Effect of iron-quercetin complex on reduction of nitrite in in vitro and in vivo systems

This study investigated whether reducing agents such as quercetin and iron(II) facilitate formation of nitric oxide (NO) gas from orally ingested nitrite in an vivo study. When 3 mg/kg Na (15)NO2 was orally administered to rats with or without iron(II) or quercetin, Hb (15)NO, which is indicative of systemic (15)NO, was detected in the blood, with the maximum blood concentration of Hb (15)NO at 15 min after nitrite or nitrite plus quercetin treatment, whereas after administration of nitrite plus iron(II) or nitrite plus iron(II) and quercetin, the time was shortened to 10 min. Interestingly, iron(II), quercetin, or iron(II) plus quercetin did not affect the total amount of Hb (15)NO generated from orally administered Na (15)NO2. However, the systemic nitrite concentration was significantly decreased in the presence of iron(II) or iron(II) plus quercetin. These results may indicate that iron(II) is critical to the generation of NO gas from nitrite, whereas quercetin contributed little under the in vivo experimental conditions.     

Photodynamic detection of canine mammary gland tumours after oral administration of 5‐aminolevulinic acid

5‐Aminolevulinic acid (5‐ALA) is widely used in photodynamic detection (PDD) and therapy. We evaluated the pharmacokinetics of 5‐ALA‐induced porphyrins and its effectiveness in PDD in dogs with mammary gland tumours (MGTs) following oral administration. Healthy dogs and those with MGTs (nine each) were orally administered 4 mg kg^?1 5‐ALA. Protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) was not detected in the plasma of healthy dogs but it peaked in dogs with MGT at 2 h after 5‐ALA administration. In the PDD study, 16 dogs with MGT were orally administered 40 mg kg^?1 5‐ALA, and MGT but not normal tissue showed red fluorescence after 2–4 h. Photon counts were 6635–63 890 and 59–4011 (median, 19 943 and 919) for MGT and non‐tumour tissues, respectively. Cell density strongly correlated with PpIX photon counts of MGT tissue of the dogs (R = 0.743, P = 0.0009). We suggest that 5‐ALA‐PDD might be an effective diagnostic tool for MGTs.     

Plasma free amino acid profiles of canine mammary gland tumors

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the relationship between plasma free amino acid (PFAA) levels and the clinical stages of mammary gland tumors (MGT) in dogs. PFAA levels in canines with malignant mammary tumors were decreased compared to those of healthy animals. The levels of aspartate and ornithine, in the dogs with tumor metastasis were significantly decreased when compared to those of dogs that did not have metastases. Results of this study indicate that PFAA levels could be a risk factor or biomarker for canine MGT metastasis.     

Association of BoLA‐DRB3 alleles with mastitis resistance and susceptibility in Japanese Holstein cows

In this study, 714 cows from 26 dairy herds were reclassified as healthy or mastitic cows on the basis of long‐term somatic cell count (SCC) in milk. Cows with more than three consecutive lactation records of SCC from the first or second to fifth lactation, were selected, and their BoLA‐DRB3 (DRB3) alleles were identified using polymerase chain reaction‐restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR‐RFLP) method. Cows with an SCC of < 200 000 cells/mL in all monthly records were classified as healthy (n = 91). Cows with an SCC of > 300 000 cells/mL in two consecutive tests or four non‐consecutive tests or cows with an SCC of > 500 000 cells/mL in any one test during lactation, regardless of parity, were classified as mastitic (n = 201). Mastitic cows (n = 153) from another 40 herds were considered to be infected if bacteriological testing revealed mastitis pathogens in milk. Their DRB3 alleles were identified using PCR‐sequence‐based typing (PCR‐SBT). The differences in DRB3 allelic frequencies between healthy cows and cows with various degrees of mastitis were re‐investigated. Moreover, the associations of various amino acid motifs in DRB3 alleles with resistance or susceptibility to mastitis pathogens were re‐examined. DRB3.2*8(DRB3*1201) and DRB3.2*16(DRB3*1501) alleles were found to be associated with susceptibility, while DRB3.2*22(DRB3*1101), DRB3.2*23(DRB3*2703), and DRB3.2*24(DRB3*0101) alleles were found to be associated with resistance.     

