Initial host defense to bacterial infection is executed by innate immunity, and therefore the main aim of this study was to investigate the role of Toll-like receptors (TLR2, TLR4 & TLR9) along with IL12 and IFNg during natural Brucella melitenis infection in goats. Goats which were recently aborted divided in two groups as normal and infected for B. melitensis based on serology, culture and PCR. The tissue samples were collected from mammary gland (MG), supra mammary lymph nodes (SMLN) and uterus from both groups after euthenization. Total RNA was extracted from collected tissues and cDNA was synthesized and amplified by Real time PCR. The results showed higher mRNA expression of TLR4, TLR9, IFN-g and IL12 in SMLN and MG as compared to uterus of infected goats. Although, TLR2 expression was found lower in all the three tissues. This indicates that TLR4, TLR9, IFN-g and IL12 play important role in disease resistance and its agonist can be used along with vaccine to enhance the immune response. Moreover, elevated level of IFN-g and IL12 may be helpful in early diagnosis of brucellosis in goats.
Goat, Brucellosis, Toll like receptors, Cytokines
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