Treatment of contaminated radial fracture in Sprague-Dawley rats by application of a degradable polymer releasing gentamicin

Fracture-related infections remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. We aimed to establish a simple contaminated radial osteotomy model to assess the efficacy of a biodegradable polymer poly(sebacic-co-ricinoleic acid) [p(SA-RA)] containing 20% w/w gentamicin. A unilateral transverse osteotomy was induced in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats, followed by application of Staphylococcus aureus suspension over the fracture. After successfully establishing the contaminated open fracture model, we treated the rats either systemically (intraperitoneal cefuroxime), locally with p(SA-RA) containing gentamicin, or both. Control groups included non-contaminated group and contaminated groups that were either untreated or treated with the polymer alone. After 4 weeks, the bones were subjected to micro-CT scanning and microbiological and histopathology evaluations. Micro-CT analysis revealed similar changes in the group subjected to both local and systemic treatment as in the non-contaminated control group. Lack of detectable bacterial growth was noted in most animals of the group subjected to both local and systemic treatment, and all samples were negative for S. aureus. Histopathological evaluation revealed that all treatment modalities containing antibiotics were highly effective in reducing infection and promoting callus repair, resulting in early bone healing. While p(SA-RA) containing gentamicin treatment showed better results than cefuroxime, the combination of local and systemic treatment displayed the highest therapeutic potential in this model.     

Carrier rate of the c.235G>C mutation in the bovine isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IARS) gene of Japanese Black cows at Kagoshima prefecture, Japan,and analysis of the metabolic profiling and reproductive performance of heterozygous cows

Bovine isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IARS) disorder, a major cause of weak calf syndrome, is caused by a homozygous missense (c.235G>C) mutation in the bovine IARS gene of Japanese Black (JB) cattle, which was identified in 2013. However, the extent to which the carrier rate has changed at Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, and whether the carrier status is associated with any clinical or reproductive problems, have yet to be ascertained. In this study, using a real-time polymerase chain reaction-based genotyping assay, we determined the carrier rate in a regional JB cow population at Kagoshima prefecture. Comparative analyses were performed on the metabolic profile test (MPT) results and reproductive performance data obtained for heterozygous carrier and homozygous wild-type cows. In 2009 and 2018, DNA samples were collected from 130 and 462 clinically healthy JB cows, respectively, in Kagoshima prefecture. MPT results and reproductive performance data were evaluated for 62 cows, comprising four heterozygous carriers and 58 wild-type cows. Genotyping revealed that the carrier rate was 6.9% in 2009 and 1.5% in 2018, the difference of which was statistically significant (P<0.005). There were no statistically significant differences between the carrier and wild-type cows with respect to either MPT results or reproductive performance, indicating that the carrier cows have necessary IARS activity to maintain minimal health and reproductive potential.     

Molecular characterization of Ascaridia galli from Bangladesh and development of a PCR method for distinguishing A. galli from Heterakis spp.

We analyzed the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) 1 and ITS2 sequences for Bangladesh isolates of Ascaridia galli, and we determined that the sequences were unreliable as molecular markers for distinguishing A. galli from other Ascaridia species, because the sequences showed high identity with that of A. columbae. However, the ITS1 sequences were available for designing PCR primers distinguishable between Ascaridia galli and Heterakis spp. Bangladesh isolates of A. galli constituted a monophyletic clade along with other geographical isolates in the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) phylogenetic tree, however, we could not clarify the phylogenetic relationships between A. galli and other Ascaridia spp., because their available sequences in GenBank were very few. The developed PCR method using DNA from A. galli and Heterakis spp. eggs would enable differential diagnosis of the individual infections in the future.     

