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Romeo F, Delgado S, Yavorsky M, Martinez Cuesta L, Pereyra S, González Altamiranda E, Louge Uriarte E, Pérez S, Verna A. Modulation of Apoptosis by Bovine Gammaherpesvirus 4 Infection in Bovine Endometrial Cells and the Possible Role of LPS in This Process. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:249. [PMID: 38666861 PMCID: PMC11048171 DOI: 10.3390/biology13040249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
The prevalent pathogens associated with bovine uterine infections are bacteria that appear to increase the host's susceptibility to secondary infections with other bacteria or viruses, among which BoGHV4 is the most frequently found. In this work, the study of the pathways of apoptosis induction was carried out on an experimental model of primary culture of endometrial cells, in order to know the implication of BoGHV4 and the presence of bacterial LPS in the pathogenesis of the bovine reproductive tract. For this, different staining techniques and molecular analysis by RT-PCR were used. The results obtained allowed us to conclude that the level of cell death observed in the proposed primary culture is directly related to the time of viral infection and the presence of LPS in BoGHV4 infection. The apoptosis indices in cells infected with BoGHV4 and BoGHV4 + LPS revealed a maximum that correlated with the appearance of cytopathic effects and the maximum viral titers in the model studied. However, morphological, biochemical, and molecular changes were evident during both early and late stages of apoptosis. These findings provide information on the factors that may influence the pathogenesis of BoGHV4 and help to better understand the mechanisms involved in virus infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florencia Romeo
- Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, INTA-CONICET), Grupo de Salud Animal RN 226, Balcarce 7620, Argentina; (F.R.); (M.Y.); (S.P.); (E.G.A.); (E.L.U.)
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata 7600, Argentina;
| | - Santiago Delgado
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata 7600, Argentina;
| | - Marisol Yavorsky
- Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, INTA-CONICET), Grupo de Salud Animal RN 226, Balcarce 7620, Argentina; (F.R.); (M.Y.); (S.P.); (E.G.A.); (E.L.U.)
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Mar del Plata 7600, Argentina;
| | - Lucía Martinez Cuesta
- Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil (CIVETAN), Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires—CONICET, Tandil 7000, Argentina; (L.M.C.); (S.P.)
- Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, CISAPA, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA), Tandil 7000, Argentina
| | - Susana Pereyra
- Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, INTA-CONICET), Grupo de Salud Animal RN 226, Balcarce 7620, Argentina; (F.R.); (M.Y.); (S.P.); (E.G.A.); (E.L.U.)
| | - Erika González Altamiranda
- Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, INTA-CONICET), Grupo de Salud Animal RN 226, Balcarce 7620, Argentina; (F.R.); (M.Y.); (S.P.); (E.G.A.); (E.L.U.)
| | - Enrique Louge Uriarte
- Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, INTA-CONICET), Grupo de Salud Animal RN 226, Balcarce 7620, Argentina; (F.R.); (M.Y.); (S.P.); (E.G.A.); (E.L.U.)
| | - Sandra Pérez
- Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil (CIVETAN), Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires—CONICET, Tandil 7000, Argentina; (L.M.C.); (S.P.)
- Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, CISAPA, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA), Tandil 7000, Argentina
| | - Andrea Verna
- Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, INTA-CONICET), Grupo de Salud Animal RN 226, Balcarce 7620, Argentina; (F.R.); (M.Y.); (S.P.); (E.G.A.); (E.L.U.)
