Gene expression profiling in caprine milk somatic and white blood cells upon intramammary challenge with Staphylococcus aureus

In dairy ruminants transcriptome profiling has enabled the identification of genes, pathways and regulatory networks activated in mammary tissues during experimental infection by various pathogens, including E. coli, S. aureus and S. uberis. Information in goats are still low and many host-pathogen interaction mechanisms have to be explained. The objectives of the present study were (1) to identify the network of genes that becomes activated in caprine blood and milk somatic cells in early response towards a S. aureus challenge in order to better understand the local and sistemic response and (2) to search any difference in this immune response by using two animal groups belonging to a caprine reference family established based on founders with adverse SCC breeding values. Udders from ten healthy French Alpine goats were infected with S. aureus and samples of blood and milk cells were collected at 0, 24 and 30 hours after infection. Alterations in the transcriptome profile were investigated using a custom bovine DNA microarray containing 43.822 unique gene probes.