From field to health: a simple way to increase the nutraceutical content of grape as shown by NO-dependent vascular relaxation

Polyphenolic grapevine components involved in plant resistance against pathogens possess various pharmacological properties that include nitric oxide (NO)-dependent vasodilation and anti-inflammatory and free radical scavenging activities, which may explain the protective effect of moderate red wine consumption against cardiovascular disease. The aim of this work was (a) to verify the possibility that preharvest treatments of grapevine with a plant activator, benzo-(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH), could lead to an enriched nutraceutical potential of wine and (b) to characterize the profile of metabolites responsible for pharmacological activity. Plant spraying at the end of veraison, with a water suspension of BTH (0.3 mM), led to increased whole anthocyanin content as confirmed by HPLC comparative analysis. Extracts from berry skins of BTH-treated grapevines caused NO-dependent vasorelaxation, with a concentration-response curve that was significantly shifted to the left of the control non-BTH-treated curve. Moreover, 1:1000 dilutions of berry extracts from BTH-treated plants significantly increased basal production of guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) in human vascular endothelial cells when compared to the corresponding extracts of untreated plants. These results show that BTH treatment increases anthocyanin content of grape extracts, as well as their ability to induce NO-mediated vasoprotection. No increase of anthocyanin content was observed in the wine extracts from BTH-treated vines. It is concluded that BTH treatment could be exploited to increase the nutraceutical potential of grapes.     

A case of feline primary inflammatory mammary carcinoma: clinicopathological and immunohistochemical findings

The clinicopathological and immunohistochemical findings of a primary feline mammary tumour with features similar to human and canine primary inflammatory carcinoma are described for the first time. The cat presented to the clinic for the rapid onset of oedema, severe erythema, local pain and warmth of the inguinal region, with a pustular-to-nodular cutaneous lesion in association with an ill-defined underlying mass. An epithelial malignant tumour was diagnosed by cytological investigation. Necropsy revealed a thickening of the skin with oedema of the subcutis in the right inguinal area, and regional and distant metastases. Histology showed an unencapsulated tubulopapillary proliferation of malignant epithelial cells, with a massive embolisation in the dermal lymphatics and a mild inflammatory infiltrate. Through immunohistochemistry, the tumour was found to be oestrogen (ER)-alpha-, androgen (AR)- and progesterone (PR)-negative; neoplastic cells were ER-alpha, AR-negative and focally PR-positive. An irregular, mild and focal HER-2 immunoreactivity was present (score +1, non-HER-2 overexpressing). The neoplastic cells were cyclo-oxygenase-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor positive.     

Subcutaneous Liposarcoma in a Ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

A 6-year-old spayed female ferret (Mustela putorius furo) exhibiting clinical signs of weakness, anorexia, lethargy, weight loss, and frequent urination was presented for a veterinary evaluation to determine the underlying cause of the aforementioned abnormal behavior and clinical condition. Physical examination revealed a large, firm, painless, movable subcutaneous mass at the base of the tail. Radiographic and ultrasound images confirmed the presence of a soft tissue mass compressing the sacrococcygeal vertebrae, but there was no evidence of metastatic lesions. Because of the poor prognosis and progressive deterioration of the animal's clinical condition, the ferret was humanely euthanized. Gross necropsy revealed a 4 × 4 × 3.5 cm, firm, yellow-tan, ovoid, subcutaneous mass wrapped around the rectum and the anus. The mass did not appear to breach the serosa. Evaluation of the abdominal cavity revealed a pale yellow liver, possibly associated with hepatic lipidosis with no gross evidence of metastasis in the body cavity. The histopathological features of the mass were consistent with a liposarcoma. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of subcutaneous liposarcoma reported in a ferret.     

Toltrazuril and sulphonamide treatment against naturally Isospora suis infected suckling piglets: Is there an actual profit?

A study was carried out to assess the efficacy and the economic profit of prophylactic treatment against Isopsora suis with toltrazuril or with a sulfamethazine/trimethoprim combination in piglets from an intensive pig farm. Thirty-one litters were included in study. Eight litters were treated once with toltrazuril (20 mg/kg b.w.) at 3 days of age (Toltra group); 8 litters were treated with the sulphonamide combination (sodium sulfamethazine 35 mg and trimethoprim 7 mg/kg b.w.) for 3 consecutive days starting at 3 days of age (Sulfa group), and 15 litters were untreated (control group). Counts of oocyst per gram on pooled feces sampled from each litter were carried out on Days 7, 14, 21 and 28 and diarrhea was registered daily from pooled samples. Piglets were weighed on Days 1, 7 and 28 and mean weight gain (WG) and daily weight gain (DWG) were evaluated. The economic profit of treatment was evaluated comparing the WG of piglets of each treatment group from the day of birth to Day 28. On Days 14, 21 and 28, toltrazuril showed a better efficacy in controlling fecal oocyst output, diarrhea and weight gain compared with sulphamidic treatment (P < 0.001). The budgeting analysis showed a return of economic benefit of € 0.915 per toltrazuril-treated piglets and an additional cost of € 1.155 per sulphonamide-treated piglets.     

Serological proteome analysis of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from sub-clinical mastitis

Staphylococcus aureus is the most common aetiologic agent of contagious bovine mastitis. Studies of the molecular epidemiology of S. aureus strongly suggest that some genetic subsets of strains are particularly well adapted for causing infections in cattle. This communication reports the setup of experimental protocols to identify the immunogenic proteins expressed by one of the most common field isolated strain of S. aureus responsible for sub-clinical mastitis cases. The serological proteome analysis (SERPA) approach applied consists of three main steps: two-dimensional electrophoresis-based separation of the proteins contained in field isolated S. aureus extracts enriched for surface proteins, detection of immunogenic spots using anti-serum collected from sub-clinical mastitis cases and identification of antigens by mass spectrometric-based methodologies. The study allowed to identify three immunogenic proteins: DNAase translocase FtsK, ribosomal proteins S1 and a Tell-like protein.     

A lufenuron pre-treatment may enhance the effects of enilconazole or griseofulvin in feline dermatophytosis?

The effectiveness of enilconazole (4 weekly rinses with a 0.2% solution) or griseofulvin (50mg/kg twice daily for 40 days) following a pre-treatment with oral lufenuron (100mg/kg by-weekly for 8 weeks) was tested on 25 (11+14) Microsporum canis infected cats. Control animals were treated with lufenuron, griseofulvin and enilconazole alone. At day 150 pre-treated animals were culturally negative and clinically cured. While lufenuron alone was found to be ineffective against M canis infection, an immunomodulatory effect of the drug can be suggested, as reported in literature. Its use could be reserved to long-lasting infections, unsuccessfully treated with conventional drugs. Further studies are required to clearly establish the possible adjuvant effect of this molecule when used prior to enilconazole or griseofulvin.