Clinical cases of bovine mastitis are most severe in the early stages of lactation. The causes of this increased propensity for severe mastitis during early lactation, compared to mid and late lactation are unclear. In order to better understand the early lactation immune response to mastitis, a murine model of mastitis was employed. Intramammary inoculation of a mastitis causing Escherichia coli strain was performed in lactating mice at various stages of lactation to model the immune response seen in cows during lactation. In our experiments, mice in the early stages of lactation exhibited altered mRNA expression of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and TNFα over the course of infection when compared to mice at mid lactation. Additionally, increased bacterial growth was observed in the mammary gland of mice infected during early lactation compared to late lactation. These results are consistent with the immune response observed in cows at early lactation. These results suggest that the mouse may provide a useful model to study differences in the immune response seen during different times in lactation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BGMYU2/oai:scholarsarchive.byu.edu:etd-7847 |
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
| Creators | Chronis, Rhonda Nicole |
| Publisher | BYU ScholarsArchive |
| Source Sets | Brigham Young University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | All Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/ |
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