Antibody response in vaccinated pregnant mares to recent G3BP[12] and G14P[12] equine rotaviruses

Background

Both the G3P[12] and the G14P[12] type of equine group A rotavirus (RVA) have recently become predominant in many countries, including Japan. G3 types are classified further into G3A and G3B. The G3A viruses have been circulating in Europe, Australia, and Argentina, and the G3B viruses have been circulating in Japan. However, only an inactivated vaccine containing a single G3BP[12] strain is commercially available in Japan. To assess the efficacy of the current vaccine against recently circulating equine RVA strains, we examined antibody responses in pregnant mares to recent G3BP[12] and G14P[12] strains by virus neutralization test.

Findings

After vaccination in five pregnant mares, the geometric mean serum titers of virus-neutralizing antibody to recent G3BP[12] strains increased 5.3- to 7.0-fold and were similar to that against homologous vaccine strain. Moreover, antibody titers to recent G14P[12] strains were also increased 3.0- to 3.5-fold.

Conclusions

These results suggest that inoculation of mares with the current vaccine should provide foals with virus-neutralizing antibodies against not only the G3BP[12] but also the G14P[12] RVA strain via the colostrum.     

A retrospective study of inflammatory colorectal polyps in miniature dachshunds

Medical records of dogs with colorectal polyps were retrospectively reviewed, and clinical presentation of inflammatory colorectal polyps in miniature dachshunds was evaluated. Of 33 dogs found to have colorectal polyps, miniature dachshunds were markedly over-represented with 16 dogs (48%), of which 12 (75%) were found to have inflammatory polyps. Multiple polyps localized between the rectum and the descending colon was the most common finding in miniature dachshunds with inflammatory polyps. Twenty dogs (80%) out of 25 miniature dachshunds with inflammatory colorectal polyps responded to immunosuppressive therapy using prednisolone and cyclosporine. The results of this study indicate that miniature dachshunds are predisposed to develop inflammatory colorectal multiple polyps, for which immunosuppressive therapy may be a treatment option.     

Age Difference in Morphology and Immunohistology inthe Thymus and Spleen in Crl:CD (SD) Rats

We investigated chronological changes in immunohistochemical phenotyping in the thymus and spleen in Crl:CD rats up to the age of about one year. In the thymus, T cells increased markedly from 3 to 4 weeks of age. Proliferating cells also increased markedly at these points. B cells tended towards an increase with age. In the spleen, white pulp increased until 9 weeks of age and remained fairly stable thereafter. In the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath and marginal zone, T cells gradually increased until 9 weeks of age and became almost flat thereafter. In the lymph follicle, T cells increased with age. B cells tended towards an increase with age in all areas of the spleen. It was concluded that development of the thymus was most marked from 3 to 4 weeks of age and that both the thymus and spleen had matured by 9 weeks of age.     

Distribution of photoperiod-insensitive allele Ppd-A1a and its effect on heading time in Japanese wheat cultivars

The Ppd-A1 genotype of 240 Japanese wheat cultivars and 40 foreign cultivars was determined using a PCR-based method. Among Japanese cultivars, only 12 cultivars, all of which were Hokkaido winter wheat, carried the Ppd-A1a allele, while this allele was not found in Hokkaido spring wheat cultivars or Tohoku-Kyushu cultivars. Cultivars with a photoperiod-insensitive allele headed 6.9–9.8 days earlier in Kanto and 2.5 days earlier in Hokkaido than photoperiod-sensitive cultivars. The lower effect of photoperiod-insensitive alleles observed in Hokkaido could be due to the longer day-length at the spike formation stage compared with that in Kanto. Pedigree analysis showed that ‘Purple Straw’ and ‘Tohoku 118’ were donors of Ppd-A1a and Ppd-D1a in Hokkaido wheat cultivars, respectively. Wheat cultivars recently developed in Hokkaido carry photoperiod-insensitive alleles at a high frequency. For efficient utilization of Ppd-1 alleles in the Hokkaido wheat-breeding program, the effect of Ppd-1 on growth pattern and grain yield should be investigated. Ppd-A1a may be useful as a unique gene source for fine tuning the heading time in the Tohoku-Kyushu region since the effect of Ppd-A1a on photoperiod insensitivity appears to differ from the effect of Ppd-B1a and Ppd-D1a.     

Artificial neural network modeling for predicting final moisture content of individual Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) samples during air-drying

Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) lumber is known to have a large variability in final moisture content (MC_f) and is difficult to dry. This study assessed the capability of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict the MC_f of individual wood samples. An ANN model was developed based on initial moisture content, basic density, annual ring orientation, annual ring width, heartwood ratio and lightness (L ^* in the CIE L ^* a ^* b ^* system). The performance of the ANN model was compared with a principal component regression (PCR) model. The ANN model showed good agreement with the experimentally measured MC_f with a higher correlation coefficient (r) and a lower root mean square error (RMSE) than the PCR model, demonstrating the importance of nonlinearity of the variables and the higher capability of the ANN model than the PCR model. By adding redness (a ^* ) and yellowness (b ^* ) and drying time to the input variables of ANNs, r and RMSE values were improved to 0.98 and 1.2 % for the training data set, and 0.85 and 2.2 % for the testing data set, respectively. Although the developed ANNs are available under the limited conditions of this study, our results suggest that the ANNs proposed offer reliable models and powerful prediction capability for the MC_f, even though wood properties vary considerably and their complex interrelations are not fully elucidated.     

