Function of bovine mammary macrophages as antigen-presenting cells

The ability of mammary macrophages treated with Staphylococcus aureus to induce antigen-specific T-cell proliferation was compared to that of the autologous blood monocytes. Induction of T-cell proliferation has been correlated with changes in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigen expression and interleukin 1 (IL-1) production by mammary macrophages and blood monocytes. The present study showed that both monocytes and mammary macrophages treated with S. aureus induced T-cell proliferation. However, there was a 3-fold decrease (P less than 0.05) in T-cell proliferation in macrophage cultures compared to those of blood monocytes, when these cells were treated with S. aureus. Mammary macrophages, the cells less effective in stimulating T-cell proliferation, expressed lower levels (2-fold) of MHC class II molecules and produced less IL-1 (3-fold) than blood monocytes. These data suggest that S. aureus may affect macrophage-T cell interaction by modulating the expression of MHC class II molecules and the synthesis of IL-1 by macrophages.