Relationship between expression of interleukin-5 and interleukin-13 by epithelial cells and bronchiolar changes in pigs infected with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae

Abstract

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mh) is a bacterium that specifically infects the surface of bronchi and bronchioles of pigs without invading the host cells, and it is considered to be the primary agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia (PEN). The present study investigates the morphological and immunohistological changes induced in bronchiolar epithelium by Mh infection. Lungs from 20 pigs with naturally occurring Mh pneumonia were compared with those from 10 uninfected controls. Bronchiolar epithelial height, inflammatory infiltration, hyperplasia of bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT) and mucin subtype MUC5AC-producing cells significantly increased in all infected animals. Mh antigen was detected in association with the cilia of the bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium. Interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-13 were expressed consistently by epithelial and mononuclear cells of the airways of infected animals. The expression of these cytokines in the bronchial and bronchiolar tissues is related to the histological changes of PEN.