The mallard and spot-billed duck are representative migratory bird species wintering in the Republic of Korea. They can be a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus carrier during their wintering movement. From September 2014 to June 2015, 162 poultry farms were confirmed to have a HPAI infection. The current study estimated the home range of the mallard and spot-billed duck during the 2014/15 HPAI epidemics to explore the relationship between the wintering site of the migratory birds and the geographical locations of HPAI-infected farms. A Brownian bridge movement model was applied to estimate the home ranges of 13 mallards and three spot-billed ducks. As a result, 22 HPAI-infected poultry farms were located geographically in the 99% cumulative probability contour of the home range of the mallard, but no HPAI-infected poultry farm was found in spot-billed duck’s home range. In the case of one spot-billed duck, however, it has two wintering sites: Chungcheongnam-do and Jeollanam-do. Considering that migratory birds can be a major driven factor in HPAI virus transmission from wild birds to poultry farms, it is recommended for poultry farms located within the home range of migratory birds to increase their biosecurity level during wintering season of migratory birds.
A solid-phase competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), recombinant VP2 (rVP2) protein, and monoclonal antibody (mAb) were developed for the specific and sensitive detection of porcine parvovirus (PPV) antibodies in pig sera. A total of 1,544 sera samples were collected from breeding pig farms located in the Gyeongsangbuk-do Province in the Republic of Korea. The optimal operating conditions of SC-ELISA were as follows. The concentration of rVP2 proteins coated on the wells was 4 μg/mL, the swine sera were diluted 1:2, and the HRP-conjugated PPV VP2 mAb (9A8 clone) was used at 500 ng/mL. These results suggest that the SC-rVP-ELISA assay may be a valuable alternative to the current diagnostic tools used to detect PPV-specific monoclonal antibodies and broadly monitor PPV infections in domestic pigs at different breeding stages.
The objective of this study was to develop a simultaneous method for 8 amino acids including alanine, arginine, glutathione, lysine, ornithine, methionine, threonine and tryptophan in veterinary products using LC-MS/MS. To optimize MS analytical condition of 8 amino acids, each parameter was established by multiple reaction monitoring in positive mode. The chromatogram separation was achieved on a C18 column with mobile phase of 0.1% formic acid in D.W. and 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile for green technology at a flow rate of 0.4mL/min for 5 min with gradient elution. The developed method was validated for mass accuracy, precision, linearity in veterinary products. Calibration curves were linear over the calibration ranges (0.5 – 10 mg/L) for all the analytes r2>0.99. Average recoveries were 92.96 – 105.61% and relative standard deviations (RSD) were 0.27 – 3.5%. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.04 – 0.83 mg/L and 0.12 – 2.52 mg/L, respectively. All values were corresponded with the criteria ranges requested by CD 2002/657/EC. The application of this method will be helpful in quality control analysis of amino acids in veterinary products.
This study aims to investigate the effects of exogenous succinic acid (SCA) on Brucella (B.) abortus infection in macrophage RAW 264.7 cells and ICR mice. Firstly, the in vitro experiment was conducted by MTT cytotoxicity and bacterial internalization assay to evaluate the uptake of B. abortus into macrophage cells. Two non-cytotoxic concentrations of SCA demonstrated attenuated invasion of Brucella into macrophages at 30 and 45 min post- infection (pi). Secondly, ICR mice were treated with SCA and infected with B. abortus. On day-14 pi, spleen and blood serum were collected to evaluate the bacterial burden and total spleen weight as well as the production of cytokine/chemokine, respectively. The results showed that SCA treatment promoted bacterial growth and reduced the total spleen weight in mice. Furthermore, SCA treatment increased the level of IL-10 cytokine in the sera, while dampening the production of MCP-1 chemokine compared to the control. The results of bacterial load in spleen and spleen weight together with cytokine/chemokine production profile in the sera indicated that SCA induced the host anti-inflammatory response which is beneficial for the survival of Brucella. Therefore, these findings suggest that SCA contributed to host immunity against Brucella infection and the emerging potential topic-immunometabolism should be invested for further investigations.