Proceedings of the 2013 Joint JSTP/NTP Satellite Symposium

The first joint Japanese Society of Toxicologic Pathology (JSTP) and National Toxicology Program (NTP) Satellite Symposium, entitled “Pathology Potpourri,” was held on January 29^th at Okura Frontier Hotel in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan, in advance of the JSTP’s 29^th Annual Meeting. The goal of this Symposium was to present current diagnostic pathology or nomenclature issues to the toxicologic pathology community. This article presents summaries of the speakers’ presentations, including diagnostic or nomenclature issues that were presented, select images that were used for audience voting or discussion, and the voting results. Some lesions and topics covered during the symposium include: treatment-related atypical hepatocellular foci of cellular alteration in B6C3F1 mice; purulent ventriculoencephalitis in a young BALB/c mouse; a subcutaneous malignant schwannoma in a RccHan:WIST rat; spontaneous nasal septum hyalinosis/eosinophilic substance in B6C3F1 mice; a rare pancreatic ductal cell adenoma in a young Lewis rat; eosinophilic crystalline pneumonia in a transgenic mouse model; hyaline glomerulopathy in two female ddY mice; treatment-related intrahepatic erythrocytes in B6C3F1 mice; treatment-related subendothelial hepatocytes in B6C3F1 mice; spontaneous thyroid follicular cell vacuolar degeneration in a cynomolgus monkey; congenital hepatic fibrosis in a 1-year-old cat; a spontaneous adenocarcinoma of the middle ear in a young Crl:CD(SD) rat; and finally a series of cases illustrating some differences between cholangiofibrosis and cholangiocarcinoma in Sprague Dawley and F344 rats.     

Numerical and experimental study on the risk of paddy field damage due to river bank breach during serious floods

Paddy and Water Environment - In Japan, paddy fields located adjacent to rivers are a familiar landscape in rural areas, and they are divided from rivers by soil banks. Soil banks are easily...     

Molecular and antigenic similarities of the fimbrial major components between Porphyromonas gulae and P. gingivalis

Porphyromonas gulae is black-pigmented anaerobic bacteria associated with canine periodontitis. There is little information available about the specific identify and relative occurrence of pigmented anaerobes in companion animals. Our aim was to clarify the factor involved in the adherence and colonization of the organism in the oral cavity. Fimbrial protein was purified from P. gulae ATCC 51700. The molecular mass of this protein was approximately 41kDa as estimated by SDS-PAGE. An antibody against 41-kDa fimbrial protein from P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 reacted with fimbrillin of P. gulae ATCC 51700. Immunogold electron microscopy revealed that the anti-41kDa fimbrial serum bound to fimbria on the cell surface of P. gulae ATCC 51700. Thus, fimbrial protein of P. gulae ATCC 51700 had the same size and antigenicity as 41-kDa fimbriae of P. gingivalis ATCC 33277. The nucleotide sequence of the fimA gene from P. gulae ATCC 51700 showed 94% homology with that of P. gingivalis ATCC 33277. Moreover, the deduced amino acid sequences have 96.8% identity. P. gulae has adherent ability to gingival epithelial cells. The properties of P. gulae fimbriae are similar to those of P. gingivalis fimbriae. We suggest that the surface structure of P. gulae may play a role in the colonization of this organism in periodontal pockets in companion animals.     

Localization of leptin and leptin receptor in the bovine adenohypophysis

The present study was carried out to detail the cellular localization of leptin (Lep) and the leptin receptor (LepR) in the bovine adenohypophysis. Lep immunoreactivity (Lep-ir) was found in about 30% of adenohypophysial cells in the gland. Immunochemistry of Lep and specific hormones using serial sections revealed that Lep-ir was present in 60.4% of somatotrophs, 15.9% of gonadotrophs, 6.5% of mammotrophs, 6.5% of thyrotrophs and 2.4% of corticotrophs. Both the common short isoform (OBRa) and the long isoform (OBRb) of LepR mRNA were expressed in the bovine adenohypophysis. LepR immunoreactivity (LepR-ir) was found in only 2.8% of the adenohypophysial cells and over 50% of LepR-ir cells were gonadotrophs, in which most of the cells were distributed in the zona tuberalis. The findings on Lep and LepR in the adenohypophysial cells indicate that Lep may regulate gonadotroph function through autocrine/paracrine pathway in the bovine adenohypophysis.