Changes of IFN-γ, IL-6 and TNF-α levels in rats with severe pneumonia

AIM:To study the variety of cytokines in severe bacterial pneumonia of Sprague Dawleg (SD) rats. METHODS:A total of 60 SD rats were randomly divided into three groups: model Ⅰ group (n=24), model Ⅱ group (n=24), and control group (n=12). Rats in the model Ⅰ group and the model Ⅱ group were intratracheally instilled with suspension of klebsiella pneumoniae at different doses. Rats in the control group were intratracheally injected with 1 mL saline. On the 2nd, 4th and 6th day after intratracheal instillation, 1/3 rats in each group were killed to determine the concentration of IFN-γ, IL-6 and TNF-α in blood. RESULTS:The levels of IL-6 and TNF-α in model groups were higher than those in control group, while the level of IFN-γ was lower. The change of cytokines was more significant in the model Ⅱ group (severe pneumonia) than those in the model Ⅰ group. CONCLUSION:The cytokines we studied may play an important role in the pathogenesis of severe pneumonia. The change of cytokines is more significant in severe pneumonia than those in common pneumonia.     

草鱼IFNa和IFNd重组蛋白表达、纯化及单克隆抗体制备

为系统研究草鱼I型干扰素的合成、分泌和免疫功能,本研究在大肠杆菌中表达并提纯了草鱼IFNa（CiIFNa）和IFNd（CiIFNd）重组蛋白。将CiIFNa和CiIFNd成熟肽分别克隆到pET-21d或pEHISTEVb表达载体上,并转化到大肠杆菌中;IPTG诱导表达得到CiIFNa和CiIFNd成熟肽的包涵体,经过盐酸胍变性、蛋白复性和浓缩后,利用AKTA分子筛层析获得了纯度较高的重组蛋白。用重组蛋白免疫小鼠,通过PEG法诱导得到杂交瘤细胞;将稳定分泌抗体的阳性细胞株的细胞悬液注射入小鼠腹腔,制备腹水抗体并进行纯化。本研究纯化了草鱼CiIFNa和CiIFNd各2株抗体,并采用SDS-PAGE、ELISA、Western blot和免疫荧光法对其进行了较全面的鉴定。研究结果表明CiIFNa和CiIFNd单克隆抗体特异性好、效价高,能够特异识别在大肠杆菌和真核细胞中表达的重组蛋白,且不存在CiIFNa和CiIFNd分子间的交叉识别。本研究制备的单克隆抗体为深入研究草鱼干扰素的细胞来源和蛋白表达规律奠定基础。     

Oral Recombinant Feline Interferon-Omega as an alternative immune modulation therapy in FIV positive cats: Clinical and laboratory evaluation

Recombinant-Feline Interferon-Omega (rFeIFN-ω) is an immune-modulator licensed for use subcutaneously in Feline Immunodeficiency virus (FIV) therapy. Despite oral protocols have been suggested, little is known about such use in FIV-infected cats. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical improvement, laboratory findings, concurrent viral excretion and acute phase proteins (APPs) in naturally FIV-infected cats under oral rFeIFN-ω therapy (0.1 MU/cat rFeIFN-ω PO, SID, 90 days). 11 FIV-positive cats were treated with oral rFeIFN-ω (PO Group). Results were compared to previous data from 7 FIV-positive cats treated with the subcutaneous licensed protocol (SC Group). Initial clinical scores were similar in both groups. Independently of the protocol, rFeIFN-ω induced a significant clinical improvement of treated cats. Concurrent viral excretion and APP’s variation were not significant in the PO Group. Oral rFeIFN-ω can be an effective alternative therapy for FIV-infected cats, being also an option for treatment follow-up in cats submitted to the licensed protocol.     

