Beta-defensin 4 (Bos taurus)

Background: Previous studies have shown that human cathelicidin and defensins have effective antimicrobial activity against Mycobacterium spp. Objective: To investigate the antimycobacterial effect of mature bovine neutrophil β-defensin (mBNBD) 4 against Mycobacterium spp. infection for the first time. Design: mBNBD4 protein was expressed in Pichia pastoris GS115. We used immunofluorescent assay to detect whether the recombinant mBNBD4 had entered the macrophages. The antimycobacterial activity of mBNBD4 was tested through colony-forming unit (cfu) assay. Morphological changes in the cell wall of M. bovis treated with mBNBD4 were observed by scanning electron microscope. Results: mBNBD4 was expressed and successfully purified from P. pastoris with intact antimicrobial activity. The recombinant protein was able to enter Raw 264.7 macrophages and exhibited potent in vitro bactericidal activity against M. smegmatis and M. bovis. The cell wall of M. bovis was disrupted after interaction with mBNBD4. Exogenous addition of mBNBD4 to both Raw 264.7 and THP-1 derived macrophages reduced the intracellular survival of M. bovis and M. tuberculosis relative to control cells. Conclusion: Our data show that mBNBD4 plays an important role in inhibiting mycobacterial growth and in controlling intracellular survival of mycobacteria. mBNBD4 could therefore an effective antimycobacterial molecule in combination with other measures.

Background and aim: Antimicrobial peptides are polypeptides that are a component of innate immunity and exhibit antifungal activity. This study aimed to investigate serum beta-defensin-1 levels in cattle diagnosed with trichophytosis, which is a zoonotic skin disease that affects several animal species. Materials and methods: A total of 23 young cattle, aged 2-4 months, of different breeds and sexes were selected. Of these, 16 cattle were clinically diagnosed with trichophytosis and seven were healthy. Results: The mean serum beta-defensin-1 levels of the infected animals were lower than those of control animals, yet the difference between the two groups was not significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: No significant alterations occurred in serum beta-defensin-1 levels of cattle with trichophytosis.

This study analyzed the associations between two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (C2239T and A1674C), used together as a genotype located in BNBD4, and milk traits and breeding values of productivity traits of Polish Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. The research was carried out on 322 cows, with 7070 milk parameter and somatic cell count records in daily milking, as well as 897 records covering data on whole lactations, and 2209 breeding value records for productivity traits. The DMU statistical package with a one-trait repeatability test-day animal model was used to estimate the associations. The differences between the genotype effects were analyzed using Duncan's post-hoc tests. The CC/AA and CT/AC genotypes had the highest frequencies (0.62 and 0.23, respectively). For use in marker-assisted selection, the CC/AC genotype is the most promising as an indicator of high-yielding cows potentially resistant to mastitis, because it was associated with the lowest somatic cell count (SCC), highest milk, fat, and protein yields in daily milking, as well as with milk yield in the whole lactation. The studied genotypes were also related to the breeding values of all the investigated production traits. However, some simulation studies have indicated a high rate of false-positives in GWAS based on classically calculated EBVs.