Age-related changes in intracellular expression of IFN-γ and TNF-α in equine lymphocytes measured in bronchoalveolar lavage and peripheral blood

Sanni Hansen, Lingshuang Sun, Keith Edward Baptiste, Julie Fjeldborg, David W. Horohov

    13 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Diseases of the lower airways represent some of the most common conditions affecting horses of all ages, but the type and severity tends to follow the horses' age. The age-related dysregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines may, in part contribute to the development of the diseases. Therefore, we hypothesize that the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines increases with age.Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells from clinically healthy horses of different ages were used for the investigation. The cells were stimulated and the production of IFN-γ and TNF-α measured using flow cytometry. The frequency of IFN-γ producing lymphocytes in both BAL and PBMCs from old horses was significantly increased compared to the young horses. The age-related increase of TNF-α production was also found in PBMCs but not in BAL cells. In conclusion, the productions of certain pro-inflammatory cytokine are age-associated. This age-associated increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines production may be a co-factor for the pathogenesis of equine airway diseases.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalDevelopmental & Comparative Immunology
    Volume39
    Issue number3
    Pages (from-to)228-233
    Number of pages6
    ISSN0145-305X
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Mar 2013

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