Cytoplasmic kinases downstream of GPR30 suppress gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-induced luteinizing hormone secretion from bovine anterior pituitary cells

GPR30 is known as a membrane receptor for picomolar concentrations of estradiol. The GPR30-specific agonist G1 causes a rapid, non-genomic suppression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-induced luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion from bovine anterior pituitary (AP) cells. A few studies have recently clarified that protein kinase A (PKA) and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) might be involved in cytoplasmic signaling pathways of GPR30 in other cells. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that PKA and ERK kinase (MEK) are important cytoplasmic mediators for GPR30-associated non-genomic suppression of GnRH-induced LH secretion from bovine AP cells. Bovine AP cells (n = 8) were cultured for 3 days under steroid-free conditions. The AP cells were previously treated for 30 min with one of the following: 5000 nM of PKA inhibitor (H89), 1000 nM of MEK inhibitor (U0126), or a combination of H89 and U0126. Next, the AP cells were treated with 0.01 nM estradiol for 5 min before GnRH stimulation. Estradiol treatment without inhibitor pretreatment significantly suppressed GnRH-induced LH secretion (P < 0.01). In contrast, estradiol treatment after pretreatment with H89, U0126 or their combination had no suppressive effect on GnRH-induced LH secretion. The inhibitors also inhibited the G1 suppression of GnRH-induced LH secretion. Therefore, these data supported the hypothesis that PKA and MEK (thus, also pERK) are the intracellular mediators downstream of GPR30 that induce the non-genomic suppression of GnRH-induced LH secretion from bovine AP cells by estradiol or G1.     

Reaction phenotyping of vinblastine metabolism in dogs

Vinblastine is a vinca alkaloid used either as a single agent or in combination therapy for the treatment of canine mast cell tumours and lymphomas. The objective of this study was to determine which isoform of cytochrome P450 enzyme is responsible for the majority of vinblastine metabolism in dogs. A panel of eight recombinant canine cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP3A12, CYP3A26, CYP2B11, CYP2C41, CYP2C21 and CYP2D15) were incubated in vitro with vinblastine. Findings were confirmed by the use of canine polyclonal antibodies of cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYP1A1, CYP3A12, CYP2B11 and CYP2C21) that were pre‐incubated with individual and pooled hepatic microsomes that were purified from canine liver. Substrate depletion was observed in the presence of recombinant CYP3A12, whereas depletion did not substantially occur when microsomes were pre‐incubated with polyclonal antibodies against CYP3A12. These findings confirmed that CYP3A12 is the major cytochrome P450 isoform responsible for the metabolism of vinblastine in dogs.     

Botulinum neurotoxin type A heavy chain intervenes in expression of general proteins in spinal cord after unilateral spinal cord injury in rats

AIM: To observe the effect of botulinum neurotoxin type A heavy chain (BoNT/A HC) on the pattern of spinal protein expression by intrathecal injection after spinal cord injury in rats, and to explore the role of BoNT/A HC intervention in spinal protein expression and some of its mechanisms in nerve regeneration after injury. METHODS: The model of unilateral lumbar spinal cord injury was established. The effects of BoNT/A HC intervention at different doses (2 μg, 4 μg, 6 μg and 8 μg) on the general pattern of protein expression in the spinal cord tissues at the injury site and the cranial part adjacent to the injury site was measured and evaluated by SDS-PAGE and Coomassie brilliant blue staining first, and then by two-dimensional SDS-PAGE. RESULTS: The histological structure of the ipsilateral side of lumbar spinal cord showed obvious destruction and degradation, mainly affecting both gray and white matter of the left side of the cord. The result of SDS-PAGE with Coomassie brilliant blue staining from injured spinal cord tissue displayed that the expression of some proteins after one-time BoNT/A HC treatment appeared obviously different from that without BoNT/A HC treatment. Moreover, the pattern of the protein expression affected by BoNT/A HC was similar to that of the normal spinal cord. The more detail information from two-dimensional SDS-PAGE indicated that more than 10 proteins with different molecular weight and isoelectronic points were differentially expressed at day 2 and day 20 after local injection of 6 μg BoNT/A HC. This altered expression actually appeared a tendency toward the pattern shown in normal group. CONCLUSION: The immediate application of BoNT/A HC at the injury site after unilateral lumbar spinal cord injury is able to affect the pattern of local protein expression. The altered protein expression by injury could be reversed back to normal or approximately normal by local BoNT/A HC administration.     

