Innate Immunity and Moraxella in Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (IBK)

Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis (IBK, or pinkeye) is the most common and highly contagious eye disease primarily caused by bacteria from the gram-negative Moraxella species, including M. bovis, M. ovis, and M. bovoculi (hereafter, referred to as M. obb.). IBK is characterised by scarring, blindness, and a substantial reduction in body weight, ultimately affecting beef production and animal welfare. Current interventions, including antibiotics and vaccines, are not effective and have been rendered unsustainable due to frequent annual outbreaks and increasing antibiotic resistance. We have recently discovered a novel hostsensing mechanism wherein M. obb. activates the innate immune sensor called NLRP3 and induces inflammation and cell death in primary immune cells such as macrophages. We hypothesise that M. obb.-mediated activation of NLRP3 drives IBK pathogenesis and induces corneal inflammation.