidly expanding dairy enterprise, mastitis has remained the most economically damaging disease. The objective of this study was mainly to investigate the in vitro antibacterial activities of ethanol extracts of Combretum molle (R.Br.Ex.G.Don) Engl & Diels (Combretaceae) against antibiotic-resistant and susceptible Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae isolated from clinical cases of bovine mastitis using agar disc diffusion method. The leaf and bark extracts showed antibacterial activity against S. aureus at concentrations of 3 mg/ml while the stem and seed extract did not show any bioactivity. Although both leaf and bark extracts were handled in the same manner, the antibacterial activity of the bark extract against the bacterial strains had declined gradually to a lower level as time advanced after extraction. The leaf extract had sustained bioactivity for longer duration. The susceptibility of the bacteria to the leaf extract is not obviously different between S. aureus and S. agalactiae. Also, there was no difference in susceptibility to the leaf extract between the antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic-sensitive bacteria. Further phytochemical and in vivo efficacy and safety studies are required to evaluate the therapeutic value of the plant against bovine mastitis.     

Escherichia coli, but not Staphylococcus aureus triggers an early increased expression of factors contributing to the innate immune defense in the udder of the cow

The outcome of an udder infection is influenced by the pathogen species. We established a strictly defined infection model to better analyze the unknown molecular causes for these pathogen-specific effects, using Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains previously asseverated from field cases of mastitis. Inoculation of quarters with 500 CFU of E. coli (n = 4) was performed 6 h, 12 h, and 24 h before culling. All animals showed signs of acute clinical mastitis 12 h after challenge: increased somatic cell count (SCC), decreased milk yield, leukopenia, fever, and udder swelling. Animals inoculated with 10 000 CFU of S. aureus for 24 h (n = 4) showed no or only modest clinical signs of mastitis. However, S. aureus caused clinical signs in animals, inoculated for 72 h-84 h. Real-time PCR proved that E. coli inoculation strongly and significantly upregulated the expression of beta-defensins, TLR2 and TLR4 in the pathogen inoculated udder quarters as well as in mammary lymph nodes. TLR3 and TLR6 were not significantly regulated by the infections. Immuno-histochemistry identified mammary epithelial cells as sites for the upregulated TLR2 and beta-defensin expression. S. aureus, in contrast, did not significantly regulate the expression of any of these genes during the first 24 h after pathogen inoculation. Only 84 h after inoculation, the expression of beta-defensins, but not of TLRs was significantly (> 20 fold) upregulated in five out of six pathogen inoculated quarters. Using the established mastitis model, the data clearly demonstrate a pathogen-dependent difference in the time kinetics of induced pathogen receptors and defense molecules.     

Binding of a surface protein of Staphylococcus aureus to cultured ovine mammary gland epithelial cells.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most persistent pathogen causing ovine mastitis. This study investigated S. aureus binding to cultured epithelial cells obtained from the mammary gland. A staphylococcal 145kDa cell wall adhesin, originally isolated from a bovine mastitis strain, was detected in lysostaphin-solubilized ovine mastitis strains and in the encapsulated strain A. This adhesin was able to bind to cultured ovine mammary gland epithelial cells (MGEC) and to a rat intestinal epithelial cell line (RIE-1), exhibiting different electrophoretic mobilities that could be attributable to protein polymorphism. Inhibition assays using antibodies against 145kDa adhesin and against whole bacteria showed the specificity of the binding to cells. The role of this protein in adherence was assessed by adherence inhibition tests carried out in vitro with radiolabeled bacteria and cultured epithelial cells. Preincubation of bacteria with antibodies against adhesin 145kDa or against strain c195 resulted in a statistically significant decrease of adherence. These experiments suggest that adherence of S. aureus to MGEC may be critical for colonization.     

Functional characterisation of bovine TLR5 indicates species-specific recognition of flagellin

Mammalian toll-like receptor 5 (TLR5) senses flagellin of several bacterial species and has been described to activate the innate immune system. To assess the role of bovine TLR5 (boTLR5) in the cattle system, we cloned and successfully expressed boTLR5 in human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells, as indicated by quantitative PCR and confocal microscopy. However, in contrast to huTLR5-transfected cells, exposure of boTLR5-transfected cells to flagellin neither activated nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) nor CXCL8 production. Subsequent comparison of the flagellin response induced in human and bovine primary macrophages revealed that flagellin did not lead to phosphorylation of major signalling molecules. Furthermore, the CXCL8 and TNFα response of primary bovine macrophages stimulated with flagellin was very low compared to that observed in human primary macrophages. Our results indicate that cattle express a functional TLR5 albeit with different flagellin sensing qualities compared to human TLR5. However, boTLR5 seemed to play a different role in the bovine system compared to the human system in recognizing flagellin, and other potentially intracellular expressed receptors may play a more important role in the bovine system to detect flagellin.     

