Transcriptome profiling of mRNA responding to inflammation in bovine mammary epithelial cells induced by lipopolysaccharide.

Abstract

Bovine mastitis, caused by pathogen infection in mammary tissue, incurs significant economic losses. Bovine mammary epithelial cells (bMECs) act as both lactation organs and primary defense against pathogens. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a virulence factor of Escherichia coli (E. coli), activates innate immune responses in bMECs. In this study, we initially established bMEC purification through immunofluorescence analysis; subsequently employed RNA-seq to identify 691 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE-mRNAs) during LPS stimulation at various time points; and finally demonstrated that these DE-mRNAs were enriched in multiple gene ontology terms and signaling pathways related to immune responses and inflammatory processes, including the NF-κB, Toll-like receptor, TNF, and mTOR pathways. These findings suggest that the identified DE-mRNAs may mediate the inflammatory response induced by LPS in bMECs.