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Title: AN IN VITRO APPROACH TO BOVINE MASTITIS

Author
item SMITS, E - UNIV OF GHENT
item BURVENICH, C - UNIV OF GHENT
item Guidry, Albert
item CIFRIAN, E - SERVICIO DE INVESTIGACION
item RAINARD, P - INRA

Submitted to: Flemish Veterinary Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/5/1998
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Mastitis causes the US dairymen $2 billion a year. Mastitis is an inflammation of the bovine mammary gland mostly caused by bacterial infection. Bacteria enter the mammary gland through the teat canal and grow in the lacteal secretions. Antibiotics have been used extensively for the prevention and cure of mastitis infections, but have become increasingly less effective due to development of resistant strains of bacteria. This has led researchers to seek other means of prevention and treatment. In order to do so it was necessary to gain a better understanding of the interaction of bacteria and mammary tissue. A system of culturing cells lining the mammary gland on cells lining the blood vessels, separated by appropriate supporting tissue, was developed. This system is being used to 1) mimic the passage of blood cells into milk, 2)study bacterial adherence to and uptake by cells lining the mammary gland, and 3)study uptake and effectiveness of antibodies in killing the invading bacteria. This will lead to a better understanding of the virulence mechanisms of the bacteria and of the mammary gland defense against infection and will aid in the development of nonantibiotic means of prevention and treatment of mastitis.

Technical Abstract: Mastitis is an inflammation of the bovine mammary gland mostly caused by bacterial infection. Bacteria enter the mammary gland through the teat canal and grow in the lacteal secretions. An inflammatory reaction is characterized by a breakdown in the blood-milk barrier followed by an influx of neutrophils (PMN). Interactions of bacteria and PMN with the bovine mammary gland epithelium are not clearly understood. In vitro culture techniques provide a direct tool for studying these interactions. The advantages and limitations of experimental model systems such as primary cell cultures of bovine mammary-derived cells are considered. The mammary gland endothelial/epithelial cell culture model reduces the complex structure of the bovine mammary gland to its constituent elements. Some aspects of PMN adhesion and migration have been modeled in vitro by PMN interactions with cultured vascular endothelium, interstitium and epithelium. The next research step is combining these constituent elements.