Inheritance of melanocytic lesions and their association with the white colour phenotype in miniature swine

A line of Munich Miniature Swine (MMS) Troll showing a high incidence of spontaneous benign and malignant cutaneous melanocytic lesions has been developed since 1986. The inheritance of cutaneous melanocytic lesions was studied by establishing the F₁-, F₂- and reciprocal B₁-generations with one melanoma MMS-Troll boar and four unaffected German Landrace sows as founders. A total of 176 animals were available, 27 in the F₁-, 111 in the F₂-, 19 in the B_1-DL-, and 14 in the B_1-Troll-generation. Benign melanocytic lesions were observed in 42% of F₁-, 18% of F₂-, 11% of B_1-DL- and 50% of B_1-Troll-animals. Malignant melanomas developed in 3.6% of F₂- and 7.1% of B_1-Troll-animals, although no animal with white coat colour was affected. A mixed major gene model with arbitrary gene action explained the segregation of benign lesions sufficiently well. For melanomas a mixed major gene model required additional dominant acting suppressor loci to obtain a sufficient fit to the data. An influence of SLA haplotypes on the penetrance of melanocytic lesions was not evident. The association analysis of the white phenotypes strongly indicated that the dominant allele I at the I-locus suppresses malignant melanocytic lesions. A possible explanation is the lack of melanocytes in the skin of dominant white pigs caused by a mutation of the KIT-gene, which leads to a failure of melanoblast migration and development.     

Expression of porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) in melanomas of Munich miniature swine (MMS) Troll

Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) are integrated in the genome of all pig breeds. Since some of them are able to infect human cells, they might represent a risk for xenotransplantation using pig cells or organs. However, the expression and biological role of PERVs in healthy pigs as well as in porcine tumours is largely unknown. Since we and others have recently shown overexpression of a human endogenous retrovirus, HERV-K, in human melanomas, we studied the expression of PERVs in melanomas of selectively bred Munich miniature swine (MMS) Troll. This breeding herd of MMS Troll is characterised by a high prevalence of melanomas, which histologically resemble various types of cutaneous melanomas in humans. Several genetic factors have been defined when studying inheritance of melanomas and melanocytic nevi in MMS Troll. Here we show that the polytropic PERV-A and PERV-B as well as the ecotropic PERV-C are present in the genome of all melanoma bearing MMS Troll investigated. Most interestingly, in the spleen, but not in other organs, recombinant PERV-A/C proviruses were found. PERV expression was found elevated in melanomas when compared to normal skin and viral proteins were expressed in melanomas and pulmonary metastasis-derived melanoma cell cultures. During passaging of these cells in vitro the expression of PERV mRNA and protein increased and virus particles were released as shown by RT activity in the supernatant and by electron microscopy. Genomic RNA of PERV-A, -B and -C were found in pelleted virus particles. Although PERV expression was elevated in melanomas and pulmonary metastasis-derived cell cultures, the function of the virus in tumour development is still unclear.     

牛附睾和附睾液分析与牛附睾尾精子在模拟附睾液中存活试验

[目的]新鲜精液在离开生殖腺后存活时间很短.相关研究表明副睾液为精子的存活提供了特殊的环境.试验探讨和研究牛附睾精子在体外模拟附睾液中的存活试验的各因素的影响.[方法]试验对公牛附睾头部和尾部的摩尔渗透压和蛋白质浓度进行了分析,牛附睾尾部精子在不同蛋白浓度的CEP-2溶液中,在4℃条件下孵育120h.每24h做一次精子活力检测.[结果]5 d后精子活力仍然超过60;.附睾头、尾部的渗透压分别为(287.0±13.7)mOsm和(310.8±17.0)mOsm.蛋白浓度分别为(37.43±12.55)mg/mL和(50.58±11.08)mg/mL.[结论]附睾尾精子在蛋白浓度为40mg/mL,渗透压为345 mOsm时,精子存活率最高.     

Ant alarm pheromone activity: correlation with molecular shape by scanning computer

The ant Iridomyrmex pruinosus utilizes 2-heptanone as an alarm pheromone. The activities of 49 ketones and 35 nonketones as alarm pheromones for this species were determined. The molecular shapes of these compounds were assessed by submitting silhouette photographs of their molecular models to a pattern recognition machine. A highly significant correlation exists between molecular shape and alarm activity.     

Genomic hypomethylation in neoplastic cells from dogs with malignant lymphoproliferative disorders

DNA methylation is an epigenetic modification in which a methyl group is added usually to the fifth carbon position of a cytosine residue. Dysregulation of this process is an important molecular event which has been shown to be associated with neoplastic transformation and tumour progression in humans and mice. Features of methylation dysregulation in many different types of neoplasms include general genomic hypomethylation, focal hypermethylation, and altered expression of genes which encode a series of DNA (cytosine-5) methyltransferases. Interestingly, many types of neoplasia that are recognised in humans also develop spontaneously in the dog. By comparing the restriction patterns of MspI and HpaII, this study demonstrates that as in human, genomic hypomethylation is a feature of neoplastic cells in the majority of canine lymphoma cases and approximately one-third of canine leukemia cases confirming that dysregulation of the DNA methylating machinery is implicated in malignant transformation of lymphoid cells in some dogs.     

Neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis in Borderdale sheep

AIM: To describe the gross and histological lesions of a neurological disease in Borderdale sheep characterised clinically by blindness and circling, as a basis to its classification. METHODS: Formalin-fixed tissues were processed into paraffin wax and epoxy resin for light and electron microscopy of variously stained sections. RESULTS: Lesions were those of a lysosomal storage disease with severe neurodegeneration of the cerebral cortex. The staining reactions, autofluorescence and ultrastructure of storage material allowed the diagnosis of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis associated with the accumulation of subunit-c of mitochondrial ATP synthase. CONCLUSIONS: The severity of neurodegeneration and minor differences in the ultrastructure of storage material implied that this was a different disease from other forms of ovine ceroid-lipofuscinosis that accumulate subunit-c of mitochondrial ATP synthase. An autosomal recessive mode of inheritance is considered probable. Although of only minor economic importance, this disease may be important to research into the group of ceroid-lipofuscinoses as a whole.