Hopperlarson6050

These data indicate that SD reduces digestive function but does not reduce ex vivo intestinal integrity. Further, replacement of insoluble fiber with highly fermentable fibers mitigated and delayed the onset of SD.In this study, we demonstrated for the first time in Italy, the serological cross-reactivity between Bovine alphaherpesvirus 2 (BoHV-2) and Bovine alphaherpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1). Five months after arriving at a performance test station in Central Italy, a 6-month-old calf, which was part of a group of 57 animals, tested positive for BoHV-1 in a commercial gB-ELISA test. It was immediately transferred to the quarantine unit and subjected to clinical observation and serological and virological investigations. During this period, the calf showed no clinical signs. The results from laboratory investigations demonstrated the presence of antibodies via competitive glycoprotein B (gB) ELISAs, indirect BoHV-1 ELISAs, and indirect BoHV-2 ELISAs. Furthermore, the plaque reduction assay provided evidence for the presence of antibodies only for BoHV-2, whereas the virus neutralization test showed negative results for both BoHV-1 and BoHV-5. These findings strongly suggest the occurrence of a serological cross-reactivity between BoHV-2 and BoHV-1. Interference of BoHV-2 antibodies in serological BoHV-1 diagnostics should be considered during routine IBR tests, especially when animals are kept in a performance test station.Semen cryopreservation in South American camelids has a low efficiency. Post-thaw viability of sperm is low, and poor results are obtained when artificial insemination is performed with cryopreserved semen, impeding advances both in accelerated genetic progress and selection. This study aimed to describe the effect of a conventional method of camelid semen cryopreservation on the llama sperm ultrastructure during cooling and freezing, using transmission and scanning electron microscopy (TEM, SEM). Sperm motility, vigor, viability, and DNA integrity during those steps were also examined. Ejaculates from five fertile adult llama males were obtained by electroejaculation. For cooling, semen samples were washed with Hepes-balanced salt solution (HBSS), diluted in Tris-citric acid-fructose egg yolk extender (TCF-EY), and then cooled until 5°C for 24 h. For freezing, sperm samples were washed with HBSS, diluted in TCF-EY and cooled until 5°C for 2.5 h. Samples were equilibrated with TCF-EY, supplemented with 6% glyervation induced ultrastructural damages in llama sperm that initiated during cooling and intensified during freezing. These details provide valuable data for further studies to minimize cryodamage in camelid sperm.Exposure of Neospora caninum tachyzoites to BKI-1294 in vitro results in the formation of long-lived multinucleated complexes (MNCs). However, in vivo treatment of BALB/c mice with BKI-1294 shortly after N. caninum infection during pregnancy was safe and profoundly reduced pup mortality and vertical transmission. We hypothesized that the formation of MNCs could trigger immune responses that contribute to BKI efficacy in vivo. In this study, mice were first vaccinated with a sublethal dose of N. caninum tachyzoites and were treated with BKI-1294. We then investigated the effects of these treatments after mating and re-infection during pregnancy. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/amlexanox.html Effects on fertility, pup survival, vertical transmission, and parasite load in dams were evaluated. Cytokines in sera or splenocyte culture supernatants were assessed by either ELISA or the Luminex™ 200 system, and humoral immune responses against tachyzoite and MNC antigens were compared by ELISA, Western blotting and immunoproteomics. Our results showed that BKI-1294 treatment of live-vaccinated mice reduced the cerebral parasite load in the dams, but resulted in higher neonatal pup mortality and vertical transmission. In live-vaccinated mice, cytokine levels, most notably IFN-y, IL-10, and IL-12, were consistently lower in BKI-1294 treated animals compared to non-treated mice. In addition, comparative Western blotting identified two protein bands in MNC extracts that were only recognized by sera of live-vaccinated mice treated with BKI-1294, and were not found in tachyzoite extracts. We conclude that treatment of live-vaccinated mice with BKI-1294 influenced the cellular and humoral immune responses against infection, affected the safety of the live-vaccine, and decreased protection against re-infection and vertical transmission during pregnancy.The beta-nerve growth factor (β-NGF) from llama seminal plasma exerts ovulatory and luteotrophic effects following intramuscular or intrauterine infusion in llamas and alpacas. In this study, we investigate the in vitro effect of llama β-NGF on the expression of genes involved in angiogenesis and progesterone synthesis as well as progesterone release in preovulatory llama granulosa cells; we also determine whether these changes are mediated via the ERK1/2 signaling pathway. From adult female llamas, we collected granulosa cells from preovulatory follicles by transvaginal ultrasound-guided follicle aspiration; these cells were pooled and incubated. After 80% confluence, the cultured granulosa cells were treated with β-NGF, β-NGF plus the MAPK inhibitor U0126, or luteinizing hormone, and the abundance of angiogenic and steroidogenic enzyme mRNA transcripts were quantified after 10 and 20 h by RT-qPCR. We also quantified the progesterone concentration in the media after 48 h by radioimmunoassay. We found that application of β-NGF increases the abundance of mRNA transcripts of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFA) and the steroidogenic enzymes cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage (P450scc/CYP11A1), steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR), and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD3B1) at 10 and 20 h of treatment. Application