scholarly journals Experimental Usutu Virus Infection in Domestic Canaries Serinus canaria

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emna Benzarti ◽  
José Rivas ◽  
Michaël Sarlet ◽  
Mathieu Franssen ◽  
Daniel Desmecht ◽  
...  

Usutu virus (USUV) is a neurotropic flavivirus closely related to West Nile virus (WNV). Its enzootic cycle mainly involves mosquitoes and birds. Human infection can occur with occasional, but sometimes severe, neurological complications. Since its emergence and spread in Europe over the last two decades, USUV has been linked to significant avian outbreaks, especially among Passeriformes, including European blackbirds (Turdus merula). Strikingly, no in vivo avian model exists so far to study this arbovirus. The domestic canary (Serinus canaria) is a passerine, which is considered as a highly susceptible model of infection by WNV. Here, we experimentally challenged domestic canaries with two different doses of USUV. All inoculated birds presented detectable amounts of viral RNA in the blood and RNA shedding via feathers and droppings during the early stages of the infection, as determined by RT-qPCR. Mortality occurred in both infected groups (1/5 and 2/5, respectively) and was not necessarily correlated to a pure neurological disease. Subsequent analyses of samples from dead birds showed histopathological changes and virus tropism mimicking those reported in naturally infected birds. A robust seroconversion followed the infection in almost all the surviving canaries. Altogether, these results demonstrate that domestic canaries constitute an interesting experimental model for the study of USUV pathogenesis and transmission.

Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 1116
Author(s):  
Emna Benzarti ◽  
Mutien Garigliany

Usutu virus (USUV), a mosquito-borne zoonotic flavivirus discovered in South Africa in 1959, has spread to many European countries over the last 20 years. The virus is currently a major concern for animal health due to its expanding host range and the growing number of avian mass mortality events. Although human infections with USUV are often asymptomatic, they are occasionally accompanied by neurological complications reminiscent of those due to West Nile virus (another flavivirus closely related to USUV). Whilst USUV actually appears less threatening than some other emergent arboviruses, the lessons learned from Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika viruses during the past few years should not be ignored. Further, it would not be surprising if, with time, USUV disperses further eastwards towards Asia and possibly westwards to the Americas, which may result in more pathogenic USUV strains to humans and/or animals. These observations, inviting the scientific community to be more vigilant about the spread and genetic evolution of USUV, have prompted the use of experimental systems to understand USUV pathogenesis and to boost the development of vaccines and antivirals. This review is the first to provide comprehensive coverage of existing in vitro and in vivo models for USUV infection and to discuss their contribution in advancing data concerning this neurotropic virus. We believe that this paper is a helpful tool for scientists to identify gaps in the knowledge about USUV and to design their future experiments to study the virus.


1979 ◽  
Vol 42 (03) ◽  
pp. 825-831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre Allain

SummaryIn order to determine the correlation between different doses of F. VIII and their clinical effect,. 70 children with severe hemophilia A were studied after treatment with single doses of cryoprecipitate. The relationship between plasma F. VIII levels or doses calculated in u/ kg of body weight and clinical results followed an exponential curve. Plasma F. VIII levels of 0.35 and 0.53 u/ml corresponded to 95 and 99% satisfactory treatment, respectively. Similar clinical results were obtained with 20 and 31 u/kg. When the in vivo recovery of F. VIII after lyophilized cryoprecipitate was 0.015 u/ml for each u/kg injected, plasma F. VIII levels of 0.30 and 0.47 u/ml respectively were achieved. Since home treatment is largely based on single infusions of F. VIII, it is suggested that moderate and severe hemorrhages be treated with a dose which will provide a plasma F. VIII level of 0.5 u/ml.


1984 ◽  
Vol 52 (02) ◽  
pp. 157-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Prosdocimi ◽  
N Scattolo ◽  
A Zatta ◽  
F Fabris ◽  
F Stevanato ◽  
...  

Summary13 male New Zealand rabbits were injected with two different doses (25 μg/Kg and 100 μg/Kg) of human platelet factor 4 antigen (PF4). The disappearance of the protein was extremely fast with an half-life for the fast component of 1.07 ± 0.16 and 1.76 ± 0.11 min respectively. The half-life for the slow component, detectable only with the highest dosage, was 18.8 min.The administration of 2500 I.U. of heparin 30 min after PF4 administration induced a partial release of the injected protein and its clearance from plasma was slow, with half-life of 23.3 ± 5.9 min and 30.9 ± 2.19 min respectively.


