Cattle are the economically important animals in human society. They are essential for the production of livestock products such as milk and meats. The production efficiency of livestock products is negatively impacted by infection with zoonotic pathogens. To prevent and control infectious diseases, it is important to understand the interaction between cattle tissue and pathogenic bacteria. In this study, we established an in vitro infection model of an immortalized bovine colon-derived epithelial cell line by transducing the cells with lentiviral vectors containing genes encoding cell cycle regulators cyclin D1, mutant cyclin dependent kinase 4 (CDK4), and human telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). The established cell line showed continuous cell proliferation, expression of epithelial markers, and an intact karyotype, indicating that the cells maintained their original nature as colon-derived epithelium. Furthermore, we exposed the established cell line to two strains of Salmonella enterica and EHEC. Interestingly, S. Typhimurium showed higher affinity for the established cell line and invaded the cytoplasm than S. Enteritidis. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that gene expression of Toll-like receptor 1 (TLR1), TLR 2 and TLR 3, whereas TLR 4, 5 and 6 were not detectable in established cells. Our established immortalized colon-derived epithelial cell should be a useful tool for studies evaluating the molecular mechanisms underlying bacterial infection.

Pigs throughout the world are afflicted with leptospirosis, causing serious economic losses and potential hazards to human health. Although it has been known that leptospiral lipopolysaccharide (L-LPS) is involved in an immunological reaction between an antigen and a host cell, little is known about how the immune system of pigs can respond to L-LPS. Here, we stimulated pig fibroblasts by L-LPS and then quantitatively measured gene and protein expression levels of two toll-like receptors (TLRs), TLR2 and TLR4, by real-time PCR and Western blotting. As a result, expression of TLR2 was found to be significantly up-regulated within 24 h after L-LPS stimulation whereas induction of TLR4 expression was relatively weak. We also revealed that of myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-8 gene expressions were markedly up-regulated by L-LPS stimulation. These results may suggest that the pig cell can activate TLR2 rather than TLR4 by L-LPS stimulation, thereby inducing expression of cytokines.

Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a key pattern recognition molecule in the lectin pathway of the complement system, an important component of innate immunity. MBL functions as an opsonin which enhances the sequential immune process such as phagocytosis. We here report an inhibitory effect of MBL on the motility of pathogenic bacteria, which occurs by affecting the energy source required for motility and the signaling pathway of chemotaxis. When Salmonella cells were treated with a physiological concentration of MBL, their motile fraction and free-swimming speed decreased. Rotation assays of a single flagellum showed that the flagellar rotation rate was significantly reduced by the addition of MBL. Measurements of the intracellular pH and membrane potential revealed that MBL affected a driving force for the Salmonella flagellum, the electrochemical potential difference of protons. We also found that MBL treatment increased the reversal frequency of Salmonella flagellar rotation, which interfered with the relative positive chemotaxis toward an attractive substrate. We thus propose that the motility inhibition effect of MBL may be secondarily involved in the attack against pathogens, potentially facilitating the primary role of MBL in the complement system.

Food-borne salmonellosis continues to be a major health concern worldwide. Carrycontamination of Salmonella frequently occurs in meat production. We focused on cell dynamics of swine fibroblasts after infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis and Typhimurium, because fibroblast can be a target cell for Salmonella latent infection. It was found that both S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium were able to adhere and invade to swine fibroblasts. The proliferations in fibroblasts were different between each serovar. S. Enteritidis reached to the maximum at 24 hr after infection while S. Typhimurium did not. In addition, the decrease in the G 0 /G 1 phase cells and increase in G 2 /M phase cells on the fibroblast were observed by both Salmonella infection. Cell death including apoptosis in the cells was inhibited by the infection of Salmonella. These results suggest that nontyphoidal Salmonella can survive for the long term by modifying bacterial cell proliferation and preventing cell death of host cells.