Primary cardiac fibrosarcoma in a dog

A primary cardiac fibrosarcoma in the right atrium of a 6-year-old Chihuahua dog is described. At necropsy, there was a firm, whitish and spherical mass in the right atrium. Histopathologically, the mass had moderate cellularity composed of spindle-shaped cells with scattered multinucleated giant cells. The tumor cells were arranged in interwoven bundles and sheets in the collagenous stroma. No metastases were observed. Ultrastructurally, the tumor cells mainly consisted of fibroblasts. Multinucleated giant cells did not have any certain organelles that would indicate a higher order of differentiation. Primary cardiac sarcomas in dogs are extremely rare.     

Gene expressions of canine angiopoietin-1 and -2 in normal tissues and spontaneous tumours

The angiopoietin (Ang) family of proteins are central to the regulation of angiogenesis. The purposes of this study were to determine cDNA sequences of canine Ang-1 and Ang-2 and investigate their expressions in normal tissues and spontaneous tumours. The cDNA sequences of canine Ang-1 and Ang-2 were 1,494 and 1,488 bp, and the deduced amino acid sequences were 497 and 495 residues, respectively. The cDNA sequences of canine Ang-1 and Ang-2 showed high homology with those of the other mammalian species. Canine Ang-1 and Ang-2 mRNA were detectable in all 22 normal tissues and spontaneous tumours. Higher mRNA expression level of canine Ang-2 was demonstrated in mammary simple carcinomas, haemangiosarcoma and hepatocellular carcinoma in comparison with normal tissues.     

Pathology of adenoviral infection in turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) with respiratory disease and colisepticemia.

Nuclear inclusion bodies typical of the adenovirus group were widespread in in the spleen and other tissues of 8-week-old turkeys with severe respiratory disease and concomitant evidence of colisepticemia. Adenoviral virions were seen in affected nuclei of splenic tissue and in negatively stained preparations of ground spleen. In splenic tissue, inclusions were most prominent in reticular cells and macrophages in the periarterial lymphoid sheaths, the red pulp and the marginal zones of the periarteriolar reticular sheaths. Marked reticuloendothelial hyperplasia, lymphoid atrophy and granulocytic splenitis characterized the splenic changes. There were inclusions in the respiratory tract, intestinal tract, liver, kidney and pancreas. Inoculation of young turkeys, especially when immunosuppressed, resulted in evidence of infection and respiratory disease. The viruses produced cytopathic changes in primary turkey kidney cell cultures but did not affect embryonating chicken eggs. Concentrated viral suspensions induced precipitin lines in agar gel immunodiffusion tests with known antisera against known turkey adenoviruses but did not show an antigenic relationship to chicken adenoviruses.     

Matrix-metalloproteinases-2 and -9 production in bovine endometrial cell culture

In vitro cell culture is a convenient tool for studying cellular mechanisms. In the present study, production of matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) in bovine endometrial (containing both epithelial and stromal cells) monolayer cells was examined. Blastocysts attached to the endometrial cells in a monolayer culture were examined for their effects on MMP-2 production. Initial attachment of blastocysts to the monolayer inhibited MMP-2 production by endometrial cells. But once trophoblast cells began to migrate into the endometrial cell layer, MMP-2 production increased, and at the same time MMP-9 production also became evident in the medium. In order to understand how blastocysts affected MMP-2 production, we examined the effect of progesterone, estradiol, insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), tumor necrosis factors (TNFs), and interferon-tau (IFN-tau) supplementation. It was IFN-tau that inhibited the production of MMP-2. In addition, progesterone at a lower dose appeared to inhibit MMP-2 production. Both TNF-alpha and TNF-beta strongly stimulated the production of MMP-2 and MMP-9, whereas IGFs had no effect. Based on these findings, it appears that conceptus has the capacity to inhibit MMP activity.     

Acidity neutralization mechanism in a forested watershed in Central Japan

The contributions of cation exchange and mineral weathering to the neutralization of acidity in the Jingahata watershed in central Japan were estimated through a laboratory weathering experiment and runoff chemistry measurements. The laboratory experiment was conducted in a stirred-flow reactor for a whole soil sample collected from the C horizon in the watershed. The concentration ratios of base cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺ and Na⁺) to Si (BC/Si) released during the steady-state stage of the laboratory experiment were in good agreement with the ratios of the net flux of base cations to the flux of Si in the streamwater (BC _{N ET}/Si _L).This result suggests that the acidity in the watershed is neutralized primarily by mineral weathering without causing a net loss of base cations from exchange sites. The alkalinity/acidity balance estimated for the watershed shows that the total weathering rate of base cations is approximately 3.26 keq ha^?1 yr^?1. Weathering of plagioclase (An₄₁) contributes 83% of the total weathering rate. The dominant acidity source is CO₂ released within the soil horizons, accounting for roughly 85% of the total acidity flux (3.20 keq ha^?1 yr^?1). This high internal production of acidity suppresses the relative importance of atmospheric acidity inputs (0.3 keq ha^?1 yr^?1).     