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Romeo F, Delgado S, Uriarte EL, Storani L, Cuesta LM, Morán P, Altamiranda EG, Odeón A, Pérez S, Verna A. Study of the dynamics of in vitro infection with bovine gammaherpesvirus type 4 and apoptosis markers in susceptible cells. Microb Pathog 2022; 169:105645. [PMID: 35716923 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2022.105645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Bovine gammaherpesvirus type 4 (BoHV-4) shows tropism for the endometrium, in which it causes the death of epithelial and stroma cells. Despite having anti-apoptotic genes in its genome, experiments based on immortalized cell lines have shown that BoHV-4 induces cell death by apoptosis. In the present study, we evaluated BoHV-4 replication, pro-apoptotic (Bax) and anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2) mitochondrial genes expression and chromatin condensation in bovine endometrium primary culture cells (BEC) and in the Madin Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cell line. Results showed that BoHV-4 has a preference for replication in BEC cells over the MDBK cell line, demonstrated by the high viral titer that is consistent with the tropism of the virus. In BEC cells, chromatin condensation was consistent with the values of viral kinetics at the late stage of infection, accompanied with a balance in the mRNA levels of apoptotic mitochondrial proteins. As a consequence, in those cells viral transmission would be enhanced by inhibiting apoptosis in the early stage of virus proliferation, allowing the complete production of viral progeny, and then, the induction of apoptosis in late stages would allow neighboring cells infection. In MDBK cells replication kinetics was coincident with the up-regulation of Bcl-2, which suggests that the productive infection in MDBK is associated with a lytic phase of the virus or another cell death pathway (probably autophagy mechanism) at the late stage of infection. The results agree with the study of nuclear morphology, where a constant chromatin condensation was observed over time. It is clear that the documented BoHV-4 apoptotic responses observed in the cell lines studied above are not valid in cells from primary cultures. The data presented in this study suggest that BoHV-4 could induce apoptosis in BEC cells without a leading role of the mitochondria pathway. Further studies will be necessary to characterize in detail the programmed cell death pathways involved in BoHV-4 infection in the primary cell cultures evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florencia Romeo
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Santiago Delgado
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Enrique Louge Uriarte
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo de Sanidad Animal. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, CONICET-INTA), Ruta 226 km 73.5, Balcarce, 7620, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Leonardo Storani
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo de Agrobiotecnología. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, CONICET-INTA). Ruta 226 km 73.5, Balcarce, 7620, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Agencia Nacional de Promoción de la Investigación, el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación. Godoy Cruz, 2370, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lucia Martínez Cuesta
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil (CIVETAN)-CONICET. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Paraje Arroyo Seco S/N, Tandil, (7000), Argentina
| | - Pedro Morán
- Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Paraje Arroyo Seco S/N, Tandil, (7000), Argentina
| | - Erika González Altamiranda
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo de Sanidad Animal. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, CONICET-INTA), Ruta 226 km 73.5, Balcarce, 7620, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Anselmo Odeón
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - Sandra Pérez
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Centro de Investigación Veterinaria de Tandil (CIVETAN)-CONICET. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Paraje Arroyo Seco S/N, Tandil, (7000), Argentina
| | - Andrea Verna
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo de Sanidad Animal. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, CONICET-INTA), Ruta 226 km 73.5, Balcarce, 7620, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Romeo F, Louge Uriarte E, Delgado SG, González-Altamiranda E, Pereyra S, Morán P, Odeón A, Pérez S, Verna A. Effect of bovine viral diarrhea virus on subsequent infectivity of bovine gammaherpesvirus 4 in endometrial cells in primary culture: An in vitro model of viral co-infection. J Virol Methods 2021; 291:114097. [PMID: 33600847 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2021.114097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2020] [Revised: 02/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and bovine gammaherpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) infect the uterus of cattle, being responsible for huge economic losses. Most of the pathogenesis of BoHV-4 in the bovine reproductive tract has been elucidated by conducting tests on primary cultures. Thus, it is important to have optimal in vitro conditions, avoiding the presence of other pathogens that can alter the results. BVDV is one of the most frequent viral contaminants of cell cultures. Considering that non-cytopathic (NCP) BVDV biotype can generate persistently infected (PI) cattle, which are the major source for virus transmission in susceptible herds, it is important to check products derived from cattle that are intended to be used in research laboratories. The aim of this work was to evaluate how the natural infection of bovine endometrial cells (BEC) with a NCP BVDV strain (BEC + BVDV) affects BoHV-4 replication. We have demonstrated a delay in BoHV-4 gene expression and a decrease in viral load in the extracellular environment in BEC + BDVD cells compared to BEC (BVDV-free) cells. These results confirm that replication of BoHV-4 in BEC primary cultures is affected by previous infection with BVDV. This finding highlights the importance of ruling out BVDV infection in bovine primary cell cultures to avoid biological interference or misinterpretation of results at the time of performing in vitro studies with BoHV-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Romeo
- Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT), Godoy Cruz 2370, C1425FQD, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - E Louge Uriarte
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo de Sanidad Animal. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, CONICET-INTA). Ruta 226 km 73.5, Balcarce, 7620, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - S G Delgado
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - E González-Altamiranda
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo de Sanidad Animal. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, CONICET-INTA). Ruta 226 km 73.5, Balcarce, 7620, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - S Pereyra
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo de Sanidad Animal. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, CONICET-INTA). Ruta 226 km 73.5, Balcarce, 7620, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - P Morán
- Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA)/CIVETAN, Sede Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - A Odeón
- Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina
| | - S Pérez
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires (UNCPBA)/CIVETAN, Sede Tandil, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - A Verna
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA), Grupo de Sanidad Animal. Instituto de Innovación para la Producción Agropecuaria y Desarrollo Sostenible (IPADS, CONICET-INTA). Ruta 226 km 73.5, Balcarce, 7620, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Rivadavia 1917, C1033AAJ, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Gene expression and in vitro replication of bovine gammaherpesvirus type 4. Arch Virol 2021; 166:535-544. [PMID: 33403475 DOI: 10.1007/s00705-020-04898-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
In vitro cell cultures are widely used models for dissecting cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to certain physiological conditions and diseases. The pathogenesis of BoHV-4 in the bovine reproductive tract has been studied by conducting tests on primary cultures. However, many questions remain to be answered about the role of BoHV-4 in endometrial cells. The aim of this study was to compare the replication and gene expression of BoHV-4 in cell lines and bovine reproductive tract primary cells as an in vitro model for the study of this virus. We demonstrated that BoHV-4 strains differ in their in vitro growth kinetics and gene expression but have the same cell type preference. Our results demonstrate that BoHV-4 replicates preferentially in bovine endometrial cells (BEC). However, its replication capacity extends to various cell types, since all cells that were tested were permissive to BoHV-4 infection. The highest virus titers were obtained in BEC cells. Nevertheless, virus replication efficiency could not be fully predicted from the mRNA expression profiles. This implies that there are multiple cell-type-dependent factors and strain properties that determine the level of BoHV-4 replication. The results of this study provide relevant information about the in vitro behavior of two field isolates of BoHV-4 in different cell cultures. These findings may be useful for the design of future in vitro experiments to obtain reliable results not only about the pathogenic role of BoHV-4 in the bovine female reproductive tract but also in the development of efficient antiviral strategies.
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Romeo F, Spetter MJ, Moran P, Pereyra S, Odeon A, Perez SE, Verna AE. Analysis of the transcripts encoding for antigenic proteins of bovine gammaherpesvirus 4. J Vet Sci 2020; 21:e5. [PMID: 31940684 PMCID: PMC7000896 DOI: 10.4142/jvs.2020.21.e5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Revised: 10/15/2019] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The major glycoproteins of bovine gammaherpesvirus 4 (BoHV-4) are gB, gH, gM, gL, and gp180 with gB, gH, and gp180 being the most glycosylated. These glycoproteins participate in cell binding while some act as neutralization targets. Glycosylation of these envelope proteins may be involved in virion protection against neutralization by antibodies. In infected cattle, BoHV-4 induces an immune response characterized by low neutralizing antibody levels or an absence of such antibodies. Therefore, virus seroneutralization in vitro cannot always be easily demonstrated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the neutralizing capacity of 2 Argentine BoHV-4 strains and to associate those findings with the gene expression profiles of the major envelope glycoproteins. Expression of genes coding for the envelope glycoproteins occurred earlier in cells infected with isolate 10/154 than in cells infected with strain 07/435, demonstrating a distinct difference between the strains. Differences in serological response can be attributed to differences in the expression of antigenic proteins or to post-translational modifications that mask neutralizing epitopes. Strain 07/435 induced significantly high titers of neutralizing antibodies in several animal species in addition to bovines. The most relevant serological differences were observed in adult animals. This is the first comprehensive analysis of the expression kinetics of genes coding for BoHV-4 glycoproteins in 2 Argentine strains (genotypes 1 and 2). The results further elucidate the BoHV-4 life cycle and may also help determine the genetic variability of the strains circulating in Argentina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florencia Romeo
- Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica, Buenos Aires C1425FQD, Argentina
| | - Maximiliano J Spetter
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina
| | - Pedro Moran
- Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Tandil 7000, Argentina
| | - Susana Pereyra
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce, Balcarce 7620, Argentina
| | - Anselmo Odeon
- Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce, Balcarce 7620, Argentina
| | - Sandra E Perez
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina.,Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, Tandil 7000, Argentina
| | - Andrea E Verna
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Buenos Aires C1033AAJ, Argentina.,Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce, Balcarce 7620, Argentina.
