Immunohistochemical expression of HER - 2 and Ki - 67 in granulosa cell tumor in bitches

Granulosa cell tumour, an ovarian neoplasm of stromal origin, is an important tumour related to oestrogenic dominance syndrome and cystic endometrial hyperplasia–pyometra complex. In order to analyse ovarian tumour´s malignant potential, immunohistochemical markers can be used, such as anti-HER2 and anti-Ki-67. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of immunohistochemical markers HER-2 and Ki-67 in granulosa cell tumour from bitches´ ovaries. In HER-2 immunomarker analysis using the HercepTest^® method, most tumours were classified as 2+ (moderate labelling). Concerning Ki-67 immunomarker, only one case was described as having a high proliferative index. An association was found between immunostained cell percentage by anti-HER-2 antibodies and high pleomorphism, represented by the pattern of follicular/trabecular tumour arrangement. There was no correlation between anti-Ki-67 and anti-HER-2 antibody immunostaining intensities, probably due to only one case with a high Ki-67 index. With an effective protocol for HER-2 and Ki-67 immunohistochemical identification in granulosa cell tumours in bitches, it was possible to characterize this neoplasm proliferation profile.     

口蹄疫病毒A型竞争ELISA抗体检测试剂盒在流行病学调查中的应用

为评价口蹄疫病毒A型竞争ELISA(cELISA)抗体检测试剂盒在流行病学调查中的应用前景,对2017年从福建省三明市采集的336份黄牛、奶牛、羊和猪血清样品,用A型cELISA抗体检测试剂盒进行抗体检测。结果显示,92份黄牛血清、92份羊血清、92份猪血清、60份奶牛血清的A型抗体阳性率分别为13.04%、11.96%、20.65%、86.67%。从上述4种血清中,各挑选10份血清(阴性、阳性各5份)共40份,采用口蹄疫病毒液相阻断ELISA(LPB-ELISA)抗体检测试剂盒进行验证。结果显示:cELISA检测为阳性的20份血清中,用LPB-ELISA检出阳性19份;cELISA检测为阴性的20份血清中,用LPB-ELISA检出阴性17份;两种方法的κ值为0.8,总符合率为90.00%。结果表明,A型cELISA试剂盒与LPB-ELISA试剂盒的符合率和一致性均较高,可用于口蹄疫流行病学调查和血清学监测。     

非洲猪瘟病毒核酸定性检测方法比对

为提升兽医实验室非洲猪瘟病毒核酸检测能力和质量控制水平,积累检测经验,以更好地开展非洲猪瘟检测,2020年7月,参加了北京市农业农村局组织的“非洲猪瘟实验室检测能力比对”项目。本次比对同时选用《非洲猪瘟检疫技术规范》(SNT 1559—2010标准)中的普通PCR方法、荧光定量PCR方法以及商品化试剂盒,对5份验证样品开展非洲猪瘟病毒核酸检测和结果比对。比对发现,3种检测方法结果一致,样品检测结果与预期一致,结果满意。此次比对确认了实验室现有检测方法能够满足非洲猪瘟病毒核酸的日常检测需求,同时提升了实验室人员的检测能力,积累了检测经验,可为非洲猪瘟防控提供有力的技术支撑。     

Causes of death in beef cattle in southern Brazil

We determined the prevalence of diseases and pathogens associated with mortality in beef cattle in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, based on pathology laboratory submissions. Postmortem examinations were conducted on 1,277 beef cattle that died between 2008 and 2018. Information regarding age, time of the year, breed, and regional location were analyzed statistically. Most cattle were from the surrounding region of Porto Alegre, and 78.7% of the analyzed cases had diagnostic value. The diagnostic category with most cases was infectious and/or parasitic diseases (60%), followed by toxic and toxicoinfectious (25%). Most cases occurred in the fall. Major disease conditions identified included hemoprotozoal infection (18.2%), rabies (8.2%), and plant intoxications by Senecio spp. (8.5%) and Pteridium arachnoideum (4.6%). Hemoprotozoal infection occurred at a higher frequency in young cattle, mainly in animals up to 1 y old. Intoxication by Senecio spp. was more frequent in cattle 2–3 y old.     

Validation of a multiplex PCR assay to detect Babesia spp. and Anaplasma marginale in cattle in Uruguay in the absence of a gold standard test

Detection of bovine Babesia spp. and Anaplasma marginale is based on the reading of Giemsa-stained blood or organ smears, which can have low sensitivity. Our aim was to improve the detection of bovine Babesia spp. and A. marginale by validating a multiplex PCR (mPCR). We used 466 samples of blood and/or organs of animals with signs and presumptive autopsy findings of babesiosis or anaplasmosis. The primers in our mPCR amplified the rap-1a gene region of Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, and the msp-5 region of A. marginale. We used a Bayesian model with a non-informative priori distribution for the prevalence estimate and informative priori distribution for estimation of sensitivity and specificity. The sensitivity and specificity for smear detection of Babesia spp. were 68.6% and 99.1%, and for A. marginale 85.6% and 98.8%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity for mPCR detection for Babesia spp. were 94.2% and 97.1%, and for A. marginale 95.2% and 92.7%, respectively. Our mPCR had good accuracy in detecting Babesia spp. and A. marginale, and would be a reliable test for veterinarians to choose the correct treatment for each agent.     

Randomly primed,strand-switching,MinION-based sequencing for the detection and characterization of cultured RNA viruses

RNA viruses rapidly mutate, which can result in increased virulence, increased escape from vaccine protection, and false-negative detection results. Targeted detection methods have a limited ability to detect unknown viruses and often provide insufficient data to detect coinfections or identify antigenic variants. Random, deep sequencing is a method that can more fully detect and characterize RNA viruses and is often coupled with molecular techniques or culture methods for viral enrichment. We tested viral culture coupled with third-generation sequencing for the ability to detect and characterize RNA viruses. Cultures of bovine viral diarrhea virus, canine distemper virus (CDV), epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus, infectious bronchitis virus, 2 influenza A viruses, and porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus were sequenced on the MinION platform using a random, reverse primer in a strand-switching reaction, coupled with PCR-based barcoding. Reads were taxonomically classified and used for reference-based sequence building using a stock personal computer. This method accurately detected and identified complete coding sequence genomes with a minimum of 20× coverage depth for all 7 viruses, including a sample containing 2 viruses. Each lineage-typing region had at least 26× coverage depth for all viruses. Furthermore, analyzing the CDV sample through a pipeline devoid of CDV reference sequences modeled the ability of this protocol to detect unknown viruses. Our results show the ability of this technique to detect and characterize dsRNA, negative- and positive-sense ssRNA, and nonsegmented and segmented RNA viruses.     

Pathologic and immunohistochemical findings in an outbreak of systemic toxoplasmosis in a mob of red kangaroos

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protozoan pathogen that infects many endothermic vertebrates, including humans; the domestic cat and other felids serve as the definitive host. Macropodids are considered highly susceptible to toxoplasmosis. Here, we describe the clinical, pathologic, and immunohistochemical findings of an outbreak of systemic toxoplasmosis in a mob of 11 red kangaroos (Macropus rufus), with high morbidity (73%) and mortality (100%) rates. Affected animals had either severe and rapidly deteriorating clinical conditions or sudden death, which was correlated with widespread necrotizing lesions in multiple organs and intralesional T. gondii organisms identified via MIC3-specific immunohistochemistry and confirmed by REP529-specific rtPCR. Quantification of parasites demonstrated the highest parasite density in pulmonary parenchyma compared with other tissues. Our study highlights the continued importance of this severe condition in Australian marsupials.