The Impact of the Mycoplasma pulmonis MALP-2 Homologue on Disease Progression

Spear, Marcia. The Impact of Mycoplasma pulmonis MALP-2 Homologue on Disease Progression. Master of Science (Biomedical Sciences), April 2008. 64 pp., 3 tables, 8 illustrations. Using Mycoplasma pulmonis, this project looked at a possible critical component in mycoplasma disease, the MALP-2 homologue lipoprotein. Studies demonstrated other lipoproteins besides the MALP-2 homologue were critical for in vivo disease progression and in vitro macrophage IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α cytokine production. This trend was also seen human endothelial kidney (HEK) cells transfected with toll-like receptor 1 (TLR2) and the heterodimer TLR2/6. An increase in IL-8 cytokine production seen in all stimulated HEK cell lines, indicating the lipoproteins involved in cell interactions are TLR2 mediated. This project suggests the M. pulmonis MALP-2 homologue is not the main lipoprotein involved in disease progression and cell interactions, indicating the MALP-2 homologue may not be an ideal target for vaccines or antibiotics.