犬新孢子虫NcSRS2基因真核表达质粒的构建

根据犬新孢子虫NcSRS2基因序列，设计了1对含有Kozak序列、PstⅠ和XbaⅠ酶切位点的引物，以含有NcSRS2基因的质粒P43为模板，经PCR扩增获得NcSRS2 ORF基因片段，用PstⅠ和XbaⅠ双酶切该片段，回收得到含有以上2个酶切位点黏端的NcSR2 ORF基因，将此基因片段克隆至相同酶切回收后的pcDNA3．1（＋）真核表达载体中，获得重组质粒pcNCSRS2。经PCR鉴定、限制性内切酶分析和克隆片段序列测定、比较，证实了重组质粒的正确性。     

Neospora caninum IgG avidity tests: an interlaboratory comparison

Avidity tests can be used to discriminate between cattle that are acutely and chronically infected with the intracellular parasite Neospora caninum. The aim of this study was to compare the IgG avidity ELISA tests being used in four European laboratories. A coded panel of 200 bovine sera from well documented naturally and experimentally N. caninum infected animals were analysed at the participating laboratories by their respective assay systems and laboratory protocols. Comparing the numeric test results, the concordance correlation coefficients were between 0.479 and 0.776. The laboratories categorize the avidity results into the classes “low” and “high” which are considered indicative of recent and chronic infection, respectively. Three laboratories also use an “intermediate” class. When the categorized data were analysed by Kappa statistics there was moderate to substantial agreements between the laboratories. There was an overall better agreement for dichotomized results than when an intermediate class was also used. Taken together, this first ring test for N. caninum IgG avidity assays showed a moderate agreement between the assays used by the different laboratories to estimate the IgG avidity. Our experience suggests that avidity tests are sometimes less robust than conventional ELISAs. Therefore, it is essential that they are carefully standardised and their performance continuously evaluated.     

牛源犬新孢子虫AMA1基因的原核表达及免疫原性分析

为了解牛源犬新孢子虫AMA1基因蛋白特性及免疫原性,本试验以重组质粒PVAX1-NcAMA1为模板,PCR扩增NcAMA1基因,亚克隆至pGEX-4T-1表达载体;表达、纯化NcAMA1重组蛋白,并应用弗氏佐剂制备NcAMA1重组蛋白亚单位疫苗,接种BALB/c小鼠,间接ELISA方法检测小鼠血清抗体水平,用ELISA方法检测IFN-γ、IL-4表达水平。结果显示,表达的NcAMA1重组蛋白相对分子质量约为94 000(GST约为26 000、NcAMA1约为68 000),NcAMA1重组蛋白亚单位疫苗接种BALB/c小鼠后,能够诱导BALB/c小鼠产生较高的体液免疫水平和细胞免疫水平。本研究为利用该重组蛋白建立免疫学诊断方法及制备抗犬新孢子虫新型亚单位疫苗奠定了基础。     

Construction and Analysis of Immune Response of Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii Cross Recombinant Adenovirus Antigen AMA1 Gene

In order to establish AMA1 recombinant adenovirus of Neospora caninum (N.caninum) and Toxoplasma gondii (T.gondii), and analyze the immunogenicity of it, cross universal primers were designed according to the open reading frame of N. caninum and T. gondii AMA1 gene sequences. Based on pMD18T-NcAMA1 and pMD18T-TgAMA1 cloning plasmid, recombinant adenovirus shuttle plasmid ADV4-Nc/TgAMA1 was constructed. Then, ADV4-Nc/TgAMA1 and pacAd5 backbone plasmid were linearized and co-transfected 293T cells. After packaging recombinant adenovirus and measuring the virus titer, collected virus was inoculated into BALB/c mice, confirmed the IgG antibody levels by indirect ELISA method. The results showed that Nc/TgAMA1 was expressed in Ad5-Nc/TgAMA1 recombinant adenovirus, Ad5-Nc/TgAMA1 recombinant adenovirus titer was 10⁹ PFU/mL. IgG antibody levels in the Ad5-Nc/TgAMA1 vaccinated group were significantly higher than pVAX1-Nc/TgAMA1 plasmid group and PBS control group. This result indicated that the constructed Ad5-Nc/TgAMA1 recombinant adenovirus could induce specific humoral immune response in mice, this research laid a solid foundation for the development of a recombinant adenovirus vaccine against N. caninum and T. gondii.     

新孢子虫荧光PCR检测方法的研究

根据已知的犬新孢子虫种属特异性基因片段Nc-5基因序列,设计荧光定量PCR引物和荧光探针,经反应条件的优化,建立了检测新孢子虫的荧光定量PCR方法。该方法的检测灵敏度为10拷贝/反应。通过对系列稀释的重组质粒进行重复性检测,Ct值的变异系数为0.50%~1.18%。应用该方法对50份牛全血和8份流产胎儿样本进行检测,有5份全血和1份流产胎儿样本为阳性,阳性检出率均为10.3%,比普通PCR方法阳性检出率（7%）高。且具有较好的特异性和可重复性,可用来对新孢子虫病快速准确检测。     

