Delayed-type hypersensitivity skin test against Neospora caninum in heifers with undetectable specific antibodies

Delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) has been used in human and veterinary medicine as a skin testing for evaluating in vivo cell-mediated immune responses (CMIR). Whereas CMIR is a key process to control intracellular pathogens, its value at identifying cattle exposed to the abortigenic intracellular coccidian parasite Neospora caninum is unknown. In this work, we have evaluated a DTH skin testing in cattle exposed to N. caninum and still seronegative. Female calves were experimentally sensitized by subcutaneous (SC) inoculation with live tachyzoites of N. caninum (NC-Argentina LP1) in sterile phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (group A; n: 8) whereas other calveswere mock-sensitized with PBS (group B; n: 6). Two DTH skin tests were performed by intradermal inoculation with a soluble lysate of N. caninum tachyzoites (NC-Argentina LP1) in the neck region at 60d and 960 d after sensitization. Skinfold thickness at the intradermal inoculation site was measured at 0, 24, 48 h post each DTH skin test and skin biopsies taken for microscopic evaluation. Specific N. caninum antibodies kinetics was evaluated all throughthe experiment. We found that whereas N. caninum specific antibodies remained below the ELISA cut-off, a distinctive skinfold thickness increase was detected in sensitized animals (group A) at the DTH skin test site, showing induration, swelling and inflammatory infiltration. Mock sensitized animals (group B) showed no skinfold thickness growth and lacked specific antibody response. Thus, N. caninum DTH skin testing could be a useful diagnostic tool for the detection of CMIR during N. caninum infection in non-humoral responders.     

Orf virus circulation in cattle in Turkey

Orf virus (ORFV) causes contagious skin disease that mainly affects sheep and goats with zoonotic potential. However, there is not enough information about the association between ORFV and occurrence of skin disease in cattle. The present study describes outbreaks of ORFV infection in cattle in different provinces that are located in the Aegean, Central Anatolian and Mediterranean regions of Turkey. During the months of June and August 2017, vesicular fluid and scab samples were collected from cattle which had proliferative skin lesions. First, presence of lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) and bovine herpesvirus 2 (BoHV-2, known as the causative agent of pseudo-lumpy skin disease) were investigated by real time PCR and PCR, respectively. Then, samples tested for the presence of parapoxviruses by PCR using primers specific to major envelope protein gene (B2L). Parapoxvirus DNA was detected in investigated samples whereas LSDV and BoHV-2 DNA were not detected. The analysis of the B2L gene sequences revealed that cattle were infected with ORFV. The isolates in the present study shared 100% sequence identity at the nucleotide and amino acid level when compared with previously characterised Turkish field ORFV isolates from goats in 2016. Results of the study show unusual infection of cattle with ORFV, and suggest that ORFV jumps the host species barrier from goats to cattle.     

华南虎皮肤成纤维细胞的分离培养

应用酶消化法（胶原酶消化：0.1%胶原酶Ⅰ型＋0.1%BSA;胰蛋白酶消化：0.25%胰蛋白酶＋1mM EDTA）和植块法从华南虎皮肤组织中分离成纤维细胞。研究结果表明,植块法较适合分离华南虎皮肤成纤维细胞,胶原酶消化法次之,而胰蛋白酶消化法不宜用于分离华南虎皮肤成纤维细胞。DMEM/F12（1：1）培养基＋10%FCS＋10 ng/ml EGF＋5μg/ml胰岛素＋100 IU/ml青霉素＋100μg/ml链霉素组成的培养体系适用于华南虎皮肤成纤维细胞的体外培养。     

Preventive effects of Clostridium butyricum on gastric ulceration induced by pylorus ligature in mice

AIM: To investigate the preventive effects of Clostridium butyricum (C. butyricum) on the type of pylorus ligated gastric ulcer (GU) in mice and the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: ICR mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham operation group, model group, C. butyricum pretreatment group and omeprazole pretreatment group. Gastric pyloric ligation was adopted to establish GU model in mice. The gastric juice was collected to measure the content of gastric free mucus, the pH of gastric juice and the activity of pepsin. The gastric tissues were collected for routine HE staining to observe the pathological changes. The content of glycogen was detected by PAS staining. The protein expression of Bax and Bcl-2 in the gastric mucosa was also assessed by immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: The HE and PAS staining showed that the C. butyricum pretreatment obviously attenuated the mucosa lesion induced by ligation. Compared with model group, the pH of gastric juice was significantly raised. The activity of pepsin fell off in C. butyricum group, which was lower than that in omeprazole group. In comparison with model group, the content of gastric free mucus was dramatically increased and PAS staining showed a significant rise in C. butyricum group, but not in omeprazole group. The protein expression of Bax was decreased and the protein expression of Bcl-2 was upgraded in C. butyricum group than those in model group. CONCLUSION: C. butyricum protects gastric mucosa against the challenge of pylorus ligation in mice and its mechanism may be related to inhibiting gastric acid secretion and the activation of pepsin, increasing the production of gastric free mucus, strengthening the expression of bcl-2 gene and inhibiting the expression of bax gene.     

Paederia foetida — a promising ethno-medicinal tribal plant of northeastern India

The northeastern region of India constitutes one of the biodi-versity hotspots of the world. The ethnic groups inhabiting this region practice their distinctive traditional knowledge systems using biod...     

杨树烂皮病药剂筛选及防治技术

对杨树烂皮病的化学防治药剂进行筛选结果表明，可杀得（53．8％干悬浮剂）、甲基硫菌灵（50％可湿性粉剂）、双效灵（10％）有明显的抑菌效果；可杀得（53．8％干悬浮剂）、甲基硫菌灵（50％可湿性粉剂）、双效灵（10％）3种药剂毒力线的回归关系显著。对8种杀菌剂进行杨树烂皮病防治试验的结果表明，可杀得等杀菌剂防治效果达90％，药效显著。