Diclazuril in the horse: its identification and detection and preliminary pharmacokinetics

Diclazuril (4-chlorophenyl [2,6-dichloro-4-(4,5-dihydro-3H-3,5-dioxo-1,2,4-triazin-2-yl)pheny l] acetonitrile), is a benzeneacetonitrile antiprotozoal agent (Janssen Research Compound R 64433) marketed as Clinacox . Diclazuril may have clinical application in the treatment of Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM). To evaluate its bioavailability and preliminary pharmacokinetics in the horse we developed a sensitive quantitative high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for diclazuril in equine biological fluids. MS/MS analysis of diclazuril in our HPLC solvent yielded mass spectral data consistent with the presence of diclazuril. After a single oral dose of diclazuril at 2.5 g/450 kg (as 500 g Clinacox), plasma samples from four horses showed good plasma concentrations of diclazuril which peaked at 1.077 +/- 0.174 microg/mL (mean +/- SEM) with an apparent plasma half-life of about 43 h. When this dose of Clinacox was administered daily for 21 days to two horses, mean steady state plasma concentrations of 7-9 microg/mL were attained. Steady-state levels in the CSF ranged between 100 and 250 ng/mL. There was no detectable parent diclazuril in the urine samples of dosed horses by HPLC or by routine postrace thin layer chromatography (TLC). These results show that diclazuril is absorbed after oral administration and attains steady-state concentrations in plasma and CSF. The steady state concentrations attained in CSF are more than sufficient to interfere with Sarcocystis neurona, whose proliferation is reportedly 95% inhibited by concentrations of diclazuril as low as 1 ng/mL. These results are therefore entirely consistent with and support the reported clinical efficacy of diclazuril in the treatment of clinical cases of EPM.     

Recovery and Viability of Edwardsiella ictaluri from Great Blue Herons Ardea herodias Fed E. ictaluri-Infected Channel Catfish Ictalurus punctatus Fingerlings

Feeding activities of great blue herons Ardea herodias in catfish ponds during outbreaks of enteric septicemia of catfish have been implicated as a mechanism for the transmission of the disease from infected to uninfected ponds. Although Edwardsiella ictaluri , the causative agent, has been identified in gastrointestinal tracts of great blue herons, the role of these birds as a vector of E. ictaluri is not well documented. The potential of these birds to contaminate catfish ponds with E. ictaluri was investigated by feeding captive herons over a 4-d period with catfish fingerlings injected intraperitoneally with live E. ictaluri . Daily fecal samples, throat and rectal swabs, and feather samples were collected, cultured and examined for E. ictaluri using both a selective media and a monoclonal indirect fluorescent antibody test specific for E. ictaluri . Gastrointestinal tracts sampled at the conclusion of the feeding trial were similarly examined. While E. ictaluri was detected using the indirect fluorescent antibody test, no viable E. ictaluri was cultured from either feces, gastrointestinal tracts or feathers. Growth of E. ictaluri was not observed at 40 C, the rectal temperature observed in captive great blue herons. Prior incubation at 40 C suppressed the growth of E. ictaluri at 24 C, an optimal temperature for growth of this bacterium. These results indicate that great blue herons appear to play little or no role in the transmission of E. ictaluri among catfish ponds.     

Role of host specificity in the speciation of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ascochyta</Emphasis> pathogens of cool season food legumes

Ascochyta/legume interactions are attractive systems for addressing evolutionary questions about the role of host specificity in fungal speciation because many wild and cultivated cool season food legumes are infected by Ascochyta spp. and most of these fungi have described teleomorphs (Didymella spp.) that can be induced in the laboratory. Recent multilocus phylogenetic analyses of a worldwide sample of Ascochyta fungi causing ascochyta blights of chickpea (Cicer arietinum), faba bean (Vicia faba), lentil (Lens culinaris), and pea (Pisum sativum) have revealed that fungi causing disease on each host formed a monophyletic group. Host inoculations of these fungi demonstrated that they were host-specific, causing disease only on the host species from which they were isolated. In contrast to the strict association between monophyletic group and host observed for pathogens of cultivated legumes, Ascochyta fungi causing disease on wild bigflower vetch (Vicia grandiflora) were polyphyletic. Genetic crosses between several pairs of closely related, host-specific, and phylogenetically distinct Ascochyta fungi were fully sexually compatible. Progeny from these crosses had normal cultural morphology and segregation of molecular markers indicating a lack of intrinsic, post-zygotic mating barriers between the parental taxa. However, when progeny from a cross between a faba bean-adapted isolate (A. fabae) and a pea-adapted isolate (A. pisi) were assessed for their pathogenicity to the parental hosts, almost all progeny were non-pathogenic to either faba bean or pea. These results suggest that although these fungi have retained the ability to mate and produce progeny with normal saprophytic fitness, progeny are severely compromised in parasitic fitness. The host specificity of these fungi, coupled with the inability of hybrid progeny to colonize and reproduce on a host, may constitute strong extrinsic, pre-zygotic and post-zygotic mating barriers in these fungi and promote the genetic isolation and speciation of host-specific taxa. A phylogeny of the host plants is also being developed, and with more extensive sampling of pathogens and hosts from sympatric populations in the centre of origin, the hypothesis of cospeciation of pathogens and hosts will be tested. The objectives of this review are: (1) to summarize recent phylogenetic, host specificity and speciation studies of Ascochyta fungi, and (2) to suggest how current and future research using these pathosystems may lead to a better understanding of the role of host specificity in the speciation of plant-pathogenic fungi and the cospeciation of pathogens and their hosts.     