Isolation,Identification and Pathogenicity of Salmonella typhimurium from Guizhou Pony

To investigate the reason of the diarrhea in Guizhou pony,we used the feces of pony as experimental material to isolate and detect pathogenic bacteria.S6 strain was isolated from SS and XLD medium,and identified using Gram staining,biochemical tests and molecular phylogeny methods.The results showed that S6 strain could growth on SS and XLD medium,and the Gram staining was negative.Biochemical test suggested that its phenotype features were accordance with Salmonella.The 16S rRNA gene sequence of S6 strain was determined in a nucleotide sequence identity of 99% with Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 13311 (NR_119108).Based on the morphological and molecular phylogenetic results,the strain was identified as Salmonella typhimurium S6 strain.It was virulent to mice with the median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of 4.71×10² CFU.Then,we amplified the invasion protein A (invA) gene by PCR method.The invA gene isolated from S6 strain contained 6 to 8 bp different from the known gene,which resulted in only one amino acid substitution.The mutant sites of invA gene might attribute to the pathogenicity of S6 strain.The detection rate of Salmonella was 57% in Guizhou pony population.It was inferred that the diarrhea in Guizhou pony might be caused by virulent Salmonella typhimurium.     

The Inability to Screen Exhibition Swine for Influenza A Virus Using Body Temperature

Agricultural fairs create an unconventional animal–human interface that has been associated with swine‐to‐human transmission of influenza A virus (IAV) in recent years. Early detection of IAV‐infected pigs at agricultural fairs would allow veterinarians to better protect swine and human health during these swine exhibitions. This study assessed the use of swine body temperature measurement, recorded by infrared and rectal thermometers, as a practical method to detect IAV‐infected swine at agricultural fairs. In our first objective, infrared thermometers were used to record the body surface temperature of 1,092 pigs at the time of IAV nasal swab collection at the end of the exhibition period of 55 agricultural fairs. IAV was recovered from 212 (19.4%) pigs, and the difference in mean infrared body temperature measurement of IAV‐positive and IAV‐negative pigs was 0.83°C. In a second objective, snout wipes were collected from 1,948 pigs immediately prior to the unloading of the animals at a single large swine exhibition. Concurrent to the snout wipe collection, owners took the rectal temperatures of his/her pigs. In this case, 47 (2.4%) pigs tested positive for IAV before they entered the swine barn. The mean rectal temperatures differed by only 0.19°C between IAV‐positive and IAV‐negative pigs. The low prevalence of IAV among the pigs upon entry to the fair in the second objective provides evidence that limiting intraspecies spread of IAV during the fairs will likely have significant impacts on the zoonotic transmission. However, in both objectives, the high degree of similarity in the body temperature measurements between the IAV‐positive and IAV‐negative pigs made it impossible to set a diagnostically meaningful cut point to differentiate IAV status of the individual animals. Unfortunately, body temperature measurement cannot be used to accurately screen exhibition swine for IAV.     

Characterization of a carlavirus in elderberry (Sambucus spp.)

