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Updated: May 30, 2026
A Simple and Efficient Method for Testing Immunomodulatory Agents for Generation of Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells from Human CD14+ Monocytes
Published on: April 11, 2025
Target gene expression signatures in neutrophils and lymphocytes from cattle administered with dexamethasone at
R M Lopparelli1, M Giantin, G Pozza
1Dipartimento di Sanità pubblica, Patologia comparata ed Igiene veterinaria, viale dell'Università 16, I-35020 Agripolis Legnaro (Padova), Italy.
Abstract:
The glucocorticoid dexamethasone (DEX), when used as a growth promoter, cause morphological and functional alterations in cattle lymphoid organs and cells. In the present experiment, the transcriptional effects of an illicit DEX protocol upon six target genes were investigated in cattle neutrophils (NEU) and lymphocytes (LFC). Blood samples were taken before (T(0)) and 2, 3, 10, 19, 31 and 43 days from the beginning of DEX administration (T(1)-T(6)). Leukocytes were counted and cells isolated by gradient centrifugation; then, glutathione peroxidase 1 and 3 (GPX1 and GPX3), glucocorticoid receptor alpha (GRα), l-selectin, nuclear factor κB, subunit p65 (NFκB) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) mRNA amounts were measured through a quantitative Real Time RT-PCR approach. A significant change vs controls in NEU/LFC ratio was noticed from T(3) forward. Compared to T(0), DEX significantly increased to a variable extent all candidate gene mRNAs abundances in NEU; in contrast, only l-selectin, GRα and GPX1 were significantly up-regulated in LFC. Present results suggest that illicit DEX affects transcription in cattle immune cells, that might be considered as a promising surrogate tissue for the screening of DEX abuse in cattle farming.
