Advances in Animal and Veterinary Sciences

Mini-Review Article
Adv. Anim. Vet. Sci. 1 (2S): 37 - 41. Special Issue-2 (Clinical Veterinary Practice-T rends)
View Full HTML
Download PDF

Ajevar Ganesan3, Muthu Sankar1, Ramakrishnan Saravanan2, Goutam Kumar Das3, Harendra Kumar3, Arumugam Kumaresan4, Krishnaswamy Narayanan3*
1Division of Temperate Animal Husbandry, IVRI, Mukteswar campus, 2Immunology Section, IVRI, Izatnagar, 3Division of Animal Reproduction, IVRI, Izatnagar, 4Division of Livestock Production and Management, NDRI, Karnal, India
*Corresponding author: vetnanny@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
Postpartum uterine infection causes infertility and economic losses in the dairy industry. Since 2005, the host–pathogen interaction of uterine infection is investigated by understanding the innate uterine immunity through the interaction of endometrial Toll–like Receptors (TLRs) and the Pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) of the infectious agents. Transcriptional studies have confirmed the presence of most of the bubaline endometrial TLRs suggesting that the uterus is equipped to mount TLR mediated response following infection. However, unlike cattle, buffalo lacks the expression of endometrial TLR1. Association between the phases of estrous cycle with the specific TLR gene suggests that ovarian steroids regulate the expression which is up–regulated following uterine infections. Of all the TLRs, the interaction between Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and TLR4 is best studied till date and shows activation of pro–inflammatory cytokines, preferential production of PGE2 and acute phase proteins in the bovine endometrium. Chronologically, intrauterine effects of LPS precede the discovery of TLRs. Emerging evidence indicates the presence of LPS in the follicular compartment in localized uterine infections; however, the vascular pathway carrying LPS of uterine origin to the ovary remains to be established. There is a scope for studying the other PAMPs of E coli with the cognate endometrial TLRs in the large ruminants. Similarly, no information on the interaction of PAMPS of recognized pathogens like Arcanobacterium pyogenes and Fusobacterium necrophorum with the corresponding endometrial TLRs is available. Expanding our understanding on the interaction of the common endometrial pathogens with the specific TLR in the endometrium is an obligatory pre–requisite for using specific TLR agonists in combating uterine infections.

Key Words: Bovine, Post–partum, Uterine infection, TLRs