{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,4]],"date-time":"2026-11-04T21:04:31Z","timestamp":1793826271102,"version":"4.6.1"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1778716800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Immunol."],"abstract":"\n Introduction<\/jats:title>\n \n The bovine mammary gland employs epithelial defenses against bacterial invasion, including a bilayer columnar epithelium lining the lactiferous sinuses and mucosal folds at the inner end of the teat canal. The aim of this\n in vivo<\/jats:italic>\n study was to compare mRNA transcript levels of selected \u03b2-defensins and cathelicidins in mammary gland cistern lining epithelial cells (MGCLEC) derived from the whole healthy udders and those naturally infected with coagulase-positive (CoPS,\n Staphylococcus aureus<\/jats:italic>\n ) or coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS, several strains).\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n The expression of selected genes was analyzed using RT-qPCR. Followed by: 'TATA box-binding protein (TBP) and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase1 (HPRT1) were used as reference genes.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results and discussion<\/jats:title>\n \n No expression of\n TAP<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n CATHL4<\/jats:italic>\n or\n CATHL6<\/jats:italic>\n was detected in the tested samples. For all other genes, a significant interaction between infection status and parity was observed. While\n BNBD1<\/jats:italic>\n expression remained low,\n BNBD4<\/jats:italic>\n showed the highest transcription levels among defensins, particularly in older cows (lactations 3\u20134). Significant upregulation of\n BNBD5<\/jats:italic>\n was noted in the CoPS (\n S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n ) group compared to CoNS.\n LAP<\/jats:italic>\n transcription was significantly higher in CoPS (\n S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n ) infected quarters than in CoNS and healthy groups across both parity classes. Additionally,\n CATHL5<\/jats:italic>\n expression was elevated in younger CoPS (\n S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n ) infected cows compared to the CoNS and older CoPS (\n S. aureus<\/jats:italic>\n ) groups. Our results suggest that\n BNBD4<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n BNBD5<\/jats:italic>\n , and\n CATHL5<\/jats:italic>\n are key transcriptional components of the MGCLEC innate immune response. Conversely, the absence of\n TAP<\/jats:italic>\n ,\n CATHL4<\/jats:italic>\n , and\n CATHL6<\/jats:italic>\n transcripts indicates that these specific peptides are not upregulated in cistern epithelial cells during the subclinical stage of staphylococcal infection.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2026.1804785","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]],"date-time":"2026-05-14T04:27:50Z","timestamp":1778732870000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The effect of staphylococcal infection on cathelicidin and \u03b2-defensin mRNA levels in epithelial cells lining the mammary gland cistern"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Emilia","family":"Bagnicka","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, PAS","place":["Jastrz\u0119biec, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Adrianna","family":"Szprynca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, PAS","place":["Jastrz\u0119biec, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ewa","family":"Ko\u015bciuczuk","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, PAS","place":["Jastrz\u0119biec, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Justyna","family":"Jarczak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, PAS","place":["Jastrz\u0119biec, Poland"]},{"name":"Laboratory of Regenerative Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw","place":["Warsaw, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Rzewuska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Preclinical Sciences, Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Warsaw University of Life Sciences","place":["Warsaw, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tomasz","family":"Sakowski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Genetics and Animal Biotechnology, PAS","place":["Jastrz\u0119biec, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Magdalena","family":"Zalewska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Warsaw, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Microbiology, Department of Bacterial Physiology","place":["Warsaw, Poland"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1541-4337.12568","article-title":"Microbial quality and safety of milk and milk products in the 21st century","volume":"19","author":"Fusco","year":"2020","journal-title":"Compr Rev Food Sci Food Saf"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetmic.2008.09.015","article-title":"Coagulase-negative staphylococci\u2014Emerging mastitis pathogens","volume":"134","author":"Py\u00f6r\u00e4l\u00e4","year":"2009","journal-title":"Veterinary Microbiol"},{"key":"B3","first-page":"16","article-title":"Functional anatomy of udder in various species of animals","volume":"42","author":"Sarangi","year":"2020","journal-title":"Vet alumnus"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2022.1031785","article-title":"Immune defenses of the mammary gland epithelium of dairy ruminants","volume":"13","author":"Rainard","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Immunol"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3168\/jds.S0022-0302(03)73632-7","article-title":"Gene expression of immunologically important factors in blood cells, milk cells, and mammary tissue of cows","volume":"86","author":"Pfaffl","year":"2003","journal-title":"J Dairy Sci"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11033-012-1997-x","article-title":"Cathelicidins: family of antimicrobial peptides. 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