Identificazione di proteine proinfiammatorie in un modello in vitro di colture di neutrofili esposti a Mycoplasma mycoideis subsp. mycoides

Contagious bovine pleuropneumoniae (CBPP) is a disease of Bovidae caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides (Mmm). In Europe the last CBPP cases were observed in Portugal in 1999, but CBPP remains enzootic in many Sub-Saharan African countries. The situation in some Asian countries is unclear. It is known that the immune system of the host plays an important role in the pathogenic mechanism of CBPP, but the factors involved in the process remain largely unknown. In this work, the expression of five inflammatory cytokines (Cox 2, Il-1 beta, Lox-5, TLR2 and TLR4), produced by bovine neutrophils cultured in vitro both in presence and absence of Mmm, was evaluated by immunoblotting. Cox 2, Il-1 beta, Lox-5, TLR2 and TLR4 were produced only by neutrophils cultured in presence of Mmm. Cultures of purified neutrophils could represent an alternative to the in vivo experimentation for the study of CBPP pathogenesis.