Genetic Variations in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells in Piglets Used as an Animal Model for Staphylococcal Enterotoxin Exposures

Abstract

We have used piglets as an animal model for studying the toxic effects of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs). Piglets are easy to handle, easy to carry out vital measurements, inexpensive, and more importantly, express remarkably similar pathological symptoms and responses to SE intoxication as humans at comparable doses. Microarray analyses are used to study the effect of many infections on gene expression profile in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This high throughput application offers detailed depiction of alteration at the molecular levels. When using high throughput gene expression analysis, there is a high possibility of finding genes that vary normally in the tissues under study. It is necessary to verify genes that are normally differentially expressed between piglets. To evaluate the normal physiological variation in gene expression in vivo in piglets, we used cDNA microarray to measure gene expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 10 normal Yorkshire piglets. We used analysis of variance to determine genes that showed statistically significant variations across piglets. Out of 1185 genes, 19 (1.6%) genes revealed statistically significant variance between RNA samples. Some of these varying genes are involved in stress response, immune response, and transcription. This study facilitates the characterization of gene expression base line needed for meaningful interpretation of microarray data.

Advances in Swine Transcriptomics

“…Hammamieh et al 70 have developed useful data on variability among pigs within peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Using a human cDNA membrane array, they measured the PBMC expression profiles of ten Yorkshire piglets.…”

“…The immune response is highly complex, with multiple tissues and cell types communicating information that is contextual and changes during early inflammatory stages as well as during inflammatory resolution and the adaptive immune response, and changes can also be long-term through immune memory. Hammamieh et al 70 have developed useful data on variability among pigs within peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Using a human cDNA membrane array, they measured the PBMC expression profiles of ten Yorkshire piglets.…”

Examination of animal and zoonotic pathogens using microarrays

“…Therefore, piglets are being increasingly used as models to study many human diseases as well as human biological phenomenon. Hence, such studies of gene expression variations of animal models used to study human pathogens are important to interpret the final outcome of expression studies [47].…”

Algorithmic Tools and Computational Frameworks for Cell Informatics

“…Animal studies have shown that 75% of the toxin administered to primates localizes to renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (RPTEC), which possess a glycosphingolipid receptor for SEB and express apoptotic markers in response to the toxin. These cells also secrete potent vasoconstrictors, endothelins, which play an important role in vascular tone regulation [16][17][18][19]. A highly collaborative research effort within the DARPA program was aimed to reconstruct a model of the pre-apoptosis processes involved in the response to SEB.…”