Abstract
Exposing bovine dendritic cells (DC) and macrophages (MPhi) to Salmonella typhimurium at a ratio of 1 cell to 10 bacteria had a cytotoxic effect that was not evident with a ratio of 1000 cells to 1 bacterium. This lower dose was considered to mimic more closely the in vivo situation and a comparison was made with this model of the consequences of infection for MPhi and DC. DC infected with S. typhimurium up-regulated cell surface expression of major histocompatibility class I (MHC-I), MHC-II, CD40, CD80 and CD86. In contrast, infected MPhi did not exhibit detectable changes in expression of cell surface molecules, except for a marginal increase in CD40. mRNA transcription for tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6 and inducible nitric oxide synthase was up-regulated in both infected DC and infected MPhi, although mRNA transcription for granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and IL-12p40 was up-regulated only in infected DC and for IL-10 was only in infected MPhi. Infected DC had an increased ability to stimulate both allogeneic and antigen-specific T-cell responses compared to non-infected controls. In contrast, infected MPhi showed an increased ability to induce allogeneic responses but this was less than seen for DC and no enhancement of ability to induce antigen-specific T cell responses was seen. Thus, in a low-dose infection model that does not result in the cytotoxicity of a substantial percentage of antigen presenting cells, bovine MPhi and DC respond differently to infection with S. typhimurium and this could have important implications for the development of the immune response.