Fetal and neonatal exposure to the mycotoxin zearalenone induces phenotypic alterations in adult rat mammary gland.

Zearalenone is a mycotoxin that is widespread in cereal food. We questioned whether this mycotoxin, administered during known critical exposure periods such as the fetal period and the first days of life, at doses compatible with mean daily intake in humans, could have an effect on mammary gland development in rodents. Wistar female rats were exposed to zearalenone (0.

Mammary transmission of caprine arthritis encephalitis virus: a 3D model for in vitro study.

Transmission of Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis virus (CAEV) from the mother to offspring is principally mediated by infected cells from colostrum and milk. The infection of the dam is often sub-clinical, and results in increased cellularity of milk, sometimes exacerbated by bacterial co-infections. Although monocytes are the major viral host cells, several other cell types, including epithelial mammary cells, fibroblasts and endothelial cells show low levels of in vivo infection.

Goat endothelial cells may be infected in vitro by transmigration of caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus-infected leucocytes.

The caprine arthritis-encephalitis lentivirus (CAEV) causes a lifelong persistent infection in goats, and induces infiltrations of leucocytes and tissue reorganization in target organs, with a cyclical pattern of viral expression. The mammary gland is an important site of infection, associated with mother-to-kid transmission by infected cells in colostrum and milk. The monocyte/macrophage is the principal target cell, but other cell types, including epithelial and endothelial cells and fibroblasts, are susceptible to in vitro infection with varying levels of viral replication.

Viral expression and leukocyte adhesion after in vitro infection of goat mammary gland cells with caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus.

A characteristic lesion in goats infected by the lentivirus CAEV is mastitis with lymphoid hyperplasia. In order to investigate the mechanism of lesion formation, cultures highly enriched in microvascular endothelial cells, mature and immature luminal epithelial cells, fibroblasts and myoepithelial cells were established from goat mammary gland biopsies. Their susceptibility to in vitro infection with two distinct types of CAEV was investigated by PCR, antigen expression and cytopathy.

In vitro infection of aortic endothelial cells by caprine arthritis encephalitis virus enhances in vitro transmigration of peripheral blood leukocytes and modulates their phenotypic expression.

Infection of goats by caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) provides a convenient example of the infiltration of various tissues by leukocytes following a natural lentiviral infection. This event is important in determining organ susceptibility and local immunity. Caprine vascular endothelial cells are susceptible to infection by CAEV in vitro, so we have investigated the consequences of this infection on the transmigration of uninfected leukocytes in an in vitro model.