Npro of Bungowannah virus exhibits the same antagonistic function in the IFN induction pathway than that of other classical pestiviruses

Bungowannah virus is the most divergent atypical pestivirus that had been detected up to now, and does not fit into any of the four approved species: Bovine viral diarrhea virus type 1 (BVDV-1) and type 2 (BVDV-2), Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and Border disease virus (BDV). However, the presence of N^pro and E^rns coding regions, which are unique to pestiviruses, provides clear evidence of a pestivirus. Nevertheless, the amino acid identity of Bungowannah virus N^pro and BVDV-1 N^pro (strain CP7) is only 51.5%. By using a BVDV-1 backbone, a novel chimeric construct was generated, in which the genomic region encoding the non-structural protein N^pro was replaced by that of Bungowannah virus (CP7_N^pro-Bungo). In vitro studies of CP7_N^pro-Bungo revealed autonomous replication with the same efficacy as the BVDV backbone CP7 and infectious high-titer virus could be collected. In order to compare the ability of interferon (IFN) suppression, two reporter gene assays, specific for type-I IFN, were carried out. In virus-infected cells, no significant difference in blocking of IFN expression between the parental virus CP7, Bungowannah virus and the chimeric construct CP7_N^pro-Bungo could be detected. In contrast, an N^pro deletion mutant showed an impaired replication in bovine cells and a marked type-I IFN response.Taken together, our findings reveal the compatibility of non-structural protein N^pro of atypical Bungowannah virus with a BVDV type 1 backbone and its characteristic feature as an inhibitor of type-I IFN induction with an inhibitor-activity comparable to other pestiviruses.     

HBV衣壳蛋白装配抑制剂的研究进展

乙型肝炎病毒(HBV)是一种常见的嗜肝性病原体,全球约有4亿人感染,带来严重的社会问题和经济负担。虽然目前已有预防和治疗HBV的药物,但由于耐药性等问题不能彻底清除病毒感染,新药开发依然迫在眉睫。介绍了HBV的病毒结构、复制和感染过程,对现有治疗药物的优缺点进行了总结。对以衣壳蛋白装配为靶点的新药研究进展进行综述,旨在为今后开发抗HBV的新药提供参考。     

Induction of interferon production in mice by delipidated whole cells and fractions of the aerobic corynebacterium, Corynebacterium catarrhalis

The i.v. or i.p. injection of delipidated whole cells of an aerobic Corynebacterium, designated as C. catarrahalis, resulted in the production of a low titre of interferon in mice. Two fractions, a particulate fraction, designated as CBA p40, and a soluble fraction, designated as CBA LS, could be isolated from the delipidated whole cells and were found to lead to the formation of more or less high interferon levels according to the route of administration. Furthermore, the CBA p40 fraction, when injected i.p., elicited the production of a maximum titre of interferon at the 24th hour (viral-like interferon).     

Therapeutic effects of recombinant feline interferon-omega on feline leukemia virus (FeLV)-infected and FeLV/feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)-coinfected symptomatic cats

The clinical efficacy of a recombinant feline interferon, rFeIFN-omega, was evaluated for the treatment of cats presented with clinical signs associated with feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infection and FeLV/feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) coinfection in the field. In this multicentric, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 81 cats meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly placed into 2 groups and treated subcutaneously with rFelFN-omega (1 million [M]U/kg per day) or placebo once daily for 5 consecutive days in 3 series (day 0, 14, 60). The cats were monitored for up to 1 year for clinical signs and mortality. During the initial 4-month period, interferon (IFN)-treated cats (n = 39) had significantly reduced clinical scores compared with placebo (n = 42), with all cats having received concomitant supportive therapies. Compared with the control, the IFN-treated group showed significantly lower rates of mortality: 39% versus 59% (1.7-fold higher risk of death for controls) at the 9-month time point and 47% versus 59% (1.4-fold higher risk of death for controls) at the 12-month time point. The IFN treatment was associated with minor but consistent improvement in abnormal hematologic parameters (red blood cell count, packed cell volume, and white blood cell count), apparently underlying the positive effects of IFN on clinical parameters. These data demonstrate that rFeIFN-omega initially has statistically significant therapeutic effects on clinical signs and later on survival of cats with clinical signs associated with FeLV infection and FeLV/FIV coinfection.     