伪狂犬病病毒在NF-κB家族p65基因敲除细胞系的复制规律研究

试验旨在研究伪狂犬病病毒(PRV)在NF-κB家族p65基因敲除细胞系中的复制规律。利用慢病毒介导的CRISPR/Cas9基因定点修饰技术构建猪肺泡巨噬细胞(3D4/21)p65基因稳定敲除细胞系。通过构建p65-sgRNA重组质粒,转染至HEK293T/17细胞,收取慢病毒,感染3D4/21细胞后利用嘌呤霉素筛选获得多克隆细胞系,T7核酸酶检测敲除效率,再通过有限稀释法获得3D4/21-p65^-/-的稳定细胞系。CCK-8试剂盒检测3D4/21细胞中敲除p65基因后对细胞增殖的影响;流式细胞术检测PRV-GFP感染3D4/21及3D4/21-p65^-/-细胞后病毒增殖的差异;实时定量PCR检测PRV感染3D4/21及3D4/21-p65^-/-细胞后PRV gB、TK基因mRNA表达水平及PRV感染细胞诱导的IL-1β和IL-6基因mRNA水平表达的变化;Western blotting检测PRV-QXX感染3D4/21及3D4/21-p65^-/-细胞后PRV gB、gE蛋白的表达;滴度测定检测PRV-QXX感染3D4/21及3D4/21-p65^-/-细胞后子代病毒滴度。结果表明,sgRNA2和sgRNA3的基因编辑效率较高,对其进行克隆化培养进而获得敲除p65基因的稳定表达细胞系;CCK-8试剂盒检测细胞活力表明,p65基因敲除对细胞活力无影响;流式细胞仪检测表明,同一时间点PRV-GFP在3D4/21-p65^-/-中的增殖显著高于对照细胞;实时荧光定量PCR表明在3D4/21细胞中敲除p65基因促进了PRV gB、TK基因的mRNA表达水平,而抑制了IL-1β、IL-6基因的mRNA表达;Western blotting结果表明,在3D4/21细胞中敲除p65基因促进了PRV gB、gE蛋白的表达;滴度测定结果表明,同一时间点PRV-QXX在3D4/21-p65^-/-细胞中子代病毒的复制显著高于对照细胞。以上结果均表明,p65基因敲除可促进PRV在3D4/21细胞中复制。     

干扰素诱导跨膜蛋白1对猪源冠状病毒吸附宿主细胞的影响

为探索干扰素诱导跨膜蛋白1（interferon-inducible transmembrane protein 1,IFITM1）对猪源冠状病毒复制的影响,本研究选用猪传染性胃肠炎病毒（Transmissible gastroenteritis virus,TGEV）高致病毒株及其宿主细胞PK15作为研究对象。正常PK15细胞接种TGEV后,实时荧光定量PCR检测感染后不同时间点PK15细胞中一些干扰素刺激基因（interferon-stimulated genes,ISGs）的mRNA表达水平;利用慢病毒表达系统构建稳定表达和稳定干扰IFITM1表达的PK15细胞系。将一段靶向干扰猪源IFITM1的shRNA序列及猪源IFITM1全长,分别插入pLKO.1-EGFP-Puro载体及pLVML-Myc-MCS-IRES-Puro载体中,分别构建出pLKO.1-IFITM1shRNA-EGFP-Puro及pLVML-Myc-IFITM1-IRES-Puro重组质粒。将重组质粒与慢病毒包装质粒共转染293FT细胞后获得带有目的基因的重组慢病毒,慢病毒侵染PK15细胞后用嘌呤霉素进行筛选,获得稳定表达及稳定干扰IFITM1表达的PK15细胞系,分别命名为PK15-IFITM1及PK15-IFITM1^-/-,并分别用实时荧光定量PCR、间接免疫荧光试验（IFA）及Western blotting检测IFITM1干扰效率及表达情况;TGEV接种PK15-IFITM1^-/-和PK15-IFITM1,实时荧光定量PCR测定细胞中TGEV的拷贝数。结果显示,PK15细胞接种TGEV后的48 h内,一些ISGs的mRNA水平均有所上升;PK15-IFITM1^-/-细胞系的干扰效率为70%,PK15-IFITM1细胞系表达成功;在PK15-IFITM1^-/-细胞系中,IFITM1的mRNA水平显著下调,促进了TGEV的复制。反之,在PK15-IFITM1细胞系中,TGEV的复制受到了抑制。但IFITM1的表达或缺失却不影响TGEV对PK15的吸附作用。总之,IFITM1对TGEV有显著的抗病毒作用,IFITM1不影响TGEV对PK15细胞的早期吸附,这为后续IFITM1抗冠状病毒机制的研究奠定了基础。     

Cloning and Sequence Analysis of HA and NA Genes of One Strain of H6N6 Subtype Avian Influenza Virus Isolated from Guizhou Province

