Delayed neutrophil apoptosis in bovine subclinical mastitis

Bovine subclinical mastitis can be defined as a moderated inflammatory disease characterized by a persistent accumulation of neutrophils in milk. As GMCSF-mediated delay of neutrophil apoptosis contributes to the accumulation of inflammatory cells at the site of inflammation in many human diseases, we sought to determine whether subclinical mastitis in cows is also associated with a GMCSF-dependent increase in milk-neutrophil survival. We first addressed the hypothesis that GMCSF delays bovine neutrophil apoptosis by activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) family members STAT3 and STAT5, which are critical regulators of the expression of various Bcl-2 family proteins. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor significantly delayed apoptosis of blood neutrophils obtained from healthy cows. In these cells, GMCSF activated STAT5, but not STAT3, and induced an increase in the mRNA of the antiapoptotic Bcl-2 member, Bcl-xL. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor-dependent STAT5 activation and up-regulation of Bcl-xL mRNA were blocked by the Jak inhibitor, AG-490. This inhibition was associated with abrogation of the prosurvival effect of GMCSF, demonstrating a key role for STAT5 in delayed neutrophil apoptosis. We further found that GMCSF expression was increased in milk cells from cows affected with subclinical mastitis. Neutrophils from these cows demonstrated a significant delay of apoptosis as compared with neutrophils obtained from healthy cows and were unresponsive to GMCSF. Active STAT5 complexes were detected in these neutrophils. Finally, in the presence of AG-490, apoptosis was induced and a time-dependent down-regulation of Bcl-xL mRNA was observed in milk neutrophils from mastitis-affected cows. These results indicate that neutrophil survival is enhanced in milk of subclinical mastitis-affected cows and suggest a role for a GMCSF-activated STAT5 signaling pathway in this phenomenon. This pathway could thus represent a target for the control of persistent accumulation of neutrophils in the bovine mammary gland.