Dietary incorporation of feedstuffs naturally high in organic selenium for racing pigeons (Columba livia): effects on plasma antioxidant markers after a standardised simulation of a flying effort

Selenium is a trace element of importance for animal health. It is essential for adequate functioning of many enzymes such as, the antioxidant enzyme, glutathione peroxidase, which protects the cell against free radicals. A muscular effort induces a rise in reactive oxygen species production which, in turn, can generate an oxidative stress. Two groups of eight racing pigeons were fed respectively with a diet containing 30.3 (control group) and 195.3 (selenium group) μg selenium/kg diet. The pigeons were submitted to a standardised simulation of a flying effort during 2 h. Blood was taken before and after the effort to measure antioxidant markers and blood parameters related to muscle metabolism. Plasma selenium concentration and glutathione peroxidase activity were significantly higher in the selenium group. There were no significant differences for the other measured parameters. As a consequence of the effort, the pigeons of the selenium group showed a higher increase of glutathione peroxidase activity and a smaller increase of plasma lactate concentration. Variations because of the effort in the other markers were not significantly different between the two groups. It is concluded that the selenium status was improved with the feeding of feedstuffs high in Selenium.     

银翘天甘含药血清制备工艺的优化

本研究通过单因素试验和响应面分析设计优化银翘天甘醇提物制剂含药血清的制备工艺,研究采血时间、给药次数及给药浓度对小鼠血清中绿原酸含量的影响。结果表明,银翘天甘醇提物制剂含药血清最佳制备工艺条件为:给药浓度为0.024 g/mL,给药4次,于最后一次给药后33 min采血。此条件下含药血清中绿原酸含量达到33.34μg/mL。     

外源NO对NaCl胁迫下燕麦幼苗氧化损伤的缓解效应

以加燕2号为试验材料,用一氧化氮（NO）供体硝普钠（SNP）、NO清除剂牛血红蛋白（Hb）及SNP类似物亚铁氰化钠处理燕麦植株,研究NO对NaCl胁迫下燕麦幼苗生长和氧化损伤的缓解效应。结果表明,NaCl胁迫下添加外源NO提高了燕麦幼苗的株高,提高了SOD、POD、CAT和APX活性,降低自由基含量和膜脂过氧化程度,表明外源NO能缓解NaCl胁迫诱导的氧化损伤,增强植株的耐盐性。NO供体SNP的类似物亚铁氰化钠（不产生NO）对NaCl胁迫燕麦植株的株高和氧化伤害无缓解效应;施用Hb提高了自由基含量,降低了抗氧化酶活性,而添加外源NO能缓解Hb对燕麦生长的抑制,表明内源NO也可能参与燕麦幼苗耐盐性的调节。     

Immunopathology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dirofilaria immitis</Emphasis> Infection

Heartworm disease caused by Dirofilaria immitis affects canine and feline hosts, with infections occasionally being reported in humans. Studies have shown that both dirofilarial antigens and those derived from its bacterial endosymbiont Wolbachia, interact with the host organism during canine, feline and human infections and participate in the development of the pathology and in the regulation of the host’s immune response. Both innate and acquired immune responses are observed and the development of the acquired response may depend on the host and, or on its parasitological status. This review aims at illustrating current research on the role of both D. immitis and Wolbachia, in the immunology and immunopathology of dirofilariosis.     

Ascorbic acid ameliorates dysregulated folliculogenesis induced by mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in neonatal mouse ovaries via reducing ovarian oxidative stress

Phthalates, including di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP), are common industrial chemicals in the environment. Recent evidence indicates that DEHP and its active metabolite mono-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (MEHP) negatively modulate reproductive functions and induce reactive oxygen species. Ascorbic acid (AA) is a dietary requirement for primates, and it acts as a potent free radical scavenger to protect tissues against oxidative stress. In this study, to investigate the toxic effects of MEHP on the follicle development and the beneficial role of AA, neonatal mouse ovaries were treated with different concentrations of MEHP with or without AA for 6 days. Then, the follicle constitution and oxidative status were compared in different groups. Results showed MEHP accelerated primordial follicle recruitment by increasing the percentage of primary and secondary follicles and decreasing the percentage of primordial follicles in the ovaries. Moreover, MEHP-induced ovarian oxidative stress by significantly increasing malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and the expression of GSS and SOD1. When ovaries were co-administrated with MEHP and AA, follicle constitution was normalized, and the oxidative status was significantly decreased. These results suggested that AA ameliorated MEHP-induced ovarian oxidative stress and follicular dysregulation, which attested the clinical significance of AA for ovary protection in the case of MEHP exposure.     

Tulathromycin enhances humoral but not cellular immune response in pigs vaccinated against swine influenza

The effect of a standard, single dose therapy with tulathromycin was investigated on the postvaccinal humoral and cellular immune response in pigs vaccinated against swine influenza. Forty‐five pigs, divided into 3 groups, were used (control not vaccinated (C, n = 15), control vaccinated (CV, n = 15), and experimentally received tulathromycin (TUL, n = 15)). For vaccination of pigs, an inactivated, commercial vaccine was used. Pigs from TUL group received single dose of tulathromycin intramuscularly, at the recommended dose (2.5 mg/kg body weight). Pigs from TUL and CV groups were vaccinated at 8 and 10 weeks of age. The specific humoral and cellular immune response against swine influenza virus (SIV) was evaluated. The results of present study showed that humoral postvaccinal response after vaccination against SIV can be modulated by treatment with tulathromycin. In pigs from TUL group, the significantly higher titers of anti‐SIV‐specific antibodies were observed 4 and 6 weeks after booster dose of vaccine. Simultaneously, T‐cell‐mediated immune response against SIV was not affected by tulathromycin. Our recent study confirmed the importance of defining the modulatory activity of tulathromycin because of its influence on the immune response to vaccines. Since the antibodies against hemagglutinin are crucial for the protection against SIV, the present observations should prompt further studies on the practical significance of recent results in terms of clinical implications (postvaccinal protection) in the field conditions.     