Anaplastic ependymoma in the cervical spinal cord of a maltese dog

An 8-year and 6-month-old female Maltese dog showed a stoop with rigidity of her cervix and back. Neurologic examination showed loss of proprioception, and deficiency of pain response. Postmortem examination revealed the neoplastic mass replacing the central area in the cervical spinal cord at the level from 4th to 5th segments. Histologically, the mass was composed of neoplastic ependymal cells. The neoplastic cells showed marked atypism, and occasionally formed ependymal rosettes. Based on the morphologic features, the tumor was diagnosed as anaplastic ependymoma. Immunohistochemistry showed that the neoplastic cells were negative for glial fibrillary acid protein, and slightly positive for vimentin and cytokeratin.     

Attempts to separate female Ascaris suum antigen and to investigate its partial characterization

The location and separation of Ascaris suum antigen for serological testing was investigated. The antigenic constituent was rich in the ovary of the adult worm and was obtained by dialysis with 50% ammonium sulphate saturated solution. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblotting analysis demonstrated that the heat labile antigenic preparation showed one major and seven faint bands. The major band seemed also to be a glycoprotein. The sera from pigs with/without hepatic milk spot showed relatively high precipitation titres, while, those from the specific pathogen free pigs manifested low titres.     

Pathology of sporotrichosis in 10 cats in Rio de Janeiro

Ten cats with sporotrichosis were examined clinically and pathologically. They were in very poor general condition, and had widespread ulcerated cutaneous lesions and respiratory signs. Gross internal abnormalities were found only in the lungs and lymph nodes. Histologically, an inflammatory infiltrate and yeast-like structures were observed in the skin, lungs, liver and lymph nodes. The spleen was congested and contained fungal elements. No microscopical changes were observed in the pancreas, kidneys and heart. Sporothix schenckii was isolated from all the skin samples and nasal swabs obtained in vivo, and from all the samples of lung, liver, spleen, lymph nodes, heart and kidney taken postmortem.     

Chronic myocardial infarction due to arteriosclerosis of coronary arteries followed by acute thromboembolism of caudal abdominal aorta in a cat

A 10-year-old cat with the paresis of hind limbs was initially diagnosed as a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy followed by acute thromboembolism of caudal abdominal aorta from the findings of the medical examinations. However, this case was proved to be an chronic myocardial infarction due to arteriosclerosis of coronary arteries by the pathologic diagnosis. In the left ventricular, the hypertrophy and the narrowing were slight, and a coagulative infarction was seen obviously. The intramural coronary arteriosclerosis showed thickening of the wall due to medial hyperplasia by fibrosis, and arterial stenosis. Myocardial infarction and arteriosclerosis are scarcely any reports of these lesions in cats. This case is valuable for an extremely rare case of myocardial infarction in the cat.     

Effects of intramuscular fat deposition on the beef traits of Japanese Black steers (Wagyu)

Effects of intramuscular fat deposition on the chemical composition, tenderness, and free amino acids (FAA) concentration of beef were studied using various classified carcasses of 21 Japanese Black (Wagyu) steers. The Beef Marbling Standard (BMS) No., judged on the market in 1998, and fat content, ranged from 2 to 10 and 4.8 to 39.0% in the M. longissimus thoracis, respectively. Moisture content was negatively correlated with the fat content (r =?0.98, P < 0.01). In contrast, protein content was relatively constant up to approximately 23% fat, corresponding to BMS No.4, and decreased as the fat content increased. Cooking loss was also constant up to approximately 28% fat, corresponding to BMS No.4, and markedly decreased with fat content increase. The beef in these cases were, however, classified into BMS No. around 9 and 11, respectively, according to the BMS model in 1988. A negative correlation was found between the shear‐force value and the fat content (r =?0.83, P < 0.05). Most FAA concentrations on the wet weight of meat were correlated negatively with the fat content, except glutamine, and this negative relationship was still observed when the concentrations were recalculated on the basis of protein. These results indicate that higher marbling Wagyu beef (above approx. 23% fat) would have an extremely lower content of protein, which would partly explain the lower cooking loss and FAA with fat increase. In addition, some other reasons not relating to protein content (e.g. high fat content preventing the breakdown of protein to FAA) seem to explain the negative correlation between fat and FAA.