1967 ◽  
Vol 56 (1_Suppl) ◽  
pp. S164 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ph. Bengtsson ◽  
A. Carter ◽  
A. H. Moawad
Keyword(s):  

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1451
Author(s):  
Carolina Romeiro Fernandes Chagas ◽  
Josef Harl ◽  
Vytautas Preikša ◽  
Dovilė Bukauskaitė ◽  
Mikas Ilgūnas ◽  
...  

Recent studies confirmed that some Hepatozoon-like blood parasites (Apicomplexa) of birds are closely related to the amphibian parasite Lankesterella minima. Little is known about the biology of these pathogens in birds, including their distribution, life cycles, specificity, vectors, and molecular characterization. Using blood samples of 641 birds from 16 species, we (i) determined the prevalence and molecular diversity of Lankesterella parasites in naturally infected birds; (ii) investigated the development of Lankesterella kabeeni in laboratory-reared mosquitoes, Culex pipiens forma molestus and Aedes aegypti; and (iii) tested experimentally the susceptibility of domestic canaries, Serinus canaria, to this parasite. This study combined molecular and morphological diagnostic methods and determined 11% prevalence of Lankesterella parasites in Acrocephalidae birds; 16 Lankesterella lineages with a certain degree of host specificity and two new species (Lankesterella vacuolata n. sp. and Lankesterella macrovacuolata n. sp.) were found and characterized. Lankesterella kabeeni (formerly Hepatozoon kabeeni) was re-described. Serinus canaria were resistant after various experimental exposures. Lankesterella sporozoites rapidly escaped from host cells in vitro. Sporozoites persisted for a long time in infected mosquitoes (up to 42 days post exposure). Our study demonstrated a high diversity of Lankesterella parasites in birds, and showed that several avian Hepatozoon-like parasites, in fact, belong to Lankesterella genus.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii199-ii200
Author(s):  
Luciano Galdieri ◽  
Arijita Jash ◽  
Olga Malkova ◽  
Diane Mao ◽  
Jian Campian ◽  
...  

Abstract Glioblastoma (GBM) kills almost all patients within 2 years. A subpopulation of cells, GBM stem cells (GSCs), contributes to treatment resistance and recurrence. A major therapeutic goal is to kill GSCs, but no targeted therapy yet exists. Since their discovery, GSCs have been isolated using single surface markers, such as CD15, CD44, CD133, and a-6 integrin. It remains unknown how these single surface marker-defined GSC populations compare to each other in terms of signal transduction and function and whether expression of different combinations of these markers is associated with distinct phenotypes. Using mass cytometry and fresh operating room specimens, we found that 15 distinct GSC subpopulations exist in vivo and they differ in their MEK/ERK, WNT, and AKT pathway activation status. In culture, some subpopulations were lost and previously undetectable ones materialized. GSCs highly expressing all four surface markers had the greatest self-renewal capacity and in vivo tumorigenicity as well as the strongest WNT pathway activation. This work highlights the signaling and phenotypic diversity in GSC subpopulations, together suggesting that not all GSCs are equivalent. These observations should be considered when studying GSCs in the laboratory, with implications for the development of treatments that target GSCs and prevent tumor recurrence in patients.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Sourbh Kumar ◽  
Uttam Chandel ◽  
Satish Kumar Guleria

Abstract An investigation to optimize the protocol for application of colchicine for enhancing the doubled haploid production in maize was done. 106 maize genotypes were used as maternal parents, whereas, pollen source involved tropically adopted haploid inducer (TAIL P1 and TAIL hybrid). After the elimination of chromosomes of inducer lines, haploid seeds were obtained from the crosses. Haploid seedlings were treated with three different doses, such as 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08 per cent of colchicines for different durations (8, 12 and 15 hours). The response of various colchicine concentrations applied for different time durations revealed significant differences at P ≤ 0.05 for various parameters viz., per cent plants survivability, stalk colour, the fertility of tassel, silk present/absent, pollen viability, seed set and per cent doubled haploid formation. In maize, colchicine doses of 0.04 per cent for 12 hours and 0.06 per cent for 8 hours, respectively were established as optimum for enhanced doubled haploid production. But among these two, 0.04 per cent for 12 hours was observed to be best dose for doubled haploid production in maize.


