Our lab focuses on examining host-pathogen interactions and the immune cell dynamics that occur following infection. By using a robust cell culture model, we hope to more closely mirror the complex interactions occurring in vivo at a tissue level. Some of the published literature describing intergeneration in cattle lacks the necessary details for the protocol to be easily reproducible, making its application by inexperienced researchers challenging.
The benefit of our model is that we provide an extremely detailed protocol that can be used successfully by novice researchers. Creating Transwell monolayer enables co-culture with immune cells, revealing insights into tissue pathogen interaction while maintaining in vivo like organization. This versatile model is valuable for studying numerous cattle diseases with a complexity beyond single cell models.
Our lab will employ this model to investigate the immune factors influencing susceptibility to cryptosporidium infection. It will facilitate comparison between adult cattle and calves while preserving tissue architecture in the immune cell microenvironment. The findings from this work have direct translational potential to human health.
