The bovine leukemia virus infection prolongs immunosuppression in dairy cows during the periparturient period by sustaining higher expression of immunological checkpoints in T cells.

Vet Immunol Immunopathol

Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência Animal, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia 58397-000, Brazil; Núcleo Aplicado à Produção e Sanidade da Glândula Mamária (NAPROSA), Departamento de Ciências Veterinárias, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia 58397-000, Brazil; Veterinary Clinical Immunology Research Group, Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 05508-270, Brazil. Electronic address:

Published: September 2023

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is caused by a deltaretrovirus and has been associated with immunosuppression as well as comorbidities such as bovine mastitis, the costliest disease in the dairy sector. However, no previous study has explored at the synergistic immunosuppressive effect of the peripartum period with an immunosuppressive viral disease such as BLV. Thus, our study explored the effect of BLV infection in the periparturient period on the expression of PD-1 and CTLA-4 in blood T lymphocytes, and the impact of BLV infection on the rate of new intramammary infections during the early lactation. Here, we found that BLV-infected dairy cows always had a statistically significant higher expression of CTLA-4 and PD-1 in blood T cells. Furthermore, our findings indicated that BLV infection prolongs immunosuppression in dairy cows during the periparturient period by sustaining higher expression of immunological checkpoints in T cells. In addition, BLV-infected dairy cows have a higher rate of new intramammary infections during early lactation. Thus, our study provides new insights of the immunosuppressive effect of BLV on the most critical period of the cows' life with marked detrimental effect on protective T-cell immunity and comorbidities, such as bovine mastitis.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vetimm.2023.110636DOI Listing

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