Increased pulmonary activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) in foals inoculated with Rhodococcus equi is associated with increased expression of inflammatory cytokines.

This research investigates the relationship between the increased production of inflammatory proteins and the activation of a certain cell-regulating factor in foals infected by a specific bacteria. The study found that when foals were infected with a virulent form of Rhodococcus equi, the activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and inflammatory protein expression were observed to increase simultaneously.

Objective of the Study

• The primary aim of this study was to determine whether increased expression of inflammatory cytokines in foals inoculated with Rhodococcus equi, a bacteria, was linked to the elevated pulmonary activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB).

Methodology of the Study

• The researchers performed electrophoretic mobility shift assays on pulmonary nuclear protein extracted from the foals. Foals in this study were either treated with phosphate-buffered saline or inoculated with either virulent or avirulent Rhodococcus equi.
• The activation of NF-kappaB was measured in the nuclear extracts of the foals. The point of measurement was 14 days after the foals were inoculated with virulent Rhodococcus equi.
• Southwestern histochemistry, a laboratory staining technique, was also used in the study to visualize the activated NF-kappaB in multinucleated giant cells that frequently contained bacteria.

Findings of the Study

• The researchers discovered increased activation of NF-kappaB in the nuclear extracts from foals inoculated with virulent R. equi at 14 days after inoculation. This increase coincided with a rise in cytokine expression.
• The presence of activated NF-kappaB was also detected in multinucleated giant cells that usually contained bacteria.
• These findings, thus, suggest that the cytokine response to Rhodococcus equi infection in foals is at least partly mediated by NF-kappaB activation.