The detection and biotransformation of guanabenz in horses: a preliminary report

Guanabenz (2,6-dichlorobenzylidene-amino-guanidine) is a centrally acting antihypertensive drug whose mechanism of action is via alpha2 adrenoceptors or, more likely, imidazoline receptors. Guanabenz is marketed as an antihypertensive agent in human medicine (Wytensin tablets, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals). Guanabenz has reportedly been administered to racing horses and is classified by the Association of Racing Commissioners International as a class 3 foreign substance. As such, its identification in a postrace sample may result in significant sanctions against the trainer of the horse. The present study examined liquid chromatographic/tandem quadrupole mass spectrometric (LC-MS/MS) detection of guanabenz in serum samples from horses treated with guanabenz by rapid i.v. injection at 0.04 and 0.2 mg/kg. Using a method adapted from previous work with clenbuterol, the parent compound was detected in serum with an apparent limit of detection of approximately 0.03 ng/ml and the limit of quantitation was 0.2 ng/ml. Serum concentrations of guanabenz peaked at approximately 100 ng/ml after the 0.2 mg/kg dose, and the parent compound was detected for up to 8 hours after the 0.04 mg/kg dose. Urine samples tested after administration of guanabenz at these dosages yielded evidence of at least one glucuronide metabolite, with the glucuronide ring apparently linked to a ring hydroxyl group or a guanidinium hydroxylamine. The LC-MS/MS results presented here form the basis of a confirmatory test for guanabenz in racing horses.     

The mare reproductive loss syndrome and the eastern tent caterpillar: a toxicokinetic/statistical analysis with clinical, epidemiologic, and mechanistic implications

During 2001, central Kentucky experienced acute transient epidemics of early and late fetal losses, pericarditis, and unilateral endophthalmitis, collectively referred to as mare reproductive loss syndrome (MRLS). A toxicokinetic/statistical analysis of experimental and field MRLS data was conducted using accelerated failure time (AFT) analysis of abortions following administration of Eastern tent caterpillars (ETCs; 100 or 50 g/day or 100 g of irradiated caterpillars/day) to late-term pregnant mares. In addition, 2001 late-term fetal loss field data were used in the analysis. Experimental data were fitted by AFT analysis at a high (P <.0001) significance. Times to first abortion ("lag time") and abortion rates were dose dependent. Lag times decreased and abortion rates increased exponentially with dose. Calculated dose x response data curves allow interpretation of abortion data in terms of "intubated ETC equivalents." Analysis suggested that field exposure to ETCs in 2001 in central Kentucky commenced on approximately April 27, was initially equivalent to approximately 5 g of intubated ETCs/day, and increased to approximately 30 g/day at the outbreak peak. This analysis accounts for many aspects of the epidemiology, clinical presentations, and manifestations of MRLS. It allows quantitative interpretation of experimental and field MRLS data and has implications for the basic mechanisms underlying MRLS. The results support suggestions that MRLS is caused by exposure to or ingestion of ETCs. The results also show that high levels of ETC exposure produce intense, focused outbreaks of MRLS, closely linked in time and place to dispersing ETCs, as occurred in central Kentucky in 2001. With less intense exposure, lag time is longer and abortions tend to spread out over time and may occur out of phase with ETC exposure, obscuring both diagnosis of this syndrome and the role of the caterpillars.     

Narcotic analgesics, their detection and pain measurement in the horse: a review

Narcotic analgesics produce pharmacological effects by interacting with specific opiate receptors. At least five major types of opiate receptors have been recognised. These include mu (morphine) and kappa (ethylketazocine) receptor types. Narcotic analgesics which interact with mu receptors produce locomotor and autonomic stimulation at doses that produce little or no analgesia. Therefore, use of these drugs as analgesics in equine medicine has not been very satisfactory. Theoretical considerations suggested that the role of kappa agonists in equine analgesia be investigated. Using a pure kappa agonist, U-50, 488H, good analgesia was produced in the horse with little or no locomotor stimulation or autonomic effects. These data suggest that kappa agonists may be superior analgesics for clinical use in the horse. On the other hand, the locomotor stimulant effects of mu agonist analgesics enable their use as illegal medications. Specifically, these agents produce a good running response, signs of central nervous stimulation and analgesia, all potentially useful effects in a racehorse. Regulatory control of most narcotic analgesics can be obtained by high performance thin layer chromatographic screening. However, effective screening for the fentanyls and small doses of etorphine can only be achieved by use of immunoassay.     

Genetic correlations in resistance to morpholine and piperidine fungicides inPyrenophora teres populations

Highly significant genetic variation (P<0.001) in resistance to the morpholine fungicides fenpropimorph, tridemorph and dodemorph and the piperidine fungicide, fenpropidin was found in different populations ofPyrenophore teres in North America and Europe which had not been previously exposed to these fungicides. Resistance phenotypes were continuously distributed for each fungicide in each population. Cross resistance relationships were determined by estimating genetic correlation coefficients in resistance to all pairwise combinations of fungicides. The majority of the correlation coefficients were highly positive for all fungicide combinations in all populations; eight of 36 (22%) coefficients were not significantly different from 1 (P>0.05). This result is consistent with the hypothesis that many of the same genes, or genes in gametic disequilibrium, control resistance to more than one fungicide in most populations ofP. teres and that these fungicides comprise a single cross resistance group. Three of 36 (8%) correlation coefficients were not significantly different from 0 (P>0.05) indicating that, in these populations, independent genes controlled resistance to these fungicides. The results of this study indicate that although most of the same genes control resistance to morpholine and piperidine fungicides inP. teres, differences in frequencies of these genes among populations can result in different cross resistance relationships from one population to another.