Immunogenic properties and mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS) lung lesions in Large White pigs selected for higher peripheral blood immune capacity

Immunogenic properties and mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS) lung lesions were compared between the immunity‐selected Large White line and the non‐selected Large White line. The selected Large White line showed a higher level of pulmonary MPS lesions compared with the non‐selected Large White line. Subsequent to vaccination, the percentage of natural killer cells and T cells (CD3⁺CD4⁺CD8^‐ and CD3⁺CD4^?CD8⁺ T cells) were significantly increased in the non‐selected line but remained unchanged in the immunity‐selected Large White line. Secretion of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae vaccine‐specific immunoblogulin G and phagocyte activity in peripheral blood were significantly higher in the immunity‐selected Large White line than in the non‐selected line. Expression of interleukin (IL)‐4 and IL‐6 messenger RNA in hilar lymph nodes was significantly lower in the immunity‐selected Large White line than in the non‐selected line. However, expression of IL‐10 in all immune tissues was significantly higher in the immunity‐selected Large White line. These results suggest that the selection for high immunity was not effective in increasing resistance to MPS lung lesions.     

Sodium bicarbonate protects uranium-induced acute nephrotoxicity through uranium-decorporation by urinary alkalinization in rats

To evaluate the effectiveness of sodium bicarbonate (SB) in removing uranium and protecting animals from uranium toxicity, we intramuscularly administered 1 mg/kg of uranyl nitrate to 8-wk-old male SD rats, and 20 min after administration of uranyl nitrate, the animals were given a single oral administration of SB at 0.1, 0.3 or 1 g/kg. The SB treatment at a dose of 0.3 g/kg or more raised the pH of the rats’ urine until 4 h after treatment, and it significantly reduced the uranium amounts in the kidneys at 1 day after treatment. In another experiment, rats were intramuscularly administered 1 mg/kg of uranyl nitrate, and 20 min later, the animals were treated with sodium bicarbonate (0.1 or 1 g/kg). The rats were autopsied at 1, 3 and 7 days after uranium treatment. High-dose SB resulted in a significant increase in urinary uranium excretion in the first 24 h and a reduction of uranium deposition in the kidneys and femurs, and it also significantly suppressed uranium-induced renal toxicity, as shown by both histopathology and clinical chemistry at 3 days after uranium treatment. Low-dose SB did not show such marked effects. Our findings demonstrated that the uranium decorporation effect of sodium bicarbonate was observed at the dosage showing urine alkalinization in rats and that decorporation effect of sodium bicarbonate might be beneficial if it is administered immediately after incorporation of soluble uranium.     

Chemerin analog regulates energy metabolism in sheep

Accumulating data suggest a relationship between chemerin and energy metabolism. Our group previously described gene cloning, expression analysis and the regulatory mechanism of chemerin and its own receptor in mice and cattle. The objective of the present study was to investigate the physiological effect of chemerin on endocrine changes and energy metabolism in sheep using a biologically stable chemerin analog. The chemerin analog was intravenously administrated (100 or 500 µg/head) to sheep, and plasma insulin and metabolites (glucose, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), triglyceride, total cholesterol and high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol) were analyzed. The chemerin analog dramatically increased the insulin levels, and glucose levels were decreased. NEFA levels were slightly decreased at 20 min but then increased gradually from 60 to 180 min after analog administration. In addition, injection of the chemerin analog immediately increased triglyceride and total cholesterol but not HDL levels. These results suggested that chemerin analog regulated insulin secretion related to glucose metabolism and the release of triglycerides in sheep in vivo. This study provides new information about endocrine and metabolic changes in response to chemerin in sheep.     

Separation of sardine oil without heating from surimi waste and its effect on lipid metabolism in rats

Sardine oil was obtained by centrifugation of surimi wastewater without heating or chemical refining. This oil (CE) showed light yellow color and the peroxide value was less than 1.0 meq/kg. The main lipid class of CE was triacylglycerol (TG) (>99%). These features indicate that CE can be directly used as food materials without further purification. Commercial sardine oil (CO) is usually prepared via some kind of refining process with high temperature (250 degrees C) and chemical treatment. The comparative study on the physiological effects of these sardine oils (CE and CO) revealed that the dietary sardine oils were more effective in reducing abdominal fat pads, plasma total cholesterol, and TG levels of rats than was a soybean oil diet (control). Furthermore, these effects were greater in CE than CO, although there was little difference in the fatty acid composition of both oils. Although the main lipid class of CE was TG (>99%), CE was prepared by centrifugation from surimi waste and directly used as dietary fat without further purification. Therefore, CE may contain some kinds of minor components, which could be attributed to the higher physiological activity of CE. To reveal the involvement of the minor compounds in CE, we prepared TG from CE by column chromatography and measured its effect on lipid metabolism of rats. TG from CE also showed the reducing effects on abdominal fad pads and plasma lipid levels. The effect of TG from CE was almost the same as that of original CE, suggesting that the higher nutritional activity of CE than CO may not be due to the minor compounds in CE.     