A cytokinin perception mutant colonized by Rhizobium in the absence of nodule organogenesis

In legumes, Nod-factor signaling by rhizobia initiates the development of the nitrogen-fixing nodule symbiosis, but the direct cell division stimulus that brings about nodule primordia inception in the root cortex remains obscure. We showed that Lotus japonicus plants homozygous for a mutation in the HYPERINFECTED 1 (HIT1) locus exhibit abundant infection-thread formation but fail to initiate timely cortical cell divisions in response to rhizobial signaling. We demonstrated that the corresponding gene encodes a cytokinin receptor that is required for the activation of the nodule inception regulator Nin and nodule organogenesis.     

A case of feline pancreatitis

A 14-year-old, spayed female, domestic shorthair cat was referred to us with anorexia, pyrexia, and jaundice. Total bilirubin (TBIL) and feline trypsin-like immunoreactivity (fTLI) levels were remarkably high. Based on laparoscopic biopsy of the pancreas, the cat was diagnosed as having pancreatitis. As a result of treatment with a synthetic protease inhibitor and corticosteroid, the TBIL and fTLI values returned to normal and the clinical course was good.     

Divergent evolution of rice blast resistance <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pi54</Emphasis> locus in the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza</Emphasis>

Background

The rice blast resistance gene Pi54 was cloned from Oryza sativa ssp. indica cv. Tetep, which conferred broad-spectrum resistance against Magnaporthe oryzae. Pi54 allelic variants have been identified in not only domesticates but also wild rice species, but the majority of japonica and some indica cultivars lost the function.

Results

We here found that Pi54 (Os11g0639100) and its homolog Os11g0640600 (named as #11) were closely located on a 25 kbp region in japonica cv. Sasanishiki compared to a 99 kbp region in japonica cv. Nipponbare. Sasanishiki lost at least six genes containing one other R-gene cluster (Os11g0639600, Os11g0640000, and Os11g0640300). Eight AA-genome species including five wild rice species were classified into either Nipponbare or Sasanishiki type. The BB-genome wild rice species O. punctata was Sasanishiki type. The FF-genome wild rice species O. brachyantha (the basal lineage of Oryza) was neither, because Pi54 was absent and the orientation of the R-gene cluster was reversed in comparison with Nipponbare-type species. The phylogenetic analysis showed that #11gene of O. brachyantha was on the root of both Pi54 and #11 alleles. All Nipponbare-type Pi54 alleles were specifically disrupted by 143 and 37/44?bp insertions compared to Tetep and Sasanishiki type. In addition, Pi54 of japonica cv. Sasanishiki lost nucleotide-binding site and leucine-rich repeat (NBS–LRR) domains owing to additional mutations.

Conclusions

These results suggest that Pi54 might be derived from a tandem duplication of the ancestor #11 gene in progenitor FF-genome species. Two divergent structures of Pi54 locus caused by a mobile unit containing the nearby R-gene cluster could be developed before domestication. This study provides a potential genetic resource of rice breeding for blast resistance in modern cultivars sustainability.

     

Effects of electroporation treatment using different concentrations of Cas9 protein with gRNA targeting Myostatin (MSTN) genes on the development and gene editing of porcine zygotes

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of seven concentrations of Cas9 protein (0, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 ng/µl) on the development and gene editing of porcine embryos. This included the target editing and off‐target effect of embryos developed from zygotes that were edited via electroporation of the Cas9 protein with guide RNA targeting Myostatin genes. We found that the development to blastocysts of electroporated zygotes was not affected by the concentration of Cas9 protein. Although the editing rate, which was defined as the ratio of edited blastocysts to total examined blastocysts, did not differ with Cas9 protein concentration, the editing efficiency, which was defined as the frequency of indel mutations in each edited blastocyst, was significantly decreased in the edited blastocysts from zygotes electroporated with 25 ng/µl of Cas9 protein compared with that of blastocysts from zygotes electroporated with higher Cas9 protein concentrations. Moreover the frequency of indel events at the two possible off‐target sites was not significantly different with different concentrations of Cas9 protein. These results indicate that the concentration of Cas9 protein affects gene editing efficiency in embryos but not the embryonic development, gene editing rate, and non‐specific cleavage of off‐target sites.