Active immunization against inhibin improves superovulatory response to exogenous FSH in cattle

The effect of active immunization against inhibin on the response to superovulatory treatment by porcine FSH (pFSH) was investigated in cattle. Japanese black cows were sc injected with 1 mg of porcine inhibin alpha-subunit fragment (1-26) conjugated with rabbit serum albumin (inhibin-immunized group; n=14) or rabbit serum albumin alone (control group; n=12) in Freund's complete adjuvant. Booster injections (half the amount of the primary injection) were given 35 and 70 days after the primary injection. All cows were superovulated three times with pFSH. Three days after each injection of the antigen, a progesterone-releasing intravaginal device (CIDR-B) was inserted vaginally into all animals and left in place for 10 days. Forty-eight hours before CIDR-B removal, all animals were sc injected with 30 mg pFSH dissolved in 40% polyvinylpyrrolidone, and im injected with 750 microg of PGF2alpha at CIDR-B removal. Cows were artificially inseminated twice during estrus, and ova or embryos were collected 7 or 8 days after estrus. The number of corpora lutea, the number of ova or embryos and the number of transferable embryos in inhibin-immunized cows (12.1+/-1.2, 11.1+/-1.3 and 6.2+/-1.0, respectively) were significantly greater than those in the controls (8.2+/-1.0, 5.7+/-1.1 and 3.1+/-0.7, respectively). These results indicate that active immunization against inhibin enhanced ovarian response to the usual superovulatory treatment in cattle. Therefore, immunization against inhibin may be a useful approach for improving the response to superovulation in cattle.     

Traumatic intracerebral hematoma in a dog: MR images and clinical findings

A nine-year-old, male, mongrel dog was unsteady after falling down a set of stairs. The dog exhibited a mildly abnormal gait 2 days after injury, and was not able to stand, with spasticity of the right limbs, 4 days after injury. MR imaging revealed a clearly demarcated mass on the top of the left lateral ventricle that showed mild hyperintensity on T1-weighted images and hyperintensity on T2-weighted images. The authors diagnosed the dog as having a traumatic intracerebral hematoma. This type of case, in which the clinical signs deteriorated due to edema associated with hematoma, is extremely rare.     

Cloning of the pathogenicity-related gene <Emphasis Type="Italic">FPD1</Emphasis> in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fusarium oxysporum</Emphasis> f. sp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">lycopersici</Emphasis>

We selected a reduced-pathogenicity mutant of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, a tomato wilt pathogen, from the transformants generated by restriction enzyme-mediated integration (REMI) transformation. The gene tagged with the plasmid in the mutant was predicted to encode a protein of 321 amino acids and was designated FPD1. Homology search showed its partial similarity to a chloride conductance regulatory protein of Xenopus, suggesting that FPD1 is a transmembrane protein. Although the function of FPD1 has not been identified, it does participate in the pathogenicity of F. oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici because FPD1-deficient mutants reproduced the reduced pathogenicity on tomato.The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under the accession number AB110097     

Regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) contributes to abortion caused by Brucella abortus infection in pregnant mice

Brucella abortus (B. abortus) is a facultative intracellular pathogen that can survive inside macrophages and trophoblast giant cells, and the causative agent of brucellosis. In the present study, we found that production of regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES) due to B. abortus infection contributes to abortion in pregnant mice. B. abortus infected pregnant interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) knockout mice died within 15 days of infection, but non-pregnant IFN-gamma knockout mice were still alive. With infection by wild type B. abortus, a large amount of RANTES production was observed in pregnant IFN-gamma knockout mice, and induction of RANTES was also observed in normal pregnant mice infected with the wild type, but not in those infected with the intracellular replication-defective mutant. Production of RANTES and IFN-gamma were inhibited in mice inoculated with the respective RANTES or IFN-gamma antibody. Neutralization of RANTES, induced by B. abortus infection, served to prevent abortion. These results indicate that the production and function of RANTES are correlated with IFN-gamma in pregnant mice infected with B. abortus.     

