Differential expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines during experimental infection with low or high virulence bovine viral diarrhea virus in beef calves

The objective was to compare the mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-12, IL-15) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-10, TGF-β) cytokines, after experimental infection with low or high virulence noncytopathic (ncp) bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV). Thirty BVDV-naïve, beef calves were intranasally inoculated with low (LV; n = 10, SD-1) or high (HV; n = 10, 1373) virulence ncp BVDV or with BVDV-free cell culture medium (Control, n = 10). Calves were euthanized on day 5 post-inoculation, and tracheo-bronchial lymph node and spleen samples were collected for mRNA expression through quantitative-RT-PCR. mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokines were up-regulated in tracheo-bronchial lymph nodes of HV, but not in LV, compared to the control group (P < 0.05). IL-12 mRNA level was up-regulated in tracheo-bronchial lymph nodes of both LV and HV groups (P ≤ 0.05). A significant up-regulation of IL-15 mRNA was observed in tracheo-bronchial lymph nodes for LV calves (P < 0.002), but not for HV calves. Experimental inoculation with BVDV-2 1373 stimulated significant mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. In contrast, inoculation with BVDV-1a SD-1 only resulted in up-regulation of IL-12 and IL-15 mRNA, which is associated with activation of macrophages and NK cells during innate immune response.