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Wathes DC, Oguejiofor CF, Thomas C, Cheng Z. Importance of Viral Disease in Dairy Cow Fertility. ENGINEERING (BEIJING, CHINA) 2020; 6:26-33. [PMID: 32288965 PMCID: PMC7104734 DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2019.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Revised: 01/08/2019] [Accepted: 04/18/2019] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Many viral diseases are endemic in cattle populations worldwide. The ability of many viruses to cross the placenta and cause abortions and fetal malformations is well understood. There is also significant evidence that viral infections have additional actions in dairy cows, which are reflected in reduced conception rates. These effects are, however, highly dependent on the time at which an individual animal first contracts the disease and are less easy to quantify. This paper reviews the evidence relating to five viruses that can affect fertility, together with their potential mechanisms of action. Acute infection with non-cytopathic bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in mid-gestation increases abortion rates or causes the birth of persistently infected calves. BVDV infections closer to the time of breeding can have direct effects on the ovaries and uterine endometrium, which cause estrous cycle irregularities and early embryo mortality. Fertility may also be reduced by BVDV-induced immunosuppression, which increases the susceptibility to bacterial infections. Bovine herpesvirus (BHV)-1 is most common in pre-pubertal heifers, and can slow their growth, delay breeding, and increase the age at first calving. Previously infected animals subsequently show reduced fertility. Although this may be associated with lung damage, ovarian lesions have also been reported. Both BHV-1 and BHV-4 remain latent in the host following initial infection and may be reactivated later by stress, for example associated with calving and early lactation. While BHV-4 infection alone may not reduce fertility, it appears to act as a co-factor with established bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli and Trueperella pyogenes to promote the development of endometritis and delay uterine repair mechanisms after calving. Both Schmallenberg virus (SBV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) are transmitted by insect vectors and lead to increased abortion rates and congenital malformations. BTV-8 also impairs the development of hatched blastocysts; furthermore, infection around the time of breeding with either virus appears to reduce conception rates. Although the reductions in conception rates are often difficult to quantify, they are nevertheless sufficient to cause economic losses, which help to justify the benefits of vaccination and eradication schemes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chike F Oguejiofor
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Nigeria
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Stellari FF, Ruscitti F, Pompilio D, Ravanetti F, Tebaldi G, Macchi F, Verna AE, Villetti G, Donofrio G. Heterologous Matrix Metalloproteinase Gene Promoter Activity Allows In Vivo Real-time Imaging of Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis in Transiently Transgenized Mice. Front Immunol 2017; 8:199. [PMID: 28298912 PMCID: PMC5331072 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.00199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2016] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a very common interstitial lung disease derived from chronic inflammatory insults, characterized by massive scar tissue deposition that causes the progressive loss of lung function and subsequent death for respiratory failure. Bleomycin is used as the standard agent to induce experimental pulmonary fibrosis in animal models for the study of its pathogenesis. However, to visualize the establishment of lung fibrosis after treatment, the animal sacrifice is necessary. Thus, the aim of this study was to avoid this limitation by using an innovative approach based on a double bleomycin treatment protocol, along with the in vivo images analysis of bleomycin-treated mice. A reporter gene construct, containing the luciferase open reading frame under the matrix metalloproteinase-1 promoter control region, was tested on double bleomycin-treated mice to investigate, in real time, the correlation between bleomycin treatment, inflammation, tissue remodeling and fibrosis. Bioluminescence emitted by the lungs of bleomycin-treated mice, corroborated by fluorescent molecular tomography, successfully allowed real time monitoring of fibrosis establishment. The reporter gene technology experienced in this work could represent an advanced functional approach for real time non-invasive assessment of disease evolution during therapy, in a reliable and translational living animal model.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Daniela Pompilio
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D, Parma, Italy; Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Francesca Ravanetti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Parma , Italy
| | - Giulia Tebaldi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Parma , Italy
| | - Francesca Macchi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Parma , Italy
| | | | - Gino Villetti
- Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., Corporate Pre-Clinical R&D , Parma , Italy
| | - Gaetano Donofrio
- Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Università di Parma , Parma , Italy
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