of the MAPK inhibitor U0126 resulted in downregulation of the genes encoding these enzymes. β-NGF also enhanced progesterone synthesis, which was prevented by the prior application of the MAPK inhibitor U0126. Finally, western blot analysis confirmed that β-NGF activates the ERK1/2 signaling pathway. In conclusion, our results indicate that β-NGF exerts direct luteotropic effects on llama ovarian tissue via the ERK 1/2 pathway.Porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV) is a pathogen that must be removed from pigs for use as organ donors in xenotransplantation. Recently, it has been found that when donor pigs are infected with PCMV, a pig-to-non-human-primate xenotransplantation lower transplant survival by 2-3 times. Therefore, highly sensitive methods are needed to maintain designated pathogen free (DPF) pig and screen for xenografts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of commercially available method with one-tube nested real-time PCR assay to quickly detect PCMV infection in clinical samples and compare the results with those of sequence analysis. Molecular diagnostic methods were used to evaluate 127 samples, including tissues and blood samples from pigs suspected of PCMV infection. The detection rate for positive PCMV was 38.6% (n = 49), 23.6% (n = 30), and 12.6% (n = 16) in one-tube nested real-time PCR, nested PCR, and conventional PCR methods, respectively. All PCMV-positive samples in conventional PCR or nested PCR methods were also positive in the one-tube nested real-time PCR assay. All the PCR products in the three methods were checked for amplification of PCMV gene by PCR and subsequent direct sequencing. The results of one-tube nested real-time PCR were found to be consistent with those of sequence analysis for all the samples and showed good agreement (κ = 1). Our study found that the one-tube nested real-time PCR assay is more sensitive than the other two methods. This assay required approximately 1.5 h for completion. Therefore, we concluded that one-tube nested real-time PCR assay is a fast and reliable method for the characterizing pathogen responsible for PCMV infection.The COVID-19 pandemic highlights that we exist in a global community. From a single city, it spread to 188 countries across the world and infected 30 million people by September 18, 2020. Decades of modeling pandemics predicted potential consequences, but COVID-19's impact on the food supply chain, and specifically livestock production was unexpected. Clusters of cases among workers in meat processing plants evolved quickly to affect human, animal, and environmental welfare in several countries. In processing plants, the hygiene focus is on product quality and food safety. Because of their close proximity to one another, COVID-19 spread rapidly between workers and the lack of sick leave and health insurance likely resulted in workers continuing to work when infectious. In the United States (U.S.) many processing plants shut down when they identified major outbreaks, putting pressure especially on pig and poultry industries. At one point, there was a 45% reduction in pig processing capacity meaning about 250,000 pigs per day were not slaughtered. This resulted in longer transport distances to plants in operation with extra capacity, but also to crowding of animals on farm. Producers were encouraged to slow growth rates, but some had to cull animals on farm in ways that likely included suffering and caused considerable upset to owners and workers. Carcass disposal was also associated with potential biosecurity risks and detrimental effects on the environment. Hence, this is a One Welfare issue, affecting human, animal, and environmental welfare and highlighting the fragility of intensive, high-throughput livestock production systems. This model needs to be re-shaped to include the animal, human, and environmental elements across the farm to fork chain. Such a One Welfare approach will ensure that food production systems are resilient, flexible, and fair in the face of future challenges.Differences in sanitary conditions, as model to induce differences in subclinical immune stimulation, affect the growth performance and nutrient metabolism in pigs. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the colonic microbiota and the colonic and systemic metabolome of female pigs differing in health status induced by sanitary conditions. We analyzed blood and colon digesta metabolite profiles using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR) and Triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, as well as colonic microbiota profiles. 1H NMR is a quantitative metabolomics technique applicable to biological samples. Weaned piglets of 4 weeks of age were kept under high or low sanitary conditions for the first 9 weeks of life. The microbiota diversity in colon digesta was higher in pigs subjected to low sanitary conditions (n = 18 per treatment group). The abundance of 34 bacterial genera was higher in colon digesta of low sanitary condition pigs, while colon digesta of high sanitary status pigs showed a higher abundance for four bacterial groups including the Megasphaera genus (p less then 0.003) involved in lactate fermentation. Metabolite profiles (n = 18 per treatment group) in blood were different between both groups of pigs. These different profiles suggested changes in general nutrient metabolism, and more specifically in amino acid metabolism. Moreover, differences in compounds related to the immune system and responses to stress were observed. Microbiome-specific metabolites in blood were also affected by sanitary status of the pigs. We conclude that the microbiome composition in colon and the systemic metabolite profiles are affected by sanitary conditions and related to suboptimal health. These data are useful for exploring further relationships between health, metabolic status and performance and for the identification of biomarkers related to health (indices) and performance.