Antimicrobial resistance patterns to beta-lactams of gram-positive cocci isolated from bovine mastitis in Lithuania

The aim of the study was to isolate gram-positive cocci from cows with mastitis and to determine their resistance to beta-lactamic antibiotics. Eight hundred and nine strains were isolated and identified as staphylococci (n=516), streptococci (n=199) and enterococci (n=94) from sub-clinical and clinical cases of bovine mastitis in Lithuania. The most common causative agents of udder disease included: S. epidermidis (n=176), S. aureus (n=176), S. agalactiae (n=134), S. hyicus (136) and E. hirae (n=68). Isolates were analysed for antimicrobial resistance to penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, cephalothin, cephalexin, amoxicillin + clavulanate. The susceptibility patterns were analysed using the agar disk diffusion method. S. aureus showed the highest level of resistance to amoxicillin (81.3%), penicillin (76.7%) and ampicillin (78.4%). The corresponding values for CNS strains were 59.7%, 59.7% and 50.6% against penicillin, ampicillin and amoxicillin respectively. Streptococci were the most frequently resistant to amoxicillin (29.3%), and enterococci to penicillin (27%), amoxicillin (27.5%) and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (23.8%). The resistance of all tested mastitis pathogens to aminopenicillins and penicillin highly correlated (r=0.83). Compared with other antibiotics, amoxicillin and clavulanic acid combination tended to be more effective (p<0.05) against all tested bacteria in vitro. However, S. aureus, in 38.1% of cases, was resistant to this combination of antimicrobials. This study demonstrates that S. epidermidis, S. aureus, S. hyicus, S. agalactiae and E. hirae remain the most frequent mastitis causative agents on Lithuanian cattle farms. The highest resistance in vitro to penicillins was demonstrated by S. aureus, S. hyicus and S. intermedius. Resistance to cephalosporins remains low, irrespective of bacterial species of gram-positive cocci.     

The major bovine mastitis pathogens have different cell tropisms in cultures of bovine mammary gland cells

We previously showed that Staphylococcus aureus cells adhered mainly to an elongated cell type, present in cultures of bovine mammary gland cells. Moreover, we showed that this adhesion was mediated by binding to fibronectin. The same in vitro model was used here, to study adhesion of other important mastitis pathogens. Like the S. aureus strains, the Streptococcus dysgalactiae strains adhered mainly to elongated cells, which seemed to be mediated by fibronectin binding. In contrast, Streptococcus uberis strains adhered mainly to cubic cells. Since the cubic cells did not express fibronectin and S. uberis cells bound fibronectin less efficiently, the adhesion of S. uberis cells was independent of fibronectin binding. Streptococcus agalactiae strains adhered poorly to both cell types. The specificity and efficiency of adhesion of Escherichia coli strains was strongly strain dependent. None of the S. agalactiae and E. coli strains tested was able to bind fibronectin efficiently. The results suggest that the different mastitis pathogens have different target cell specificities and use different mechanisms to adhere to cells of the bovine mammary gland.     

Isolation and Identification of Pathogenic Bacteria Causing Bovine Subclinical Mastitis in Eastern Hebei Province

In this study, the milk samples of 1 021 cows in eight dairy farms in Eastern Hebei Province were collected and detected with LMT reagent and somatic cell count for subclinical mastitis. Pathogenic bacteria in subclinical mastitis positive milk samples were isolated and identified.The results showed that 60.63%(619/1 021) of the sampled cows were diagnosed with subclinical mastitis, and mixed infections accounted for 88.21%(546/619) of the cases. In addition, 82 strains of 14 species were isolated from the subclinical mastitis positive milk samples, including 36 strains of Staphylococcus(43.90%), 33 strains of Streptococcus(40.24%), 8 strains of Enterobacteriaceae(9.76%) and 5 strains of Corynebacterium(6.10%), respectively. The results proved that Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus agalactiae are the main pathogenic bacteria causing bovine subclinical mastitis in Eastern Hebei Province.     