All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is a derivative of vitamin A and exhibits anticancer activity against acute promyelocytic leukemia. Fenbendazole (FBZ) is a benzimidazole anthelmintic that has wide safety margin and low toxicity. Recently, FBZ has been found to have anticancer activity by destabilizing microtubules. In this study, we treat ATRA and FBZ on HL-60 cells, a human leukemia cell line, to investigate the synergistic effects of two drugs, and the potential anticancer mechanism. ATRA and FBZ significantly decreased the metabolic activity of HL-60 cells at 0.04 μM ATRA. Cell viability of ATRA-treated HL-60 cells decreased in a concentration-dependent manner and more decreased by FBZ. N-acetyl cysteine, an inhibitor of reactive oxygen species production, significantly increased the metabolic activity of the cells treated with ATRA and FBZ. Hoechst 33342 and propidium iodide staining showed the presence of broken nuclei in the HL-60 cells treated with ATRA and FBZ. And also, an apoptosis analysis demonstrated that 0.2 μM FBZ increased the percentages of cells in apoptosis and necrosis. In contrast, 0.04 μM ATRA showed no significant difference. Based on multiple assays, ATRA and FBZ showed not synergistic, but additive effect on HL-60 cells. This study may provide researchers and clinicians in cancer-related fields with some valuable information regarding the application of ATRA and FBZ.
This study compared the immune responses, stress relief and weight gains of needle or needle-free intramuscular and needle-free intradermal vaccination in pigs. When the same amount of a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine was administered to pigs, antibody titers at 4 weeks after the 1st and 2nd FMD vaccination were not significantly different between the needle (IM-S) and needle-free (NM-P250) intramuscularly vaccinated groups, but the weight gain of NM-P250 was significantly increased compared to that of IM-S at 8 weeks after the 2nd FMD vaccination (p<0.05). In addition, serum cortisol concentrations of NM-P250 were considerably decreased compared to those of IM-S on the 5th and 7th day after the 1st and 2nd FMD vaccination (p<0.05). However, the antibody titers of IM-S vaccinated with 2 mL of FMD vaccine were significantly increased compared to those of the needle-free intradermal vaccinated group with 0.5 mL of FMD vaccine at 4 weeks after the 1st and 2nd FMD vaccination (p<0.05). In conclusion, the needle-free intramuscular injection for the FMD vaccination can be chosen for weight gain and stress relief in pigs.
We investigated the effect of a synthetic complement peptide C3a on the outcome of Brucella abortus 544 infection in a murine macrophage cell line RAW264.7 cell. First, we determined the highest non-cytotoxic concentration of the peptide in the cell line. We also found that the peptide significantly increased the growth of the bacteria at 8 and 24 h. Although the number of bacterial CFU was also elevated at 48 and 72 h, the increases were not significant as compared to controls. We further investigated the effect of C3a peptide on the growth of Brucella by pre-incubating the peptide at various temperatures and found that the effect was reversed at 24 h post-incubation suggesting that incubation of peptide at high temperatures including 65°C or 95°C could inactivate its action. This also could indicate the beneficial effect of high temperature during infection. Although several studies reported the inhibitory effect of different antimicrobial peptides including C3a, the present study preliminarily revealed that it had no positive contribution on the control of B. abortus 544 infection in vitro and indirectly to its receptor, CD88, which belongs to GPCR. Moreover, the encouraged further exploration of the effect of other similar peptides would be performed for the purpose of finding Brucella-host cell interaction for the control of disease progression.
The present study is designed to investigate the antibacterial effect of the hot-water and various ethanol extracts from the leaves of Dendropanax morbifera L. (DML) against Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalsis). Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of 30, 50 and 70% ethanol extract of DML against P. gingivalis decreased in a concentration-dependent manner. However, MIC and MBC of hot-water and 30% ethanol extract against P. gingivalis were the same as 3.13 and 6.25 mg/mL, respectively. In the bacterial growth inhibition test, the growth of P. gingivalis in the group treated with MBC and 2×MBC of DML hot-water extract was statistically significantly decreased from 6 h after incubation compared to the control group (p<0.001). From the results portrayed above, aqueous extract from DML at the concentration of 6.25 mg/mL can be usefully used to suppress infection of P. gingivalis, a major causative agent of periodontal disease.
A 13-year-old mixed dog was referred to the animal medical center, Gyeongsang National University. Lung masses were diagnosed at the left cranial and caudal lobes through diagnostic imaging, and consequently, left pneumonectomy was performed using a self-cutting linear endoscopic stapler. The pulmonary arteries, veins, and bronchus of each lung lobe were sealed and resected at once, and any air leakage or bleeding was not observed after the surgery. Compared to the conventional ligation method, the self-cutting linear endoscopic stapler has the advantage of significantly reducing the operation time and enabling simple and reliable sealing.