A carlavirus was isolated fromSambucus racemosa andS. nigra in the Netherlands. The virus was sap-transmissible and capable of infecting 14 out of 58 plant species and cultivars tested, causing symptoms in five of them. It was also transmitted byMyzus persicae at a low rate. Dilution end-point was 10^–3–10^–4, thermal inactivation at 70–75°C and ageing in vitro 2–4 days. The virus had a sedimentation coefficient of 155 S and molecular weight of capsid protein subunits of 31 000 dalton. The average buoyant density of the four isolates used was 1.315 g/cm³. The virus particles had an average normal length of 678 nm and a width of approximately 12 nm. In ultrathin sections of leaf tissue ofS. racemosa Plumosa Aurea bundles of virus particles were observed in the cytoplasm. Close serological relationship was found to a virus isolated from elderberry in Britain and a distant relationship to carnation latent virus. In its reaction on host plants and its persistence in crude sap it also resembled the former virus, originally code-named elderberry virus A. We propose the name elderberry carlavirus for it.Samenvatting Een carlavirus werd geïsoleerd uitSambucus racemosa enS. nigra in Nederland. Het virus kon met sap worden overgebracht en was in staat 14 van de 58 getoetste plantesoorten en-cultivars te infecteren waarbij op vijf van deze symptomen verschenen. Ook metMyzus persicae vond overdracht plaats, zij het in beperkte mate. De verdunningsgrens was 10^–3–10^–4, de inactiveringstemperatuur 70–75°C en de houdbaarheid in vitro 2–4 dagen. Het virus had een sedimentatiecoëfficiënt van 155 S en het molecuulgewicht van de structuurelementen van het capside-eiwit bedroeg 31 000 dalton. De deeltjes van de vier gebruikte isolaten hadden een gemiddelde zweefdichtheid van 1,315 g/cm³. De gemiddelde normale lengte van de virusdeeltjes bedroeg 678 nm bij een breedte van ongeveer 12 nm. In ultradunne coupes van bladweefsel vanS. racemosa Plumosa Aurea werden bundels draadvormige virusdeeltjes waargenomen in het cytoplasma. Het virus vertoonde een zeer sterke serologische verwantschap met een virus uit vlier geïsoleerd in Groot-Brittannië en een geringe verwantschap met het anjer-latenvirus. In zijn reactie op waardplanten en zijn eigenschappen in ruw sap vertoonde het ook veel gelijkenis met eerstgenoemd virus, in de literatuur vermeld onder de code-naam elderberry virus A. We stellen voor de naam carlavirus van vlier aan dit virus te geven.     

棕榈酸通过上调ACC/FAS/DGAT2通路表达诱导BRL 3A细胞脂肪变性

为探究棕榈酸诱导BRL 3A细胞脂肪变性的机制,以不同浓度的PA（0、0.2、0.4、0.6 mmol·L^-1）处理BRL 3A细胞24 h,用CCK-8法、RTCA技术检测细胞增殖情况;油红O染色,观察细胞脂滴生成情况;DAPI/F-actin双染,观察细胞核及骨架形态;采用比色法测定TG含量;采用RT-PCR检测脂肪合成相关基因Acaca、Fasn、Dgat2转录水平;采用Western blot检测脂肪合成关键蛋白ACC、FAS、SCD1、GPAM、DGAT2表达量。结果显示：与对照组相比,0.2、0.4 mmol·L^-1 PA对细胞增殖无影响,0.6 mmol·L^-1 PA抑制细胞增殖;油红O染色结果显示0.4 mmol·L^-1 PA处理细胞24 h,脂滴大量蓄积,发生明显脂肪变性;随PA浓度升高,细胞核发生皱缩、变形、碎裂,细胞骨架被破坏,微丝断裂;TG含量极显著增加（P<0.01）;不同浓度PA（0.2、0.4、0.6 mmol·L^-1）处理组脂肪合成关键基因Acaca、Fasn、Dgat2 mRNA转录水平均显著升高（P<0.05）,ACC、FAS、SCD1、GPAM、DGAT2蛋白表达水平均显著升高（P<0.05）;0.6 mmol·L^-1 PA组与0.4 mmol·L^-1 PA组相比,SCD1蛋白表达水平显著降低（P<0.05）。高浓度棕榈酸抑制BRL 3A细胞增殖,对细胞核及骨架产生损伤;棕榈酸诱导细胞发生脂滴蓄积,TG增加,通过上调脂肪合成关键基因Acaca、Fasn、Dgat2 mRNA转录水平及ACC/FAS/DGAT2通路蛋白表达水平诱导细胞发生脂肪变性。