Cytogenetic and hematological analyses were performed on the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) obtained from Korean native cattle bred in the vicinity of three nuclear power plants (Wolsong, Uljin and Yeonggwang) and in a control area. The micronucleus (MN) rates for the cattle from the Wolsong, Uljin and Yeonggwang nuclear power plants and for the control area were 9.87 +/- 2.64, 8.90 +/- 3.84, 9.20 +/- 3.68 and 9.60 +/- 3.91 per 1,000 cytokinesis-blocked lymphocytes, respectively. The apparent difference is not statistically significant. The MN frequencies of PBLs from cattle bred in the four areas are within the background variation for this study. The MN frequencies and hematological values were similar regardless of whether the cattle were bred near a nuclear power plant or in the control area.
Animals ; Blood Cell Count/veterinary ; Cattle/*blood ; Cytokinesis ; Hematocrit/veterinary ; Hemoglobins/analysis ; Lymphocytes/cytology/*radiation effects ; Micronucleus Tests/*veterinary ; *Power Plants ; Radioactive Pollutants/pharmacology

The antigenicity of Photobacterium damselae (Ph. d.)subsp. piscicida, cultured in four different growth media[tryptone soya broth (TSB), glucose-rich medium (GRM),iron-depleted TSB (TSB+IR-), and iron-depleted GRM(GRM+IR-)] was compared by enzyme-linked immuno-sorbent assay (ELISA) and Western blot analysis usingsera obtained from sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) raisedagainst live or heat-killed Ph. d. subsp. piscicida. Theantigenic expression of Ph. d. subsp. piscicida was found todiffer depending on the culture medium used. A significantlyhigher antibody response was obtained with iron-depletedbacteria by ELISA compared with non-iron depletedbacteria obtained from the sera of sea bass raised againstlive Ph. d. subsp. piscicida. The sera from sea bass raisedagainst live bacteria showed a band at 22kDa in bacteriacultured in TSB+IR- or GRM+IR- when bacteria thathad been freshly isolated from fish were used for thescreening, while bands at 24 and 47kDa were observedwith bacteria cultured in TSB or GRM. When bacteriawere passaged several times on tryptic soya agar prior toculturing in the four different media, only bands at 24 and47kDa were recognized, regardless of the medium used toculture the bacteria. It would appear that the molecularweight of Ph. d. subsp. piscicida antigens change in thepresence of iron restriction, and sera from sea bassinfected with live bacteria are able to detect epitopes onthe antigens after this shift in molecular weight.
Animals ; Antibodies, Bacterial/blood ; Antigens, Bacterial/immunology/*metabolism ; Bass/blood/*immunology ; Blotting, Western/veterinary ; Cell Count/methods ; Culture Media ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Fish Diseases/immunology/*microbiology ; Molecular Weight ; Pasteurella Infections/immunology/microbiology/*veterinary ; Photobacterium/*immunology

Mucosal mast cell-derived chondroitin sulphates (sulphated proteoglycans) were assayed in gut washings and homogenate of FcRgamma-knockout (KO) and wild-type (WT) C57BL/6 mice challenged with Strongyloides venezuelensis in order to assess their possible role in secondary immunity against enteric nematodes. Groups of immune KO and WT mice were challenged by oral gavage with 300 infective larvae (L3). Establishment of infection was assessed by daily faecal analysis to determine the number of eggs per gram of faeces (EPG) and by adult worm recovery on days 5 and 13 post challenge. Mucosal mast cell (MMC) counts were done on days 5 and 13 post challenge while MMC-derived chondroitin sulphates in gut washings (days 1 and 5) and homogenate (day 8) were assayed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results showed that patent infection occurred in challenged KO but not WT mice despite significantly higher mastocytosis in jejunal sections of KO than WT mice (p<0.001). Similarly but against prediction, significantly higher concentration of MMC-derived chondroitin sulphates was observed in gut homogenate of KO than WT mice (p<0.05). In contrast, significantly higher concentration of chondroitin sulphates was observed in gut washings of WT than KO mice (p<0.05). These results suggest that MMC in KO mice failed to release sufficient amount of sulphated proteoglycans into the gut lumen as did the WT mice, which may have been part of the hostile environment that prevented the establishment in and eventual expulsion of adult S. venezuelensis from the gut of WT mice following challenge.
Animals ; Cell Count/veterinary ; Chondroitin Sulfates/*immunology/metabolism ; Chymases ; Feces/parasitology ; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/immunology/*veterinary ; Intestinal Mucosa/cytology/immunology/parasitology ; Jejunum/cytology/immunology/parasitology ; Male ; Mast Cells/immunology/metabolism/*parasitology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Mice, Knockout ; Parasite Egg Count/veterinary ; Receptors, IgG/*immunology ; Serine Endopeptidases/blood/immunology ; Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms ; Strongyloides/*immunology ; Strongyloidiasis/immunology/parasitology/*veterinary

Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is a common infectious agent of bovine chronic mastitis, a disease that is difficult to eradicate. The abilities of Staphylococci to be internalized and form a biofilm can contribute to host immunological defence evasion that subsequently impairs antimicrobial therapy. The invasive capability of six S. aureus field isolates with different biofilm-forming profiles was compared in vitro using a bovine mammary epithelial cell line. This was further confirmed in primary cell cultures using fluorescent rRNA probes against S. aureus. The results suggest that S. aureus invasion levels are not related to biofilm formation.
Animals ; *Biofilms ; Cattle ; Cell Line ; Colony Count, Microbial/veterinary ; Epithelial Cells/microbiology ; Female ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence ; Mastitis, Bovine/*microbiology ; Portugal ; Staphylococcal Infections/*veterinary ; Staphylococcus aureus/classification/genetics/immunology/*physiology ; Virulence Factors/i

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis was induced in macaques. T cell clones infiltrated into the brain lesion area were compared with those in blood. Intradermal immunization of macaques with brain white matter derived from healthy macaque in combination with pertussis toxin, induced neurological symptoms in two macaques. One died on day 25 after immunization, whereas the other survived. Gross examination of the brain from the dead macaque, showed clear hemorrhagic lesions in the white matter. Hematological analysis showed that drastic T cell response was induced in macaques immunized with white matter, but not in control macaques. Flow cytometric analysis of blood cells from the affected macaques demonstrated an increase of CD4 and CD8 T cell populations expressing the CD69 early activation marker. Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of T cell receptor beta chain showed T cell clones infiltrated into the brain lesion, which were different from those found in the peripheral blood of the same monkey. The present paper shows that SSCP analysis of TCR is useful in studying clonality of T cells infiltrating into the brain tissue of macaque with EAE.
Animals ; Antigens, CD3/analysis ; Disease Models, Animal ; Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental/immunology/*pathology ; Flow Cytometry/veterinary ; Leukocyte Count/veterinary ; *Macaca fascicularis ; Male ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ; Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta/genetics ; T-Lymphocytes/cytology/immunology

Bovine mastitis is an infectious disease with a major economic influence on the dairy industry worldwide. Many factors such as environment, pathogen, and host affect susceptibility or resistance of an individual cow to bovine mastitis. Recently, there has been considerable interest in defining genetic and immunological markers that could be used to select for improved disease resistance. In this study we have analyzed the lymphocyte subpopulations of mastitis-resistant and susceptible cows using monoclonal antibodies specific for bovine leukocyte differentiation antigens and flow cytometry. We have also used a microarray typing technique to define the bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA) class I and class II haplotypes associated with resistance or susceptibility to bovine mastitis. A striking finding of the present study is that susceptibility to mastitis was associated with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) haplotypes that have only a single set of DQ genes. The study also revealed that susceptible cows had CD4:CD8 ratios of less than one in both their mammary gland secretions and peripheral blood. These results raise the possibility that the number of DQ genes that a cow has and/or a cow's CD4:CD8 ratio could be used as indicators of susceptibility to bovine mastitis.
Alleles ; Animals ; Antigens, Differentiation/immunology ; Cattle ; Cell Count/veterinary ; Female ; Flow Cytometry/veterinary ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Histocompatibility Antigens/genetics/immunology ; Korea ; Leukocytes, Mononuclear/cytology/*immunology/microbiology ; Lymphocyte Subsets/*immunology/microbiology ; Mastitis, Bovine/genetics/*immunology/microbiology ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis/veterinary ; Statistics, Nonparametric

This study evaluated how predictive the California Mastitis Test (CMT) is for sub-clinical mastitis under tropical smallholder dairy production conditions in Kenya. It intended to establish whether the CMT usage could be contributing to misdiagnosis and consequent mistreatment with animal drugs resulting in residue problems. Milk samples (n = 239) were aseptically collected from lactating cows in the Rift Valley of Kenya and tested using the CMT, somatic cell counts (SCC) and bacterial culture. The samples were also screened for violative drug residues using the commercial delvo test and compared to the milks mastitic status for possible association. There was a numerical but non-significant (p > 0.05) difference evident in the frequencies observed using the three different mastitis indicators. The prevalent bacterial species isolated from mammary glands with subclinical mastitis were Staphylococcus aureus (45.6%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (13.0%), Streptococci (11.7%) and Escherichia coli 5.9%. There was an overall poor but significant (p < 0.05) correlation between the CMT and the violative antimicrobial residues in samples from all quarters, infected and non-infected respectively. The results suggest that the CMT use amongst the smallholder dairy sector as a mastitic indicator may not be a risk factor in violative antimicrobial residues problems in milk.
Animals ; Anti-Infective Agents/*chemistry ; Cattle ; Cell Count/veterinary ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dairying ; Drug Residues/*chemistry ; Escherichia coli/isolation&purification ; Female ; Kenya ; Mastitis, Bovine/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Milk/chemistry/cytology/*microbiology ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic/standards/*veterinary ; Rural Population ; Staphylococcus aureus/isolation&purification ; Streptococcus/isolation&purification ; Tropical Climate