ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Clinical, Anatomical, and Comparative Pathology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1549056
This article is part of the Research TopicInnovative Approaches in Veterinary Pathology: Diagnostics, Therapeutics, and Zoonotic ThreatsView all 8 articles
A nod to paratuberculosis: NOD1 and NOD2 expression in the pathological spectrum of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in cattle
Provisionally accepted
David Zapico1,2*
José Espinosa Cerrato1,2
Pedro Mendívil1,2Miguel Criado1,2
Julio Benavides2
Miguel Fernández1- 1University of León, León, Spain
- 2Instituto de Ganadería de Montaña, León, Spain
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Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis causes different types of granulomatous lesions in cattle, which vary from focal lesions, associated with latency, to diffuse forms seen in animals with clinical disease. The determining factors are unknown but recent evidence suggests a key role of the innate immunity in the outcome of the infection. NOD-like receptors are innate immune proteins involved in the recognition of intracellular pathogens, including mycobacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of NOD1 and NOD2 in intestinal samples from cattle with different types of lesions associated with paratuberculosis: focal, diffuse paucibacillary and multibacillary forms. The expression of NOD1 and NOD2 was assessed according to the number of immunolabeled cells and only those cells consistent with macrophages were considered. A significant increase in the number of NOD1+ and NOD2+ macrophages was observed in cattle with diffuse multibacillary forms compared to the other groups. No expression of NOD1 or NOD2 was detected in the focal and diffuse paucibacillary lesions, while a strong expression of NOD2 and occasional NOD1 were observed in the multibacillary granulomas. These findings suggest that NOD1 and NOD2 are involved in the pathogenesis of bovine paratuberculosis.
Keywords: Cattle, Granuloma, lesion, Paratuberculosis, NOD-like receptor, NOD1, Nod2
Received: 20 Dec 2024; Accepted: 22 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zapico, Espinosa Cerrato, Mendívil, Criado, Benavides and Fernández. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: David Zapico, University of León, León, Spain
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