Virulence factors and inflammatory response of S. aureus isolated from clinical and subclinical Mastitis and expression of cytokines in Bovine Mammary Epithelial Cells (BMEC)

• Grant number: 22/13775-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2023
• Status: Discontinued
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Marcos Veiga dos Santos
• Grantee: Erika Carolina Romão Bonsaglia
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/05074-7 - Investigating Resistance Mechanisms and the Influence of non-aureus Staphylococci Isolates from Teat Skin on the Adaptive Strategy of S. aureus, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland, mostly caused by bacteria, and it has two major forms: clinical and subclinical. The monitoring of the severity of clinical cases, which are classified as mild, moderate, or severe, is essential for the control of the disease. S. aureus remains one of the main pathogens causing mastitis and its numerous virulence factors are critical factors leading to chronic and persistent infections. However, it seems that no single virulence gene identified so far is sufficient for S. aureus to induce an intramammary infection (IMI). Instead, it is likely that different gene combinations may be linked to the ability of a strain to induce IMI and persist in the udder. There is a scarcity of information characterizing virulence factors of isolated strains of different degrees of mastitis severity. The aim of this study is to characterize the virulence factors and inflammatory response of S. aureus, isolated from clinical and subclinical cases of bovine mastitis. For a better understanding of how S. aureus can influence the host immune response, cytokine expression (TNF±, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, CXCL10) will be evaluated in the culture of epithelial bovine gland cells. In addition, the whole genome shotgun sequence (WGS) will be performed to determine virulence factors, antimicrobial resistance, and phylogenetic relationships. (AU)