Development of a Gene Expression Assay for the Diagnosis of Mycobacterium bovis Infection in African Lions (Panthera leo)

作者：Olivier T T; Viljoen I M; Hofmeyr J; Hausler G A; Goosen W J; Tordiffe A S W; Buss P; Loxton A G; Warren R M; Miller M A; van Helden P D; Parsons S D C

来源：Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 2017, 64(3): 774-781.

DOI：10.1111/tbed.12436

• African lion
• diagnosis
• Mycobacterium bovis
• Panthera leo
• tuberculosis
• wildlife

Mycobacterium bovis infection, the cause of bovine tuberculosis (BTB), is endemic in wildlife in the Kruger National Park (KNP), South Africa. In lions, a high infection prevalence and BTB mortalities have been documented in the KNP; however, the ecological consequences of this disease are currently unknown. Sensitive assays for the detection of this infection in this species are therefore required. Blood from M.bovis-exposed, M.bovis-unexposed, M.tuberculosis-exposed and M.bovis-infected lions was incubated in QuantiFERON((R))-TB Gold (QFT) tubes containing either saline or ESAT-6/CFP-10 peptides. Using qPCR, selected reference genes were evaluated for expression stability in these samples and selected target genes were evaluated as markers of antigen-dependent immune activation. The abundance of monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG/CXCL9) mRNA, measured in relation to that of YWHAZ, was used as a marker of ESAT-6/CFP-10 sensitization. The gene expression assay results were compared between lion groups, and lenient and stringent diagnostic cut-off values were calculated. This CXCL9 gene expression assay combines a highly specific stimulation platform with a sensitive diagnostic marker that allows for discrimination between M.bovis-infected and M.bovis-uninfected lions.

• 出版日期2017-6