lncRNA作为竞争性内源分子的作用机制及研究进展

竞争性内源RNA （competing endogenous RNA,ceRNA）假说提出具有相同短序列非编码微小（microRNA,miRNA）应答元件（microRNA response element,MRE）的转录物通过竞争的方式结合miRNA,从而影响转录物的表达水平。ceRNA假说颠覆了miRNA与靶基因单向调控的传统观念,在RNA调控网络中具有重要的生物学意义。在众多转录物中,长链非编码RNA （long non-coding RNA,lncRNA）是一类序列长度超过200个核苷酸的非编码RNA,对lncRNA的研究涉及到遗传、分子生物、基因调控、疾病（癌症、神经系统疾病等）等领域。miRNA与lncRNA形成了一个相互作用的调控网络,lncRNA可作为ceRNA抑制miRNA的功能,从而影响后续基因的表达。近年来,随着生物信息学技术的发展,科研人员发现ceRNA作用机制不仅涉及到人类癌症疾病,而且在各种复杂动物的肌细胞分化、脂肪细胞分化和颗粒细胞凋亡等生物过程中也发挥重要的调控作用。作者追溯了ceRNA调控机制,分析了ceRNA网络调控的影响因素,综述了ceRNA在不同动物中调控miRNA的研究进展,为进一步研究lncRNA与miRNA的调控网络提供参考,为畜牧业发展及复杂动物疾病治疗提供新的思路。     

Immune responses of orange-spotted grouper,Epinephelus coioides,against virus-like particles of betanodavirus produced in Escherichia coli

Betanodaviruses are the causative agents of viral nervous necrosis (VNN), a serious disease of cultured marine fish worldwide. Virus-like particles (VLPs) are one of the good novel vaccine candidates to control this disease. Until now, betanodavirus vaccine studies mainly focused on the humoral immune response and mortality after virus challenge. However, little is known about the activation of genes responsible for cellular and innate immunity by vaccines. In the present study, VLPs of orange-spotted grouper nervous necrosis virus (OGNNV) were produced in prokaryotes and their ability to enter Asian sea bass cells was the same as native virus, suggesting that they possess a similar structure to OGNNV. VLPs immunogenicity was then determined by intramuscularly vaccinating Epinephelus coioides at different concentrations (1.5 or 15 μg g^?1 fish body weight, FBW) and immunizing frequencies (administration once, twice and thrice). A single vaccination with the dosage of 1.5 μg g^?1 FBW is enough to provoke high titer antibodies (average 3 fold higher than that of negative control) with strong neutralizing antibody titer as early as 1 week post immunization. Furthermore, quantitative PCR analysis revealed that eleven genes associated with humoral, cellular and innate immunities were up-regulated in the liver, spleen and head kidney at 12 h post immunization, correlating with the early antibody response. In conclusion, we demonstrated that VLP vaccination induced humoral immune responses and activated genes associated with cellular and innate immunity against betanodavirus infection in orange-spotted grouper.     

辛硫磷慢性暴露对大鼠肝脏氧化应激的影响

本试验旨在研究辛硫磷(Phoxim)对大鼠的毒性作用,探讨辛硫磷中毒的氧化应激机制。将36只SD大鼠分成对照组和2个染毒组,染毒组大鼠分别以30(低剂量组)和300μmol/kg体重剂量(高剂量组)灌服辛硫磷,连续灌服153、0 d后,分别测定血浆和肝脏胆碱酯酶(ChE)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)活性和丙二醛(MDA)含量,并观察肝脏组织学变化。结果表明:辛硫磷染毒后大鼠血浆和肝脏ChE活性均极显著降低(P<0.01),尤其是高剂量染毒组,大鼠血浆ChE最大降低至对照组的22%,肝匀浆中ChE活性降低至对照组的75%。大鼠血浆和肝脏SOD、GSH-Px活性变化随染毒时间延长呈下降趋势,血浆和肝脏MDA含量均呈上升趋势。组织学检查显示辛硫磷可造成肝细胞脂肪变性。本研究表明,大鼠辛硫磷持续染毒可以诱导机体脂质过氧化增强,并导致肝脏结构损伤,说明氧化应激在辛硫磷的肝脏毒性中发挥着重要作用。     

抑制USP7活性对鸡抗沙门菌感染的影响

本研究旨在阐明去泛素酶USP7对雏鸡抵抗鼠伤寒沙门菌感染的影响。选用3日龄的白来航鸡40只,随机分为2组,每组20只,隔天腹腔注射USP7抑制剂P5091或对照溶剂,连续注射5次,待最后一次注射结束后第4天,对雏鸡人工口服感染鼠伤寒沙门菌,感染24 h后,采集样品,RT-qPCR检测IL-1β、IL-8、TNFα以及NF-κB的mRNA表达,平板涂布法检测雏鸡肝载菌量,H&E染色观察肝和肺的炎症状况。结果表明,P5091抑制USP7活性后,转录因子NF-κB mRNA水平显著降低,并且下游细胞因子IL-1β、IL-8以及TNF-α的表达均下调,雏鸡载菌量下降,H&E染色显示肝与肺炎症反应加剧。综上表明,USP7可能在机体抗沙门菌感染方面起重要作用。