Potential evidence for biotype-specific chemokine profile following BVDV infection of bovine macrophages

Chemokines play a key role in initiating the innate and subsequently adaptive immune response by recruiting immune cells to the site of an infection. Monocytes/macrophages (Mط) are part of the first line of defence against invading pathogens, and have been shown to release a variety of chemokines in response to infection. Here, we reveal the early transcriptional response of Mط to infection with cytopathogenic (cp) and non-cytopathogenic (ncp) bovine viral diarrhoea strains (BVDV). We demonstrate up-regulation of several key chemokines of the CCL and CXCL families in Mط exposed to cpBVDV, but not ncpBVDV. In contrast, infection of Mط with ncpBVDV led to down-regulation of chemokine mRNA expression compared to uninfected cells. Data suggest that ncpBVDV can shut down production of several key chemokines that play crucial roles in the immune response to infection. This study helps to further our understanding of the pathogenesis of BVDV infection, highlighting biotype-specific cellular responses.