Pneumonia Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Pneumonia, including details on symptoms, viral, bacterial, treatment, causes, walking pneumonia.

Cytokine expression in porcine lungs experimentally infected with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae.

Lorenzo H, Quesada O, Assunçao P, Castro A, Rodríguez F

Department of Comparative Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Trasmontaña s/n, 35416 Arucas, Gran Canaria, Spain.

To gain further insight into the pathogenesis of porcine enzootic pneumonia (PEP), cytokine expression in different pulmonary compartments was examined. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mh) and proinflammatory and immunoregulatory cytokines (IL-1alpha, IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-alpha) were detected by immunohistochemical methods in porcine lungs experimentally infected with Mh. Ten pigs were inoculated intranasally with Mh and killed in pairs weekly from 1- to 5-week post-inoculation (wpi). Three Mh-free pigs were taken as controls. Mh-antigen was shown in paraffin-wax-embedded tissues by immunohistochemistry in the luminal surface of bronchial and bronchiolar epithelial cells of all Mh-infected pigs. Significant increase in cytokine expression was detected on snap-frozen tissues from the bronchoalveolar exudate of the airways, mononuclear cells of the alveolar septa and macrophages and lymphocytes of the peribronchial and peribronchiolar lymphoid tissue, from 1 wpi onwards, compared to expression in non-pneumonic lungs. The main cytokines in the BALT of Mh-infected animals that showed an increase were IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-alpha. In the alveolar septa and bronchoalveolar exudate IL-1 (alpha and beta), IL-2, IL-4, IL-8 and IL-10 expression also increased in infected animals.

Published 9 January 2006 in Vet Immunol Immunopathol, 109(3): 199-207.
Full-text of this article is available online (may require subscription).

© 2004-2008 Pneumonia Research Today. All Rights Reserved.