Research

Background

Mycoplasma bovis is involved in bovine respiratory disease (BRD), and mycoplasma treatments are estimated to cost the beef industry $30 to $50 per head. M. bovis also causes significant welfare problems, usually in the form of chronic arthritis causing lameness. Despite several decades of research, there is no vaccine for M. bovis.

One challenge for vaccine development is that Mycoplasma can alternate which antigens it expresses on the cell membrane surface. This means that M. bovis antigens might stimulate an immune response, but the bacteria may be expressing different surface antigens by the time the animal’s antibodies are circulating. As a result, the immune response is always playing catch-up and doesn’t effectively combat M. bovis infections.

This project will explore molecules that may be able to interfere with the M. bovis cell membrane, so that it releases more of its cell membrane proteins, in this case lipoproteins. This would allow the animal’s immune system to recognize more of the M. bovis surface antigens and help the animal to mount a more effective immune response. It will target an M. bovis enzyme that is involved in cell membrane growth, and use results recently obtained from other bacteria that also have lipoproteins associated with their cell membranes.

Objectives

The objectives of this study are to:

1) Develop an assay to screen for compounds that elicit the release of lipoproteins from M. bovis cells

2) Screen and validate safe, commercially available compounds for their ability to induce the release of M. bovis lipoproteins

Implications of the research

M. bovis has long been a concern for producers, and we don’t have effective solutions. While this project is very early stage drug discovery research, and will certainly not eliminate M. bovis infections immediately, it is exploring a new approach that potentially can improve the management of this bacteria in the future.