Transcriptional profiling of whole-blood in Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis-infected cattle

To provide novel insights into understanding the host-immune response during the different stages of progression of the disease, we performed gene expression profiling in Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in cattle. We analyzed the transcriptional profiles of whole-blood cells of cattle identified and grouped according to the presence of MAP-specific antibodies and the MAP shed by them. The grouping was based on the results obtained by ELISA and PCR analyses as follows: 1) Test1 group: MAP-negative results obtained by ELISA and positive results obtained by PCR; 2) Test2 group: MAP-positive results obtained by ELISA and negative results obtained by PCR; 3) Test3 group: MAP-positive results obtained by ELISA and positive results obtained by PCR; 4) uninfected control: MAP-negative results obtained both by ELISA and PCR analysis.