Udder health in dairy cattle infected with Neospora caninum

Blood samples were collected from 3449 cows on 57 representative Ontario dairy herds during the summer of 1998 and analysed for antibody to Neospora caninum using an ELISA. Forty-eight herds (2742 cattle) contained at least one N. caninum-seropositive animal. Two composite milk samples were collected from all cattle: the first on the day of blood collection and the second 68 to 365 days later. All milk samples were submitted for bacteriological culture. Ontario Dairy Herd Improvement Corporation (DHI) data were available for 3162 cattle in the 57 herds at the time of bleeding. Furthermore, complete DHI data were available for 1658 cattle that were culled between 12 and 24 months following blood collection. Using a standardised ELISA sample-to-positive (S/P) cut-off of ≥0.45, the corrected seroprevalence was 8.2% overall and 10.1% within seropositive herds. At blood collection the odds of N. caninum-seropositive cows having a high linear score (≥4.0; equivalent to a somatic cell count ≥200,000 cells/ml) was 27% less than for seronegative animals. Similarly, at the time of culling, the odds of having a high linear score was 22% less in N. caninum-seropositive cattle. Overall, linear score was lower in N. caninum-seropositive cattle at culling. After controlling for herd, parity, days in milk, and the interval between collection of milk samples, the odds of N. caninum-seropositive cattle testing positive for an environmental pathogen (i.e. environmental Streptococcus species and coliforms) on the second milk sample was 56% less than for seronegative animals. The odds were 83% less at a higher ELISA S/P cut-off of ≥0.70. Finally, the odds of N. caninum-seropositive cattle developing a new infection with a major pathogen (environmental or contagious) were 60% less than seronegative cows using the higher ELISA S/P cut-off.     

犬复孔绦虫病调查与研究

犬复孔绦虫病是一种人畜共患病 ,与接触犬、猫等动物有关。经过对患有犬复孔绦虫病的患者诊断治疗 ,结果表明 ,用中药驱虫可获得理想的治疗效果     

ELISA法筛选抗新孢子虫中药的研究(英文)

[Objective] The study was to screen the Chinese medicines with good resistance to Neospora caninum. [Method] Healthy Kunming mice pretreated with methylprednisolone for the purpose of immunity decrease were randomly divided into 15 groups, and each mouse was intraperitoneally inoculated with 1.0 ×104 N. caninum. Four hours later, the mice were gavaged with various Chinese medicines. Seven days post-administration, eyeball blood sampling was conducted and the serum was used for antibody level detection with ELISA method. [Result] Four among the 15 Chinese medicines showed lower antibody positive rates. [Conclusion] Scutellaria baicalensis, Stemona sessilifolia, Gastrodia elata and Coptis chinensis could enhance the immunity level of mice infected by N. caninum.     

Antibody responses in pregnancy-induced transmammary transmission of Ancylostoma caninum hookworm larvae.

Third stage larvae of the Ancylostoma caninum hookworm nematode have the capacity to infect a dog, abort the normal maturation pathway to become blood-feeding intestinal worms, and instead distribute throughout the body in a developmentally arrested state that is relatively resilient to most chemotherapeutic agents. During pregnancy, a percentage of the arrested larvae reactivate and transmit via the mammary glands to infect the nursing puppies with resulting iron-deficiency anemia and potential mortality. To determine if the suppression of parasite-specific antibody responses during pregnancy facilitates the reactivation and transmammary transfer of hookworm larvae, a murine model of A. caninum infection was used to compare the infected versus uninfected animals that were either bred or not bred. Initial comparisons of genetically divergent BALB/c versus C57BL/6 mice showed that both the strains mounted strong Th2 biased IgG1and IgE antibody responses to A. caninum infection. Using the BALB/c strain for the breeding analyses, it was confirmed that larval transfer to the mouse pups only occurred during the post-partum lactational period. In the dams, levels of total and antigen-specific IgG1 and total IgE were highly correlated with parasite burden. During most phases of pregnancy and lactation, infected dams had lower total IgG1, IgG2a and IgE levels as compared to unbred mice at comparable times post-infection; this downward modulation of antibody responses supports the established dogma of a generalized immunosuppression associated with pregnancy. However, at parturition and post-partum lactation, antigen-specific IgG1 levels measured at 1 : 5000 serum dilutions were comparable between bred and unbred mice, and antigen-specific IgG2a levels at 1 : 100 serum dilutions were also not significantly different except for a marginal reduction in the bred mice at the lactational timepoint. The comparable anti-A. caninum IgG1 levels between bred and unbred mice, and low correlation between IgG2a levels and larval burden suggest that parasite-specific antibody responses do not play a major role in the pregnancy-associated transmammary transmission of A. caninum larvae. This conclusion does not rule out the possibility that underlying fluxes in the levels of specific cytokines associated with pregnancy and infection may be involved in the process of larval reactivation and transmission.     

Associations of Neospora caninum seropositivity with gestation number and pregnancy outcome in Danish dairy herds.

The prevalence and distribution of seropositivity towards the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum were studied in single blood samples from 1561 cows from 31 Danish dairy herds. Blood samples were analysed by an indirect enzyme-linked immunoassay and an indirect fluorescent-antibody test. Seroprevalence in 15 herds with previous abortions assigned to neosporosis ranged from 1% to 58%, with a mean frequency of 22%. In eight out of 16 herds without a history of N. caninum related abortions, no seroreactors were found. In the remaining eight herds, the seroprevalence ranged from 6% to 59%. The prevalence and distribution of seropositivity, gestation number prior to sampling, and breed were related to abortions and perinatal deaths using a random-effects logistic-regression model. Abortion risk was significantly increased in seropositive animals (OR=3) and in 2nd-gestation cows (OR=3). Perinatal death was significantly influenced by gestation number and breed, but not by serostatus. Reproductive performance and culling risk of cows were not affected by serostatus. Seropositivity increased with “age” (i.e. gestation number) (P=0.02). In open cows, seropositivity tended to decrease with distance from calving (P=0.05). The proportion of seropositive pregnant cows increased with trimester (P=0.02).