重组鸡β-防御素6基因的表达和生物学特性的研究

目的为开发中药防治畜禽沙门氏菌病,根据沙门氏菌病中兽医辩证进行中药组方,为今后畜禽养殖减抗限抗的替代疗法提供参考。方法采用倍比稀释法检测复方板蓝根口服液对鸡白痢沙门氏菌的最小抑菌质量浓度(minimum inhibitory concentration,MIC)和最小杀菌质量浓度(minimum bactericidal concentration,MBC),扫描电镜观察菌体形态变化。试验选取150羽1日龄雏鸡,随机取出30羽做空白组,其余120羽人工感染鸡白痢沙门氏菌,制备雏鸡感染模型。将感染雏鸡随机分为模型组、中药治疗组、西药治疗组和中药预防组,每组30羽。观察雏鸡的发病率及死亡率。于治疗后1、3和5 d检测血清中IL-1β和TNF-α的含量;实时荧光PCR检测禽β-防御素6 (avian beta-defensin 6,AvBD6) 和鸡Toll样受体15 (chicken toll-like receptor 15,ChTLR15) 在雏鸡小肠中的转录水平。结果体外试验结果显示：MIC和MBC分别为62.5和125 mg/mL;扫描电镜下可见菌体出现溢缩,断裂形成许多残体,形状不规则。中药预防组可降低雏鸡的发病率及死亡率。与模型组相比,中药预防组和中药治疗组均可降低IL-1β和TNF-α含量。而ChTLR15和AvBD6在感染初期表达量高,治疗后期趋于正常。结论复方板蓝根口服液对鸡白痢沙门氏菌有明显的抑制作用,其杀菌机制是通过改变菌体的形态结构使细菌丧失活性。试验证实复方板蓝根口服液可有效预防雏鸡沙门氏菌感染,并能有效降低体内炎性因子水平,减轻炎症反应。     

Second round of an interlaboratory comparison of SARS-CoV2 molecular detection assays used by 45 veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a continued public health challenge. Veterinary diagnostic laboratories in the United States use RT-rtPCR for animal testing, and many laboratories are certified for testing human samples; hence, ensuring that laboratories have sensitive and specific SARS-CoV2 testing methods is a critical component of the pandemic response. In 2020, the FDA Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN) led an interlaboratory comparison (ILC1) to help laboratories evaluate their existing RT-rtPCR methods for detecting SARS-CoV2. All participating laboratories were able to detect the viral RNA spiked in buffer and PrimeStore molecular transport medium (MTM). With ILC2, Vet-LIRN extended ILC1 by evaluating analytical sensitivity and specificity of the methods used by participating laboratories to detect 3 SARS-CoV2 variants (B.1; B.1.1.7 [Alpha]; B.1.351 [Beta]) at various copy levels. We analyzed 57 sets of results from 45 laboratories qualitatively and quantitatively according to the principles of ISO 16140-2:2016. More than 95% of analysts detected the SARS-CoV2 RNA in MTM at ≥500 copies for all 3 variants. In addition, for nucleocapsid markers N1 and N2, 81% and 92% of the analysts detected ≤20 copies in the assays, respectively. The analytical specificity of the evaluated methods was >99%. Participating laboratories were able to assess their current method performance, identify possible limitations, and recognize method strengths as part of a continuous learning environment to support the critical need for the reliable diagnosis of COVID-19 in potentially infected animals and humans.     

Assessment of the ultrasonographic characteristics of the podotrochlear apparatus in clinically normal horses and horses with navicular syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the podotrochlear apparatus in horses by use of standardized measurements and identify soft tissue changes associated with navicular syndrome. DESIGN: Prospective study. ANIMALS: 7 clinically normal horses and 28 horses with navicular syndrome. PROCEDURE: The feasibility of identifying and measuring the soft tissue structures of the podotrochlear apparatus ultrasonographically via the transcuneal approach was assessed in 2 additional horses without navicular syndrome; both horses were euthanatized, and the structures identified ultrasonographically were confirmed at necropsy. Ultrasonographs were obtained in the study horses. Objective and subjective data were obtained to characterize ultrasonographic changes associated with navicular syndrome. RESULTS: Abnormalities of the flexor surface of the distal sesamoid (navicular) bone, the impar ligament, the distal digital annular ligament, deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), and the podotrochlear (navicular) bursa were assessed via the transcuneal ultrasonographic approach. No significant differences were found between the measurements of the podotrochlear apparatus in normal horses and those with navicular syndrome; however, important subjective differences were detected ultrasonographically in horses with navicular syndrome. In horses with navicular syndrome, ultrasonographic findings were indicative of navicular bursitis, dystrophic mineralization of the DDFT and impar ligament, tendonitis and insertional tenopathy of the DDFT, desmitis of the impar ligament, and cortical changes in the flexor surface of the navicular bone. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Findings of ultrasonographic evaluation of the hoof appear to be useful in determining the cause of caudal heel pain and characterizing the components of navicular syndrome in horses.     

Malignant mediastinal extra-adrenal paraganglioma with spinal cord invasion in a dog.

A 1.5-year-old castrated, male, mixed-breed dog was evaluated because of a 2-week history of lethargy, stiffness, and progressive paraparesis. Spinal radiographs, myelography, and computed tomography of the region showed a locally invasive mass involving the thoracic wall. Upon necropsy, an encapsulated, fluctuant mass was noted attached to the right dorsal body wall in the region of the fifth to seventh thoracic vertebra. Churukian-Schenk staining revealed positive granules within the neoplastic cell cytoplasm and immunohistochemistry was positive for expression for cytoplasmic neuron-specific enolase and synaptophysin. Chromogranin A and S100 expression were found to be negative. Immunohistochemistry and silver staining did not allow further differentiation of the tumor, and the diagnosis remains consistent with either a chromaffin paraganglioma or a nonchromaffin paraganglioma (chemodectoma) with some production of catecholamines. Extra-adrenal paragangliomas are rare neoplasms in dogs but should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis for a primary paraspinal thoracic mass.