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

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. Overall design: 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.