Functional disorder of the retina in manganese-deficient Japanese quail revealed by electroretinography using a contact lens electrode with built-in light source

Manganese deficiency results in neurological and skeletal defects, together with ultrastructural disarrangement of the retina in rats. Wild birds show a range of Mn concentrations in their tissues, including the liver, raising the possibility of Mn-related disorders in the wild. Electroretinography (ERG) provides a useful noninvasive approach to evaluate visual function. This method is especially useful in birds, as objective analysis of them is very difficult, while they have well-developed vision. In this study, we carried out a convenient and reliable ERG recording using a contact lens electrode with a built-in light source (LED electrode) of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) fed a Mn-deficient diet. After 10 min light adaptation, single-flash and flicker cone responses were reproducibly recorded to cause an intensity-dependent increase in amplitude of both a-wave and b-wave in single-flash ERG. Mn-deficient feeding markedly decreased the Mn concentration in the liver by almost half in 3 to 6 weeks, followed by body weight loss in 13 to 15 weeks. Implicit time of a-wave and b-wave cone response by single-flash stimulation was significantly delayed in quail with a Mn depletion from 3 to 6 weeks. Every cone response of the Mn-deprived quail had a tendency to decrease amplitude. The ultrastructure of cone photoreceptor cells was disorganized by Mn deficiency, including changes in outer segment discs of photoreceptor cells. These results suggest the essential role of Mn in the integrity of the retinal function of birds.     

Application of restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis to simple and rapid genotyping of bovine viral diarrhea virus strains isolated in Japan

The E2 regions of 177 bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) strains isolated in Japan between 1957 and 2006 were analyzed for genotyping. The strains were classified into 8 genotypes (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e, 1f, So and 2a) based on the phylogenetic analysis. The restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the RT-PCR products using 6 selected enzymes (Apo I, Mly I, BstAP I, Pvu II, Ear I, EcoR V) disclosed the cutting patterns classified into 11 groups (I-XI), each of that consisted of strains belonging to a single genotype. Namely, groups-I and -II were composed by genotype-1a strains, groups-III and -IV by 1b strains, and groups-V and -VI by 1c strains. Other groups-VII, -VIII, -IX, -X and -XI comprised genotypes-1d, -1e, -1f, -So and -2a strains, respectively. The results suggest that the RFLP analysis can simply and rapidly differentiate the 8 genotypes of BVDV strains.     

Number and density of retinal photoreceptor cells with emphasis on oil droplet distribution in the Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos var. domesticus)

This study was intended to determine the number and regional distribution of photoreceptor cells and different colored oil droplets in the retina of the Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos var. domesticus). To estimate the number and density of photoreceptor cells, adult ducks were killed and both eyes were enucleated under deep anesthesia to prepare Nissl‐stained retinal whole‐mount samples. Different colored oil droplets were counted from color microphotographs of the freshly prepared retina. The mean number of retinal photoreceptors was approximately 6 308 828 ± 521 927, with a peak density of 33 573/mm² in the central retina. The density was similar in the nasal, temporal, ventral and dorsal areas of the retina. Five types of oil droplets were identified on the basis of color: red, orange, greenish‐yellow, yellow and clear. The mean density of oil droplets was highest in the central retina (17 639/mm²) and gradually declined towards the nasal, temporal, ventral and dorsal areas. The size of oil droplets gradually increased with retinal eccentricity and varied even within an area. The greenish‐yellow oil droplets were most abundant across the retina. Taken together, these results demonstrate the differential retinal distribution of photoreceptor cells and oil droplets in duck retina. We conclude that the area of high photoreceptor cell density, which is matched by high neuron densities of the ganglion cell layer, corresponds to the site of acute vision in duck retina.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis in a border collie

A castrated male border collie 23 months of age weighing 19.4 kg was referred to the Animal Medical Center of Nihon University with complaints of visual disturbance and behavioral abnormality, hyperacusis and morbid fear. The MRI examination revealed the slight dilated cerebral sulci and cerebellar fissures and left ventricular enlargement. This is the first report of MRI findings of canine neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis.