Emprego da RT-PCR em tempo real para a quantificação da expressão de genes associados à resposta imune em bezerros bovinos experimentalmente infectados por Neospora caninum

Neospora caninum is one of the main causes of abortion and natimortality in cattle. Host immune defense is capable to inhibit tachyzoite activity during acute infection, but there is no action against bradyzoites in tissue cysts. Activation and modulation of this response is controlled by cell mediators. The real-time RT-PCR technique was employed  to detect some of those mediators during N. caninum infection. Holstein and Nelore calves intramuscularly infected with tachyzoites and uninfected controls were slaughtered at the sixth day post-infection and popliteal lymph node, liver and brain cortex samples were analyzed. Real-time RT-PCR detected gene expression in all tissues. No significant variation of GAPDH gene expression was detected among groups, its amplification  efficiency was similar to the other genes tested and it was used as the endogenous control for the analysis. Comparisons  between infected and uninfected groups allowed the relative gene expression quantification. IFN-γ and TNF-α genes showed increased expression in some samples. iNOS and TGF-β1 genes had some non-significant variations and IL-4 and IL-10 stayed pratically inaltered.