Use of an antineoepitope antibody for identification of type-II collagen degradation in equine articular cartilage.

OBJECTIVE: To develop an antibody that specifically recognizes collagenase-cleaved type-II collagen in equine articular cartilage. SAMPLE POPULATION: Cartilage specimens from horses euthanatized for problems unrelated to the musculoskeletal system. PROCEDURE: A peptide was synthesized representing the carboxy- (C-) terminus (neoepitope) of the equine type-II collagen fragment created by mammalian collagenases. This peptide was used to produce a polyclonal antibody, characterized by western analysis for reactivity to native and collagenase-cleaved equine collagens. The antibody was evaluated as an antineoepitope antibody by ELISA, using peptides +/- an amino acid at the C-terminus of the immunizing peptide. Collagen cleavage was assayed from equine articular cartilage cultured with interleukin-1 (IL-1), +/- a synthetic MMP inhibitor, BAY 12-9566. Cartilage specimens from osteoarthritic and nonarthritic joints were compared for antibody staining. RESULTS: An antibody, 234CEQ, recognized only collagenase-generated 3/4-length fragments of equine type-II collagen. This was a true antineoepitope antibody, as altering the C-terminus of the immunizing peptide significantly decreased competition for binding in an inhibition ELISA. The IL-1-induced release of type-II collagen fragments from articular cartilage was prevented with the MMP inhibitor. Cartilage from an osteoarthritic joint of a horse had increased staining with the 234CEQ antibody, compared with normal articular cartilage. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: We generated an antineoepitope antibody recognizing collagenase-cleaved type-II collagen of horses. This antibody detects increases in type-II collagen cleavage in diseased equine articular cartilage. The 234CEQ antibody has the potential to aid in the early diagnosis of arthritis and to monitor treatment responses.     

Use of laser photocoagulation for treatment of cutaneous angiomatosis in one dog and two cats.

One dog and 2 cats were evaluated because of multiple progressively enlarging cutaneous vascular plaques. Biopsies were performed and revealed small well-circumscribed dermal nodules of dilated fully enclosed blood-filled spaces lined by single layers of endothelial cells aligned on thin fibrous walls, with minimal mitotic activity. A diagnosis of cutaneous angiomatosis was made in all 3 animals. Cutaneous angiomatosis is a progressive proliferative lesion of vascular tissue involving the dermis and subcutaneous tissues of dogs and cats. Lasers of selected wavelengths have been used to induce photothermal coagulation of hemoglobin-containing cutaneous lesions in humans; argon-pumped dye and neodymium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet lasers were used to treat the cutaneous lesions in the animals of this report. Laser treatment may provide an alternative to wide surgical resection or limb amputation for management of this condition in veterinary patients.     

Association between Chlamydia psittaci seropositivity and abortion in Italian dairy cows.

Although the seroprevalence of Chlamydia psittaci is widespread in Italian dairy herds, its role in inducing genital disorders has not been elucidated. We therefore set up a case-control study to compare seroprevalence to C. psittaci in an aborted-cow population and in a randomly selected control group in the province of Parma (the Po Valley of northern Italy). The true seroprevalence (45%) in aborted cows was significantly higher than that in the control group (24%) (adjusted odds ratio=2.53).     

Immunohistochemical Detection of Mycoplasma agalactiae in Formalin‐Fixed,Paraffin‐Embedded Tissues from Naturally and Experimentally Infected Goats

Samples from the mammary tissue of 14 lactating goats (12 naturally infected and two experimentally infected) were examined for the presence of Mycoplasma agalactiae. A monoclonal antibody (5G12) was applied to formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐wax‐embedded sections and labelled by the avidin–biotin peroxidase complex (ABC) method. Histological examination of tissue sections revealed strong immunoreactivity in all animals included in the study. Mycoplasma agalactiae antigen was mainly detected in the cellular debris at the periphery of purulent exudates present within lactiferous sinuses, and lactiferous and interlobular ducts. In addition, M. agalactiae organisms appeared in the cytoplasm of the epithelium of ducts, and in infiltrating macrophages and neutrophils within the ducts, alveoli, interstitial tissue and regional lymph node sinuses. It is concluded that this monoclonal antibody‐based immunohistochemical technique is an efficient and specific method for the post‐mortem detection of M. agalactiae in cases of clinical mastitis as well as being a useful tool for the study of the route of infection and cellular types involved during mastitis caused by this organism.     

