Inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor protein immunohistochemistry of cerebellar Purkinje cells in two dogs with hypoglycemia

Immunohistochemical study was performed on cerebellar Purkinje cells of two dogs with hypoglycemia using an antibody against the inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor that is identical to the cerebellar Purkinje cell glycoprotein P(400) (P(400)/InsP(3)R). In the cerebellar neocortex of an acute case of hypoglycemia, the P(400)/InsP(3)R staining of hypoglycemic Purkinje cells was heterogeneous: some peripheral dendrites, including spiny branchlets, were negative and others were stained with various intensities, although Purkinje cells were morphologically intact by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) stain. In a chronic case of hypoglycemia, almost all the dendrites of Purkinje cells of both the neo- and archicortex of the cerebellum were not stained with the P(400)/InsP(3)R antibody. This is in contrast to the normal dog where Purkinje cell bodies, axons, and dendrites, including spiny branchlets, are intensely stained by the P(400)/InsP(3)R antibody. These results suggest that P(400)/InsP(3)R immunolabeling of Purkinje cells decreased, despite their morphology being preserved by HE stain, and that the function of P(400)/InsP(3)R, especially in spiny branchlets that receive inputs originating from axon terminals of parallel fibers, may be impaired in hypoglycemia.     

Protectivity of an immunoaffinity-purified 39 kDa capsular protein of avian Pasteurella multocida in mice

A 39 kDa protein of avian Pasteurella multocida strain P-1059 (serovar A:3) was purified from a crude capsular extract by immunoaffinity chromatography by using a ligand of purified mouse monoclonal antibody to the 39 kDa capsular protein of the strain. Protective activity of the purified 39 kDa protein antigen was determined by inoculation of ddY mice twice with 25 or 125 mug of the protein and challenge-exposure with 10 or 50 LD(50) of strains P-1059 or X-73 (serovar A:1). The results showed that the antigen gave high protection (60 to 100%). These results indicated that the 39 kDa protein of avian P. multocida is a cross-protective antigen over serovars A:1 and A:3.     

Neospora caninum infected the alimentary tract of nude mice and was transmitted to other mice by intraperitoneal inoculation with the intestinal contents

Neospora caninum (BT-2 strain) that originated from the brain of a Holstein calf was serially passaged through 10 generations of BALB/c nude mice by intraperitoneal inoculation. Histological examination of the mice revealed that numerous clusters of tachyzoites appeared in the pancreas, stomach and small intestine as well as in the central nervous system (CNS) and skeletal muscles. Intestinal contents of the infected mice were inoculated intraperitoneally into uninfected nude mice and 3 of the 17 inoculated mice showed clinical signs at post inoculation days 3 to 10. The present experiments demonstrated a proliferation of N. caninum tachyzoites in the mucosa of the alimentary tract and pancreas of the nude mice and the intestinal contents of the mice were infective to other nude mice.     

Mechanism of self-sterility in a hermaphroditic chordate

Hermaphroditic organisms avoid inbreeding by a system of self-incompatibility (SI). A primitive chordate (ascidian) Ciona intestinalis is an example of such an organism, but the molecular mechanism underlying its SI system is not known. Here, we show that the SI system is governed by two gene loci that act cooperatively. Each locus contains a tightly linked pair of polycystin 1-related receptor (s-Themis) and fibrinogen-like ligand (v-Themis) genes, the latter of which is located in the first intron of s-Themis but transcribed in the opposite direction. These genes may encode male- and female-side self-recognition molecules. The SI system of C. intestinalis has a similar framework to that of flowering plants but utilizing different molecules.     

Antioxidative effects of lactic acid bacteria on the colonic mucosa of iron-overloaded mice

The antioxidative effects of lactic acid bacteria on lipid peroxidation in the colonic mucosa were investigated. Among 49 strains of lactic acid bacteria, Streptococcus thermophilus YIT 2001 showed the highest inhibitory activity against lipid peroxidation in liposomes induced by ferrous iron. Feeding a diet containing 0.4% St. thermophilus YIT 2001 (2 x 10(8) colony-forming units per mouse per day) for 2 weeks caused a significant decrease of lipid peroxide (thiobarbituric acid reactive substance) in the colonic mucosa of iron-overloaded mice (0.07% Fe in the diet). The mucosal lipid peroxide level did not correlate with the soluble iron concentration of the cecal contents. Therefore, it is suggested that the antioxidative effect of St. thermophilus YIT 2001 in the colonic mucosa was not due to the removal of ferrous iron from the reaction system of lipid peroxidation.     

Cross protection of mice and swine given live-organism vaccine against challenge exposure with strains of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae representing ten serovars

Mice and swine vaccinated (subcutaneous inoculation) with live acriflavine-fast attenuated Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, strain Koganei 65-0.15 (serovar 2), were challenge exposed with 10 strains of E rhusiopathiae pathogenic for swine; the latter strains comprised serovars 9 and 10 and other previously undetermined. Vaccinated mice did not die after they were challenge exposed (subcutaneous inoculation) with serovars 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, or N, but vaccinated mice challenge exposed with strain 2553 (serovar 20) had 30% mortality. Nonvaccinated control mice died after they were challenge exposed with all serovars tested. One of 2 vaccinated swine challenge exposed (intradermal inoculation) with each of strains 911 (serovar 8), 2179 (serovar 10), or 2553 developed localized urticarial lesion at the site of intradermal inoculation. Vaccinated swine challenge exposed with serovars 4, 6, 7, 9, 15, 16, or N did not have clinical signs of acute swine erysipelas. Nonvaccinated control swine developed localized lesions at the site of intradermal challenge inoculation.     

Prevalence and characterization of Pasteurella multocida in rabbits and their environment in Japan

Prevalence and some properties of Pasteurella multocida in rabbits kept at laboratory animal facilities and commercial rabbitries, and in their environment were investigated. A total of 1,147 nasal swab samples from 1,147 rabbits and 126 samples from their environment were subjected to the isolation of P. multocida. The bacteria were isolated from 199 (29.8%) of 668 rabbits in laboratory animal facilities and from 1 (0.2%) of 479 rabbits in the rabbitries. Isolation rate of P. multocida was low (0.9%) or high (44.9%) in the facilities with or without the monitoring for the presence of the bacteria, respectively. The highest rate of the isolation from rabbits was recorded at 10 to 12 months of their housing time. Thirty-nine cultures (31.0%) of air and the surfaces of floors, tips of water bottles, and cages were positive for P. multocida and isolation rate of the bacteria was high (78.6%) in the air. Biological and biochemical properties of the isolates were identical except for indole production and raffinose fermentation. The isolates were susceptible to antibiotics tested except for clindamycin, serologically similar in the gel-diffusion precipitin test and weakly virulent for mice. The present results suggested that these P. multocida isolates were the causal agent of rabbits rhinitis (snuffles) in Japan.