Change of antibody levels to ferritin in the sera of foals after birth: Possible passive transfer of maternal anti‐ferritin autoantibody via colostrum and age‐related anti‐ferritin autoantibody production

Antibody (immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM or IgA) levels relative to ferritin in six foal sera (three male and three female) after birth (day 0 and 2, 6, 10, 20, 28, 36, 40, 52 and 56 weeks of age) were semi‐quantitatively measured with normalization with antibody activity to ferritin in one adult horse serum. After addition of horse spleen ferritin to the serum sample, the complex formed between antibodies to ferritin in the serum and ferritin was co‐immunoprecipitated using antibody to horse spleen ferritin. Antibody classes of the co‐immnoprecipitate were detected with antibodies specific for horse IgG, IgM or IgA heavy chain. Six adult horse serum samples were found to have ferritin‐binding activities in all immunoglobulin classes examined. Although ferritin antibody activities (IgG, IgM and IgA) were scant in the foal sera before sucking colostrum (day 0), their activities increased at 2 weeks of age. IgG antibodies showed a biphasic response and IgM antibody activity increased up to 40 weeks of age. Antibody (IgG, IgM and IgA) activities to ferritin in three colostrum samples were significantly higher than in adult horse serum samples. These results demonstrate that antibody to ferritin in foal serum is derived from colostrum after birth and is produced thereafter.     

Gene expression of resistin and TNF-α in adipose tissue of Japanese Black steers and Holstein steers

The aim of the present study was to compare the expression of adipose tissue mRNA related to glucose metabolism between Japanese Black steers (n = 5) and Holstein steers (n = 5). We examined the expression of the resistin, tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α), glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and growth hormone receptor (GHR) genes using real‐time polymerase chain reaction of cDNA in adipose tissue. The cDNA sequence identified by 5′/3′‐rapid amplification of cDNA and the deduced amino acid sequence were highly conserved in human, porcine and murine resistin. Expression of resistin mRNA was significantly greater in Holstein steers than in Japanese Black steers. In contrast, expression of TNF‐α mRNA was slightly greater in Japanese Black steers. Expression of GHR mRNA was significantly greater in Japanese Black steers compared with the Holstein steers, although there was no significant difference in the expression of GLUT1 mRNA. However, the plasma non‐esterified fatty acid (NEFA), glucose, insulin and growth hormone concentrations did not differ between Japanese Black and Holstein steers. The present results show that there is a difference in the expression level of mRNA related to glucose metabolism between Japanese Black steers and Holstein steers.     

Prevalence of blood parasites in Japanese wild birds

The prevalence of blood parasites was investigated in 701 Japanese wild birds for 13 years from January, 1988 to March, 2001. Most of the injured or sick birds were caught in the suburbs of Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture and brought to the zoo for clinical care. Among all the birds examined, 10.6% were infected with hematozoa belonging to three genera as Plasmodium (1.7% of the samples), Haemoproteus (5.1% of the samples) and Leucocytozoon (4.6% of the samples), and two birds (0.29% of the samples), a Japanese grosbeak (Coccothraustes personatus) and a dusky thrush (Turdus naumanni), were infected with microfilariae. Mixed infection with Leucocytozoon sp. and Haemoproteus sp. was observed in 6 individuals of 4 species and that with Leucocytozoon sp. and microfilariae was observed in 2 individuals of 2 species of bird. Relatively high positive rates were 75%(3/4) in the scops owl (Otus scops), 71.4% (10/14) in the ural owl (Strix uralensis), 57.7% (15/26) in the jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos), 57.1% (4/7) in the black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris), 55.6% (5/9) in the brown hawk owl (Ninox scutulata), 41% (16/39) in the carrion crow (Corvus corone) and 24.1% (7/29) in the night heron (Nycticorax nicticorax).     

Controlled release of estradiol-17β and bisphenol A from a silicone tube for long-term administration in mice

Silicone tubes filled with estradiol‐17β (E2) or the xenestrogen, bisphenol A (BPA) were covered with a polyethylene tube and implanted into mice subcutaneously. The releasing patterns from the tube in vivo were obtained from the volume of estrogen remaining in the tube by measurement with high performance lipid chromatography. E2 in glycerol was released in a few days from a silicone tube, which was not covered with a polyethylene tube (Type A). However, E2 in sesame oil was released very slowly from the silicone tube covered with a polyethylene tube (Type B) and approximately 10% of E2 remained in the tube at 56 days after implantation into the mice. The mean linear regression equation for E2 was Y = 70.967 ? 1.2271X (R² = 0.9268) and the quadratic regression equation was Y = 77.97 ? 2.2773X + 0.0194 × 2 (R² = 0.9864). The remainder rate curves of E2 and BPA were not significantly different throughout the experimental period of 56 days. The Type B tube in the present experiment might be useful for long‐term administration of estrogens.     

