著者
MAEDA Yousuke OHTSUKA Hiromichi TOMIOKA Michiko TANABE Taishi NAMBO Yasuo UEMATSU Haruki OIKAWA Masa-aki
出版者
JAPANESE SOCIETY OF VETERINARY SCIENCE
雑誌
Journal of Veterinary Medical Science (ISSN:09167250)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.74, no.5, pp.629-632, 2012

<i>Escherichia coli</i>(<i>E. coli</i>) isolated from the uterus of a Thoroughbred mare with bacterial endometritis was used to evaluate the effect of progesterone (P<sub>4</sub>) on the immune response of mares. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected from 10 nonpregnant clinically healthy adult mares (range, 4-12 years) during diestrus, four Thoroughbreds and six Hokkaido native horses. Cell proliferation and expression of cytokine mRNA, including interferon (IFN)-γ, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-10, of PBMCs stimulated with <i>E. coli</i> and P<sub>4</sub> were examined <i>in vitro</i>. P<sub>4</sub> was shown to have significantly inhibited <i>E. coli</i> induced proliferation and expression of IFN-γ in PBMCs. These results indicate that P<sub>4</sub> inhibits the immune response to <i>E. coli</i> in mares.