Detection of IL-2 and IFN-γ MRNA expression in bovine milk cells at the late stage of the lactation period with RT-PCR

The expression of bovine interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin-2 (IL-2) in the late stage of the lactation period in milk cells was detected with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). IFN-gamma was detected with all primer concentrations, 0.2, 0.5 and 1 muM. IL-2 however, was faintly detected only with 0.5 muM primer concentration. It was shown that IFN-gamma mRNA expression can be demonstrated clearly with RT-PCR at the late stage of the lactation period. In contrast, IL-2 was weakly expressed at this stage of the lactation period. The work is important for substantiating the therapeutic use of recombinant bovine IFN-gamma and IL-2 and for helping to reveal the activity of cytokine in the mammary gland at the late stage of the lactation period. (C) 2000 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.