Embryonaler Fruchttod bei einer Kuh im Anschluß an eine Nachbesamung — nachgewiesen mit Hilfe der Progesteronbestimmung im Blut

Inhalt: Mit Hilfe der kompetitiven Proteinbindungsreaktion wurde Progesteron im peripheren Blut einer Kuh vom 16. his 56. Tag nach der Erstbesamung bestimmt. Die hohen Progesteronwerte, zum Teil über 10 ng/ml Plasma, his zum Tag der 2. künstlichen Insemination (Tag 27) lassen den Schluβ zu, daβ bereits die Erstbesamung zu einer Konzeption geführt hatte und zum Zeitpunkt der Zweitbesamung ein lebender Embryo vorlag. Die 2. Insemination, die aufgrund äuβerer Brunstsymptome durchgeführt wurde, hatte ein Absinken des Progesteronhlutspiegels auf Werte unter 1 ng/ml Plasma zur Folge. Daran schloβ sich ein normaler Zyklus von 20tägiger Dauer an. Dieser hormonanalytisch belegte Fall eines durch Nachbesamung ausgelösten embryonalen Fruchttodes unterstreicht die Forderung der Kliniker, vor Nachbesamungen die Eierstöcke auf das Vorhandensein eines Corpus luteum graviditatis zu kontroilieren.     

Purification of the ninth component of the bovine complement cascade.

Conditions for purification of the ninth component of bovine complement (C9) were established. The conditions for binding and elution from diethylaminoethyl cellulose and hydroxylapatite were different than for human C9. Serum albumin, a frequent contaminant of bovine C9 preparations, was removed by chromatography on reactive-red agarose. The calculated molecular weight of bovine C9 was 66,000, and reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol affected its migration on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Some preparations of bovine C9 migrated as 2 bands when partially reduced, but extensively reduced preparations had a single band.     

Foot-and-mouth disease virus: a first inter-laboratory comparison trial to evaluate virus isolation and RT-PCR detection methods

Five European reference laboratories participated in an exercise to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of their routinely employed RT-PCR tests and cell cultures for the detection and isolation of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus. Five identical sets of 20 coded samples were prepared from 10 vesicular epithelia, which were derived from submissions from suspect cases of FMD or swine vesicular disease (SVD). Sixteen samples were derived from six FMD virus positive epithelia representing four different serotypes (two each of types O and A and one each of types Asia 1 and SAT 2), two from samples which had been found to be negative by antigen ELISA and virus isolation (VI) in cell culture and two from SVD virus positive epithelia. Some of the FMD virus positive samples were prepared from 10-fold serial dilutions of three of the initial suspensions. Each laboratory tested the samples by one or more of its available RT-PCR procedures and inoculated cell cultures that it routinely uses for FMD diagnosis in attempts to isolate virus, the specificity of which was confirmed by antigen ELISA. The best of the RT-PCR assays used in each laboratory gave comparable results while the sensitivity of cell cultures was variable from high in one laboratory, moderate in two and low in two others. This prototype panel of samples would appear suitable for external quality assurance of these tests but would benefit from the inclusion of more negative samples and an extension in the serial dilution range of one or more of the FMD positive sample titration series.