Mycoplasma gallisepticum–Induced Alterations in Cytokine Genes in Chicken Cells and Embryos

Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) was used to infect the MSB-1 cells, the HD-11 cells, and chicken embryos. The RNA from these cells and the embryonic spleen cells were extracted and assayed for the expression of cytokine genes using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that MG infection suppressed the expression of the IL-8 gene in the MSB-1 cells and enhanced the expression of the IL-8 and IL-6 genes in the HD-11 cells; a slightly increased expression of macrophage inflammatory protein-1beta (MIP-1beta) in MG-infected spleen cells was noted. Because of the divergent response in cytokine expression in different cell types, more work needs to be done before a correlation between the cytokine gene expression and the pathogenesis of a disease can be made.