Keratometry in normal cats: a cross-sectional study in Japan using an automated handheld keratometer

Keratometry was performed in 73 domestic cats of varied signalment in Japan using an automated handheld keratometer. The mean corneal curvature radius was significantly lower for cats younger than 1 year than for those older than 2 years (8.04 mm vs. 8.80−8.99 mm, P<0.01). The radius was significantly greater in males than in females among the cats older than 11 years (9.22 mm vs. 8.84 mm, P=0.01), while the age distributions of the males and females were similar. Corneal astigmatism did not significantly differ across the gender and age groups. The predictability of the corneal curvature and astigmatism was approximately 41−43% and less than 3%, respectively, as a function of age and bodyweight. The results highlighted some age- and sex-related keratometric variations in domestic cats in Japan.     

Competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the detection of the antibodies specific to akabane virus.

A competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (C-ELISA) using neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against Akabane virus (AKAV) was developed to detect antibodies to AKAV in cattle sera. The performance of the test using 7 different competitor MAbs was evaluated in sequential serum samples and sera from cattle infected with various bovine arboviruses. The dynamics of the antibody response expressed by percentage of inhibition (PI) in C-ELISA coincided with those of neutralizing antibody titers in sequential serum samples from 2 cattle experimentally infected with AKAV. The value of PI in C-ELISA for convalescent sera from cattle infected with arboviruses correlated with the neutralizing antibody titer to AKAV but was unaffected by the antibodies to other arboviruses. In the validation experiment of C-ELISA using 286 bovine sera previously examined for the AKAV antibody by serum neutralization (SN) test, the relative specificity of C-ELISA was more than 98%, whereas the relative sensitivities of individual MAbs ranged from 49% to 82.2%. Overall agreement between C-ELISA and the SN test varied from 72% to 90% depending on the MAb. These results suggest that the C-ELISA is acceptable as a rapid and specific method for detecting antibodies to AKAV and is a potential alternative to the SN test.     

Genetic relationship of litter traits between farrowing and weaning in Landrace and Large White pigs

We estimated genetic parameters in Landrace and Large White pig populations for litter traits at farrowing (total number born, number born alive, number stillborn, total litter weight at birth (LWB), and mean litter weight at birth) and those at weaning (litter size at weaning (LSW), total litter weight at weaning (LWW), mean litter weight at weaning (MWW), and survival rate from farrowing to weaning). We analyzed 65,579 records at farrowing and 6,306 at weaning for Landrace, and 52,557 and 5,360, respectively, for Large White. Single‐trait and two‐trait repeatability animal models were exploited to estimate heritability and genetic correlation respectively. Heritability estimates of LSW were 0.09 for Landrace and 0.08 for Large White. Genetic correlations of LSW with MWW were –0.43 for Landrace and –0.24 for Large White. Genetic correlations of LSW with LWW and LWB ranged from 0.5 to 0.6. The genetic correlation of MWW with LWW was positive, but that with LWB was negligible. The results indicate that utilizing LWW or LWB could improve LSW efficiently, despite the antagonistic genetic correlation between LSW and MWW.     

Effect of negative dietary cation‐anion differences on carcass characteristics and beef tenderness of Japanese Black steers

Lowering dietary cation‐anion differences (DCAD) can enhance responsiveness to Ca‐homeostatic hormones and increase Ca availability, which might have potential to activate a Ca‐dependent protease, calpain, and to enhance postmortem myofibrillar proteolysis. In this study, we investigated the effects of DCAD manipulation on calpain activity and beef tenderness in Japanese Black cattle which are characterized by their high marbling. Thirty‐six Japanese Black steers were allotted to one of two treatments: (i) control (CON; DCAD +6.09 mEq/100 g of dry matter (DM)) or (ii) negative DCAD (NEGD; DCAD ?8.27 mEq/100 g DM) for 70 days before slaughter. Lowering DCAD decreased DM and energy intake (P < 0.01) even though it did not negatively affect the growth performance or carcass characteristics. In NEGD, urine pH was decreased by acidification caused by the negative DCAD (P < 0.01). Calpain activities tended to be improved in NEGD (P = 0.09), but Warner‐Bratzler shear force values were not affected by treatment. Although calpain activities tended to improve, lowering DCAD to ?8.27 for 70 days before slaughter was insufficient to enhance beef tenderness in Japanese Black steers.     

IL‐12p40 gene expression in lung and hilar lymph nodes of MPS‐resistant pigs

Mycoplasma pneumonia of swine (MPS) is caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M.hp) and is a common chronic respiratory disease of pigs. Recently, a genetically selected variant of the Landrace pig (Miyagino L2) has a lower incidence of pulmonary MPS lesions. We investigated the pathological and immunological characteristics of MPS resistance in these pigs (n = 24) by comparing with the normal landrace pig (control: n = 24). The pathological MPS lung lesion score in MPS‐selected landrace pigs was significantly lower than in the control. The gene expression of interleukin (IL)‐12p40, which acts as a chemoattractant and a component of the bioactive cytokines IL‐12 and IL‐23, was significantly higher at the hilar lymph nodes, lung, and spleen in MPS‐selected landrace pigs than in control landrace pigs, and these were negatively correlated with the macroscopic MPS lung lesion score. In summary, we demonstrate that resistance against MPS in Miyagino L2 pigs is associated with IL‐12p40 up‐regulation, in comparison with normal landrace pigs without the MPS vaccine. In addition, a comparative study of macroscopic MPS lung lesions and IL‐12p40 gene expression in lung and hilar lymph nodes may lead to beneficial selection traits for the genetic selection for MPS resistance in pigs.