To investigate the epidemic situation of H6N6 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) in Guizhou province,A/duck/Guizhou/013/2014 was isolated from Sansui duck in live poultry market of Guizhou in 2014,the hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of DK/GZ/14 were subjected to clone and sequence analysis.The results showed that HA gene had the highest nucleotide homologies (97.5%) with the duck-origin H6N6 subtype AIV isolated from Eastern China in 2009,and the strains of HA gene proteolytic cleavage sites was P-Q-I-E-T-R-G,which accordeol with the molecular characteristic of low pathogenic AIV (LPAIV).However,NA gene of A/duck/Guizhou/013/2014 had the highest nucleotide homologies (98.2%) with the duck-origin H6N6 subtype AIV isolated from Fujian in 2007.The phylogenetic tree showed that A/duck/Guizhou/013/2014 and Hunan strains located in the same branch,while three duck-origin H6N6 subtype AIV isolated from Guizhou in 2007 and A/duck/Guizhou/013/2014 located in the different branch for HA and NA genes in genetic evolution,which suggested that A/duck/Guizhou/013/2014 was far with the local H6N6 subtype.The results also clearly indicated that duck-origin H6N6 subtype AIV had genetic diversity in duck population in Guizhou.     

猪繁殖与呼吸综合征病毒分离株E11105 N基因的序列分析与原核表达

为研究PRRSV N蛋白的结构、功能以及N蛋白在病毒致病中的作用,以临床分离PRRSV毒株E11105为研究对象,采用Primer Premier 5.0设计一对特异性引物,经RT-PCR扩增出N基因片段,利用相关分子生物学软件对N基因序列进行分析;将N基因克隆连接到pColdⅠ原核表达载体上,经PCR、双酶切鉴定及序列测定后,得到重组质粒pColdⅠ-N,将pColdⅠ-N转入大肠埃希菌BL21(DE3)感受态细胞中,IPTG诱导表达后用SDS-PAGE蛋白电泳及Western blot验证分析。结果显示,分离株E11105N基因与北美洲型代表株VR-2332、欧洲型代表株Lelystad virus(LV)、中国2006年暴发的高致病性PRRSV代表株JXA1、中国代表株CH-1a的核苷酸序列同源性分别为93.3%、34.7%、99.2%、95.4%,氨基酸序列同源性分别为94.4%、15.3%、94.4%、99.2%;系统进化树显示,E11105株N基因与美洲型代表株VR-2332、中国高致病性JXA1毒株的亲缘关系较近;分离株E11105N基因所编码蛋白不存在跨膜区;二级结构主要以α-螺旋和无规则卷曲为主,分别占20.33%和63.41%;预测该蛋白可能存在5个较为明显的B细胞优势抗原表位。SDS-PAGE蛋白电泳结果表明,重组N蛋白主要存在于菌体沉淀中,分子质量约为16.7ku;Western blot结果显示,带His标签的重组表达蛋白能被His单克隆抗体识别,显色后条带约为16.7ku,与SDS-PAGE蛋白电泳的条带大小一致。     

Impaired female fertility in tubulointerstitial antigen-like 1-deficient mice

Tubulointerstitial nephritis antigen-like 1 (Tinagl1, also known as adrenocortical zonation factor 1 [AZ-1] or lipocalin 7) is a matricellular protein. Previously, we demonstrated that Tinagl1 expression was restricted to extraembryonic regions during the postimplantation period and detected marked expression in mouse Reichert’s membranes. In uteri, Tinagl1 is markedly expressed in the decidual endometrium during the postimplantation period, suggesting that it plays a physical and physiological role in embryo development and/or decidualization of the uterine endometrium during pregnancy. In the present study, in order to determine the role of Tinagl1 during embryonic development and pregnancy, we generated Tinagl1-deficient mice. Although Tinagl1^–/– embryos were not lethal during development to term, homologous matings of Tinagl1^–/– females and Tinagl1^–/– males showed impaired fertility during pregnancy, including failure to carry pregnancy to term and perinatal lethality. To examine ovarian function, ovulation was induced with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG); the number of ovulated oocytes did not differ between Tinagl1^–/– and Tinagl1^flox/flox. In vitro fertilization followed by embryo culture also demonstrated the normal developmental potential of Tinagl1-null embryos during the preimplantation period. Our results demonstrate that Tinagl1 deficiency affects female mice and results in subfertility phenotypes, and they suggest that although the potential of Tinagl1^–/– oocytes is normal, Tinagl1 is related to fertility in adult females but is not essential for either fertilization or preimplantation development in vitro.