Association between intestinal lymphangiectasia and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in dogs with lymphoplasmacytic enteritis

Intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL) is a common complication in dogs. Since nitric oxide (NO) is known to relax the lymphatic vessel, we evaluated inducible NO synthase (iNOS) expression using immunohistochemistry in 13 dogs with lymphoplasmacytic enteritis (LPE) with or without IL. The duodenal iNOS expressing cells were significantly increased in dogs with IL-negative or IL-positive LPE dogs (P=0.025, P=0.007) compared with control dogs. However, there was no significant difference in iNOS expression between IL-positive and IL-negative tissues. Based on these results, there is no clear evidence for the NO overproduction in the pathogenesis of IL in dogs with LPE. Factors other than NO could, thus, contribute to IL in dogs with LPE.     

Predator–prey size relationship in siphon cropping between the juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus and the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea

ABSTRACT:   The purpose of the present paper was to examine the size relationship between the juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus and the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea , the siphon of which is important prey for the juvenile flounder. Juvenile stone flounder feed mainly on tips of the inhalant siphon of the bivalve. The maximum width of siphon tips in the stomach contents of age-0 fish could not reach that of age-1 fish, although the siphons in age-0 fish became larger as they grew. This size discrepancy indicated a limitation in the size of bivalves available to juveniles. The proportion of total cropping frequency for the siphon of the bivalve by juveniles was estimated according to the bivalve size class. Most bivalves that had cropped siphon tips ranged from 5 to 30 mm in shell length. The total cropping frequency per bivalve was particularly intense on bivalves of 10–25 mm shell length in spite of their small proportion of 24.9% of the total. This frequency intensity indicated that the size of bivalves with cropped siphons by juvenile stone flounder might depend on the ability of juveniles rather than the size composition of the bivalves.     

Formaldehyde Concentrations in Ambient Air in Urban and Rural Areas in Gunma Prefecture, Japan

We measured formaldehyde concentrations in ambient air at urban (Isesaki) and rural (Annaka) sites in Gunma Prefecture, Japan from June 1998 to March 2003. Measurements were carried out once in a month to obtain daily mean formaldehyde concentrations. At both the sites, mean concentrations of formaldehyde were significantly higher from April to September (summer) than from October to March (winter). Formaldehyde concentrations in Annaka were essentially as high as those in Isesaki in summer, but were significantly lower in winter. At both the sites, concentrations of formaldehyde and oxidants correlated significantly with one another in the summer; correlation coefficients in Annaka and Isesaki were 0.82 and 0.64, respectively. The fraction of formaldehyde formed photochemically based on concentrations of benzene was calculated to be as high as 80% in both the sites in summer. The results suggested that formaldehyde concentrations were high even in rural air, reflecting photochemical reactions rather than automobile exhaust.     

Effects of trypsin on cytosolic calcium levels in the rat aortic endothelium

The effect of trypsin on vascular tone and the cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) of endothelial and smooth muscle cells were examined in the rat aorta. A calcium indicator, fura-PE3, was used to measure [Ca(2+)](i) simultaneously with vascular tone. In the endothelium-intact rat aorta, carbachol and trypsin increased [Ca(2+)](i) in a dose-dependent manner. In the endothelium-denuded rat aorta, carbachol did not change [Ca(2+)](i), but trypsin slightly increased it. Addition of trypsin to the norepinephrine-stimulated rat aorta relaxed the muscle with an additional increase in [Ca(2+)](i). Under calcium-free conditions, trypsin induced a transient increase in [Ca(2+)](i). Trypsin-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation was inhibited by preincubation with l-NMMA, an endothelial NO synthase inhibitor, U-73122, a phospholipase C inhibitor, cyclopiazonic acid, a sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase blocker, and lanthanum, a nonselective Ca(2+) channel blocker. However, indomethacin, a nonselective cyclooxygenase inhibitor, and SKF-96365, a store-operated Ca(2+)-channel blocker, had no effect on the trypsin-induced relaxation. These results suggest that trypsin increases [Ca(2+)](i) in the endothelial cells through SKF-96365-insensitive Ca(2+) channels and regulates the release of NO, which results in relaxation of the rat aorta.