Uterine biology in pigs and sheep

There is a dialogue between the developing conceptus (embryo-fetus and associated placental membranes) and maternal uterus which must be established during the peri-implantation period for pregnancy recognition signaling, implantation, regulation of gene expression by uterine epithelial and stromal cells, placentation and exchange of nutrients and gases. The uterus provide a microenvironment in which molecules secreted by uterine epithelia or transported into the uterine lumen represent histotroph required for growth and development of the conceptus and receptivity of the uterus to implantation. Pregnancy recognition signaling mechanisms sustain the functional lifespan of the corpora lutea (CL) which produce progesterone, the hormone of pregnancy essential for uterine functions that support implantation and placentation required for a successful outcome of pregnancy. It is within the peri-implantation period that most embryonic deaths occur due to deficiencies attributed to uterine functions or failure of the conceptus to develop appropriately, signal pregnancy recognition and/or undergo implantation and placentation. With proper placentation, the fetal fluids and fetal membranes each have unique functions to ensure hematotrophic and histotrophic nutrition in support of growth and development of the fetus. The endocrine status of the pregnant female and her nutritional status are critical for successful establishment and maintenance of pregnancy. This review addresses the complexity of key mechanisms that are characteristic of successful reproduction in sheep and pigs and gaps in knowledge that must be the subject of research in order to enhance fertility and reproductive health of livestock species.     

Effects of p204 expression on expression of p21 and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in rats

AIM: To observe the effect of interferon-inducible protein 204 (p204) on the expression of p21 and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in rats. METHODS: Interferon alpha (IFN-α) and small interference RNA (siRNA) targeting p204 gene ( Ifi204 ) was used to intervene cultured VSMCs in vitro instantaneously, then the cell vitality was determined by MTT assay to reflect the cell proliferation. The cell cycle was analyzed by flow cytometry. The expression of p204 and p21 at mRNA and protein levels was determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and Western blotting. RESULTS: In rat VSMCs, IFN-α induced the increase in the expression of p204 at mRNA and protein levels, reduced the cell vitality and the G₁/S phase transition, and up-regulated the expression of p21 at mRNA and protein levels. Transfection of Ifi204 siRNA restrained the expression of p204 and p21, increased the cell vitality and promoted the G₁/S phase transition. CONCLUSION: The expression of p204 restrains the proliferation of rat VSMCs, probably by activating the expression of p21.     

Pregnancy recognition signaling mechanisms in ruminants and pigs

Maternal recognition of pregnancy refers to the requirement for the conceptus（embryo and its associated extraembryonic membranes） to produce a hormone that acts on the uterus and/or corpus luteum（CL） to ensure maintenance of a functional CL for production of progesterone;the hormone required for pregnancy in most mammals.The pregnancy recognition signal in primates is chorionic gonadotrophin which acts directly on the CL via luteinizing hormone receptors to ensure maintenance of functional CL during pregnancy.In ruminants,interferon tau（IFNT） is the pregnancy recognition signal.IFNT is secreted during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy and acts on uterine epithelia to silence expression of estrogen receptor alpha and oxytocin receptor which abrogates the oxytocin-dependent release of luteolytic pulses of prostaglandin F2-alpha（PGF） by uterine epithelia;therefore,the CL continues to produce progesterone required for pregnancy.Pig conceptuses secrete interferon delta and interferon gamma during the peri-implantation period of pregnancy,but there is no evidence that they are involved in pregnancy recognition signaling.Rather,pig conceptuses secrete abundant amounts of estrogens between Days 11 to 15 of pregnancy required for maternal recognition of pregnancy.Estrogen,likely in concert with prolactin,prevents secretion of PGF into the uterine venous drainage（endocrine secretion）,but maintains secretion of PGF into the uterine lumen（exocrine secretion） where it is metabolized to a form that is not luteolytic.Since PGF is sequestered within the uterine lumen and unavailable to induce luteolysis,functional CL are maintained for production of progesterone.In addition to effects of chorionic gonadotrophin,IFNT and estrogens to signal pregnancy recognition,these hormones act on uterine epithelia to enhance expression of genes critical for growth and development of the conceptus.