Differences in Wheat Cultivar Response to N Supply. I: Differences in Grain Yield Formation

Two-year field trials with winter wheat cultivars Batis and Toronto were conducted in Southern Bavaria, Germany, to investigate the possible causes of cultivar differences in response to N supply varying in total amount and time of application. Cultivar-related differences in grain yields were observed in treatments with low and medium N supply. High doses of N supply resulted in grain yield adjustment or grain yield advantage for cv. Toronto. The results of this study revealed a consistent, genotypic pattern in response to N fertilization in spite of strong seasonal effects. Systematic modifications in canopy growth rates in response to N supply were of particular relevance and a main factor for differences in tillering intensity resulting in modified stand densities. In the present study, cultivar differences in spike development and interactions with N supply related more to abortion than to initiation processes for number of spikelets and number of flowers per spikelet. High grain density (grains per m²) of cv. Toronto was evident during reproduction stages even under conditions of medium N supply. However, decreased growth rates during the later part of grain filling in combination with low 1000 grain weight, which was barely modified by N fertilization, allowed only partial utilization of this potential. It is assumed that sink limitations were of particular relevance for grain yield development in cv. Toronto, while cv. Batis combined a less intense response to N supply with more stability in the development of grain yield components.     

Relationship between blood iron parameters and trichinellosis in swine

Reduced levels of total iron binding capacity and unsaturated iron binding capacity were observed in the blood of trichinous and iron-injected trichinous pigs. No change was observed in their serum iron and saturation concentration levels. Also, reduced iron concentration levels were observed in the livers of trichinous pigs, while increased iron concentration levels were observed in the spleens of trichinous pigs and the livers and spleens of iron-injected pigs. No difference was found with regard to weight gains, number of larvae per gram of tissues, or histologic characteristics of 'nurse cells'.     

The combined effect of fenbendazole treatment and a move to aftermath 7 or 9 weeks after turnout on Dictyocaulus viviparus infections in calves

A grazing study was performed with the main objective of examining the effect of fenbendazole (FBZ) in a ‘dose and move’ system on nematode infections in calves with special emphasis on Dictyocaulus viviparus.

Three groups of six calves were grazed from May to October 1993. One group (DM7) was treated with FBZ and moved to aftermath (pasture which had only been mown) 7 weeks after turnout. The second group (DM9) was similarly treated and moved 9 weeks after turnout and the third group served as untreated pasture control group (PC) and was moved to aftermath 9 weeks after turnout.

FBZ treatment removed adult lungworms from DM7 and DM9. Tracer calves grazed during the first 7 or the first 9 weeks after turnout acquired mean burdens of 18 and 125 lungworms, respectively. In PC faecal larval counts increased until the end of August. Most of the animals in this group were then suffering from lungworm disease and emergency treatment with ivermectin was given. In both FBZ-treated groups, larvae reappeared in the faeces of some of the calves 4–5 weeks after treatment. Subsequent reinfection resulted in higher mean faecal larval counts in both groups 2 months after treatment, although variation in faecal larval counts was high. In DM7 values tended to be higher than in DM9. These higher larval counts were associated with mild signs of parasitic bronchitis in some calves of DM7, whereas no signs were seen in DM9.

At the end of the experiment, all calves, and also a group of six permanently housed non-infected control calves (HC), were infected experimentally with 5000 D. viviparus larvae to evaluate development of immunity. The worm counts at necropsy showed that all calves on pasture had developed immunity.     

Seasonal mixing and catastrophic degassing in tropical lakes, cameroon, west Africa

Lethal gas releases from Lakes Nyos and Monoun in Cameroon seem to be more lacustrine than volcanic in origin. Both of these events occurred in August and were only 2 years apart. Data show that the period of deepest mixing and lake turnover also occurs during late summer in this region of tropical Africa. In addition, recent trends of decreases in both air temperatures and effective insolation relative to long-term means suggest that weakening of stratification, coupled with a predictable seasonal interval of reduced stability in August, may be responsible for the timing of these events.