Author(s):  
Raymundo Alejandro Pérez-Hernández ◽  
Silvia Guadalupe Treviño-Moreno ◽  
Gilberto Arévalo- Martínez ◽  
Eduardo Sánchez -García ◽  
Catalina Leos-Rivas ◽  
...  

Background: In clinical therapy, there is no satisfactory drug available for treatment of urolithiasis, especially for the prevention of their recurrence. The aim of this work was to evaluate in vivo antiurolithic activity of methanolic extract of Berberis trifoliata leaves. Material and methods: Urolithiasis was induced in Wistar rats by zinc disc implantation in urinary bladder. Upon postsurgical recovery, different doses of the methanolic extract of B. trifoliata leaves (50, 100 and 150 mg/kg body weight) were administered orally to zinc disc implanted rats for a period of 20 days. Antiurolithiatic activity was evaluated by measuring the difference between the weight of the implanted zinc discs at the time of implantation and the final weight of the dried calculi taken out from the bladder at the end of the 20 days period of treatment. Results: Extract of B. trifoliata significantly reduced calculi deposition around the implanted zinc disc at all doses (50, 100, and 150 mg/kg). Conclusion: Treatment with methanolic extract of B. trifoliata is useful agent against the kidney stone formation.


2000 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 3900-3908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Stevenson ◽  
Stephen F. Porcella ◽  
Katrina L. Oie ◽  
Cecily A. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Sandra J. Raffel ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Borrelia hermsii, an agent of tick-borne relapsing fever, was found to contain multiple circular plasmids approximately 30 kb in size. Sequencing of a DNA library constructed from circular plasmid fragments enabled assembly of a composite DNA sequence that is homologous to the cp32 plasmid family of the Lyme disease spirochete,B. burgdorferi. Analysis of another relapsing fever bacterium, B. parkeri, indicated that it contains linear homologs of the B. hermsii and B. burgdorfericp32 plasmids. The B. hermsii cp32 plasmids encode homologs of the B. burgdorferi Mlp and Bdr antigenic proteins and BlyA/BlyB putative hemolysins, but homologs of B. burgdorferi erp genes were absent. Immunoblot analyses demonstrated that relapsing fever patients produced antibodies to Mlp proteins, indicating that those proteins are synthesized by the spirochetes during human infection. Conservation of cp32-encoded genes in differentBorrelia species suggests that their protein products serve functions essential to both relapsing fever and Lyme disease spirochetes. Relapsing fever borreliae replicate to high levels in the blood of infected animals, permitting direct detection and possible functional studies of Mlp, Bdr, BlyA/BlyB, and other cp32-encoded proteins in vivo.


Endocrinology ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 154 (5) ◽  
pp. 1832-1844 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Annelies E. Polman ◽  
E. Ronald de Kloet ◽  
Nicole A. Datson

Abstract In the present study, genomic binding sites of glucocorticoid receptors (GR) were identified in vivo in the rat hippocampus applying chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next-generation sequencing. We identified 2470 significant GR-binding sites (GBS) and were able to confirm GR binding to a random selection of these GBS covering a wide range of P values. Analysis of the genomic distribution of the significant GBS revealed a high prevalence of intragenic GBS. Gene ontology clusters involved in neuronal plasticity and other essential neuronal processes were overrepresented among the genes harboring a GBS or located in the vicinity of a GBS. Male adrenalectomized rats were challenged with increasing doses of the GR agonist corticosterone (CORT) ranging from 3 to 3000 μg/kg, resulting in clear differences in the GR-binding profile to individual GBS. Two groups of GBS could be distinguished: a low-CORT group that displayed GR binding across the full range of CORT concentrations, and a second high-CORT group that displayed significant GR binding only after administering the highest concentration of CORT. All validated GBS, in both the low-CORT and high-CORT groups, displayed mineralocorticoid receptor binding, which remained relatively constant from 30 μg/kg CORT upward. Motif analysis revealed that almost all GBS contained a glucocorticoid response element resembling the consensus motif in literature. In addition, motifs corresponding with new potential GR-interacting proteins were identified, such as zinc finger and BTB domain containing 3 (Zbtb3) and CUP (CG11181 gene product from transcript CG11181-RB), which may be involved in GR-dependent transactivation and transrepression, respectively. In conclusion, our results highlight the existence of 2 populations of GBS in the rat hippocampal genome.


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