Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) from 4 cows were preincubated (30 minutes, 37 C) in either actinomycin D (100 micrograms/ml) or puromycin (10 micrograms/ml), inhibitors of mRNA transcription and protein translation, or in medium 199. The PMN were incubated for a further 4.5 hours in medium containing 100 U of recombinant bovine interferon-gamma (rboIfn-gamma). The PMN were then incubated with bovine IgG1, IgG2, IgM, or aggregated IgG (aIgG; 4 C, 12 hours) for flow cytometric analysis, using fluoresceinated isotype-specific antibody. The percentage of PMN binding the ligand and the logarithmic mean fluorescent channel (LMFC), an indicator of the amount of receptor (R) expression, were recorded. Competitive inhibition of ligand binding was measured by incubating PMN with fluoresceinated IgG2 in the presence or absence of 100-fold excess of IgG1, IgG2, and aIgG. Activation with rboIfn-gamma induced a 4.5-fold increase in binding of IgG1 and a fivefold increase in LMFC for IgG2. These increases were inhibited by actinomycin D and puromycin. Percentage of PMN binding aIgG decreased after activation by rboIfn-gamma. Interferon-gamma treatment did not affect binding or LMFC of IgM. However, binding of IgM was reduced by treatment with actinomycin D. Binding of fluoresceinated IgG2 was inhibited by unlabeled IgG1, IgG2, and aIgG. Results indicate that bovine PMN Fc receptors (FcR) for IgG1 and IgG2 were rboIfn-gamma inducible, that induction required de novo transcription and translation, that a heterogeneous population of FcR exist on bovine PMN, and that IgG1 and IgG2 share a common FcR. Further, bovine PMN are capable of gene activation and are responsive to changes in their environment, thus being amenable to modulation for effective pathogen destruction.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused primarily by Mycobacterium bovis, continues to exert an economic loss, even in countries with active control measures, and is one of zoonotic diseases enable to be transmitted to human. The control and eradication of bTB are mainly based on a test and slaughter policy and/or abattoir surveillance. Various factors including limitation of diagnostic tests have been considered as major constraints to eradication. Single intradermal test (SIT) is the official diagnostic test. New diagnostic methods are needed to be developed, because of limitations of the test. In the present study SIT was compared with single intradermal comparative cervical test (SICCT) and interferon (IFN)-γ assay. There was very low correlation between SIT and SICCT. However, high correlation was shown between SIT and IFN-γ assay while no correlation was observed between SICCT and IFN-γ assay. Therefore, our results suggest the possibility of replacement of SIT with IFN-γ assay for the diagnosis of bovine tuberculosis.

The expression profiles of inflammatory cytokines viz. interleukins (IL)-6, IL-8, IL-12, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor, interferon-γ and tumor necrosis factor-α in response to subclinical mastitis in indigenous cattle breed Kankrej (n = 6), Gir (Bos indicus) (n = 12) and crossbred (Bos taurus × Bos indicus) (n = 7) were investigated using quantitative real time PCR. Significant correlation (p less than 0.05) was observed between total bacterial load and somatic cell count (SCC) in all three breeds of cattle. All the cytokines were observed to be up-regulated compared to cows with healthy quarters, however, level of their expression varied among three breeds of cattle. In Kankrej most cytokines were found to be transcribed to higher levels than in other two breeds; the milk had higher load of bacteria but not so high SCC, implying that Kankrej has a higher inherent resistance against mastitis. The results of present study indicated that mammary glands of crossbred cattle are more sensitive to bacterial infection than indigenous breed of cattle as they elicit immune response at lower bacterial load and result into higher SCC. Research on identification of factors responsible for differentially expressed cytokines profiles and use of cytokines as immunomodulatory tools can pave way for formulating control strategies against bovine mastitis.