Chelex-100法直接提取乳样中奶牛乳房炎主要致病菌DNA方法的建立

为建立一种直接从乳样中快速提取细菌DNA的方法,试验通过人工制备8个倍比稀释细菌的乳样,检测了Chelex-100法提取3种奶牛乳房炎主要致病菌(金黄色葡萄球菌、大肠杆菌和无乳链球菌)DNA进行PCR扩增的敏感性,并与苯酚—氯仿法进行了比较分析。结果显示,以Chelex-100法提取乳样中细菌DNA进行PCR扩增具有较高的敏感性,所检测金黄色葡萄球菌、大肠杆菌和无乳链球菌的最小浓度分别为10³、10²、10² CFU/mL;而使用苯酚—氯仿法提取乳样中各细菌DNA的PCR敏感性均为10⁴ CFU/mL。综上所述,Chelex-100法提取乳样细菌DNA的PCR敏感性可以满足临床检测奶牛乳房炎的需要,显现了简单快速、经济、无污染的优点,为从乳样中直接提取细菌DNA提供了新的思路,对PCR快速检测乳房炎致病菌具有重要意义。     

Rapid identification of bovine mastitis pathogens by high-resolution melt analysis of 16S rDNA sequences

Accurate identification of mastitis pathogens is often compromised when using conventional culture-based methods. Here, we report a novel, rapid assay tested for speciation of bacterial mastitis pathogens using high-resolution melt analysis (HRMA) of 16S rDNA sequences. Real-time PCR amplification of 16S rRNA gene fragment, spanning the variable region V5 and V6 was performed with a resulting amplicon of 290bp. First, a library was generated of melt curves of 9 common pathogens that are implicated in bovine mastitis. Six of the isolates, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus uberis, Staphylococcus aureus and Mycoplasma bovis, were type strains while the other 3, Arcanobacterium pyogenes, Corynebacterium bovis and Streptococcus dysgalactiae, were bovine mastitis field isolates. Four of the type strains, E. coli, S. agalactiae, K. pneumoniae and S. aureus, were found to be of human origin, while the other 3 type strains were isolated from bovine infections. Secondly, the melt curves and corresponding amplicon sequences of A. pyogenes, E. coli, S. agalactiae, S. dysgalactiae, K. pneumoniae, S. uberis and S. aureus were compared with 10 bovine mastitis field isolates of each pathogen. Based on the distinct differences in melt curves and sequences between human and bovine isolates of E. coli and K. pneumoniae, it was deemed necessary to select a set of bovine strains for these pathogens to be used as reference strains in the HRMA. Next, the HRMA was validated by three interpreters analyzing the differential clustering pattern of melt curves of 60 bacterial cultures obtained from mastitis milk samples. The three test interpreters were blinded to the culture and sequencing results of the isolates. Overall accuracy of the validation assay was 95% as there was difficulty in identifying the streptococci due to heterogeneity observed in the PCR amplicons of S. uberis. The present study revealed that broad-range real-time PCR with HRMA can be used as a powerful, fast and low-cost tool for the differentiation of clinically important bacterial mastitis pathogens.     

Helenalin reduces Staphylococcus aureus infection in vitro and in vivo

Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is a major udder pathogen causing bovine mastitis. Some pro-inflammatory cytokines, including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), enhance extracellular and intracellular growth of S. aureus, indicating that the inflammatory process favors S. aureus infection. Helenalin is a sesquiterpene lactone with potent anti-inflammatory properties. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of helenalin on S. aureus infection. First, in vitro experiments were conducted. These studies revealed that proliferation of S. aureus in bovine mammary epithelial MAC-T cells treated in the presence or absence of TNF-alpha was markedly reduced in the presence of helenalin. Secondly, in vivo effects of helenalin were investigated. Lactating mice treated in the presence or absence of helenalin were challenged by the intramammary route with S. aureus and the bacteria in the mammary glands were counted 12 h after infection. Significantly less numbers of bacteria were recovered from the infected glands of helenalin-treated mice compared with untreated mice. Moreover, histological examination of mammary tissue from helenalin-treated mice that were challenged with S. aureus indicated that helenalin is able to significantly reduce leukocyte infiltration in the mammary gland following S. aureus inoculation. Our results show that helenalin reduces S. aureus intracellular growth and experimental S. aureus infection. We conclude that helenalin may be of potential interest in the treatment of S. aureus-induced mastitis in the bovine species.