七氟烷对卵白蛋白致敏的高反应气道平滑肌cAMP的影响

目的 观察七氟烷对卵白蛋白致敏的豚鼠的高反应气道平滑肌细胞内环磷酸腺苷(cAMP)的影响。方法40只雄性豚鼠随机分为5组:正常组、致敏组、致敏对照组、致敏2%七氟烷组和致敏4%七氟烷组,每组8只。应用卵白蛋白和测量肺阻力变化曲线建立并评价豚鼠的致敏气道模型。检测致敏豚鼠气道平滑肌细胞cAMP的表达,评价不同浓度七氟烷对高反应致敏气道的扩张作用。结果 与正常组相比,致敏组能显著升高豚鼠的肺阻力变化曲线;与致敏对照组相比,致敏2%七氟烷组和致敏4%七氟烷组的气道平滑肌细胞内cAMP的表达明显增高。结论 七氟烷能够增加卵白蛋致敏的豚鼠的气道平滑肌细胞内cAMP的表达,提示七氟烷可以通过提高高反应致敏气道平滑肌cAMP的表达发挥扩张作用。     

融水小型猪F1代的血常规、血生化与电解质指标

目的 测定融水小型猪（Rongshui miniature pig,RMP）F1代血常规、血生化与电解质指标。方法 选取4月龄F1代RMP 85头,雌性43头、雄性42头;12月龄36头,雌雄各半。颈静脉采血,分析血常规、血生化与电解质等22项指标。结果 融水小型猪相同月龄时,两性别的血常规指标、血生化和电解质的大部分指标差异不大,但同性别在不同月龄之间的部分指标差异明显。12月龄比4月龄融水小型猪,血常规指标中的白细胞数、血小板数下降,血红蛋白含量升高（P< 0. 05）,而红细胞数变化不大（P> 0. 05）;血清ALT、AST、ALP、CK(雄性)、LDH（雄性）A/G、BUN、GLU(雌性)、CHOL（雄性）和K+下降（P< 0.05）;血清总蛋白、TBIL、CR、Ca2+升高（P< 0.05）,而血清CHOL（雌性）、TG,HDL-C,LDL-C变化不大。有19项生化、电解质指标在或接近人类正常值范围,占86.4％（19／22）。结论 融水小型猪的部分血常规、大部分血生化与电解质指标与人类正常值接近。     

Cholesterol-induced inflammation and macrophage accumulation in adipose tissue is reduced by a low carbohydrate diet in guinea pigs

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of a high cholesterol (HC) dietary challenge on cholesterol tissue accumulation, inflammation, adipocyte differentiation, and macrophage infiltration in guinea pigs. A second objective was to assess whether macronutrient manipulation would reverse these metabolic alterations.

MATERIALS/METHODS

Male Hartley guinea pigs (10/group) were assigned to either low cholesterol (LC) (0.04g/100g) or high cholesterol (HC) (0.25g/100g) diets for six weeks. For the second experiment, 20 guinea pigs were fed the HC diet for six weeks and then assigned to either a low carbohydrate (CHO) diet (L-CHO) (10% energy from CHO) or a high CHO diet (H-CHO) (54% CHO) for an additional six weeks.

RESULTS

Higher concentrations of total (P < 0.005) and free (P < 0.05) cholesterol were observed in both adipose tissue and aortas of guinea pigs fed the HC compared to those in the LC group. In addition, higher concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the adipose tissue (P < 0.005) and lower concentrations of anti-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-10 were observed in the HC group (P < 0.05) compared to the LC group. Of particular interest, adipocytes in the HC group were smaller in size (P < 0.05) and showed increased macrophage infiltration compared to the LC group. When compared to the H-CHO group, lower concentrations of cholesterol in both adipose and aortas as well as lower concentrations of inflammatory cytokines in adipose tissue were observed in the L-CHO group (P < 0.05). In addition, guinea pigs fed the L-CHO exhibited larger adipose cells and lower macrophage infiltration compared to the H-CHO group.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study strongly suggest that HC induces metabolic dysregulation associated with inflammation in adipose tissue and that L-CHO is more effective than H-CHO in attenuating these detrimental effects.     

An aerosol formulation of R-salbutamol sulfate for pulmonary inhalation

An aerosol formulation containing 7.5 mg of R-salbutamol sulfate was developed. The aerosol was nebulized with an air-jet nebulizer, and further assessed according to the new European Medicines Agency (EMA) guidelines. A breath simulator was used for studies of delivery rate and total amount of the active ingredient at volume of 3 mL. A next generation impactor (NGI) with a cooler was used for analysis of the particle size and in vitro lung deposition rate of the active ingredient at 5 °C. The anti-asthmatic efficacy of the aerosol formulation was assessed in guinea pigs with asthma evoked by intravenous injection of histamine compared with racemic salbutamol. Our results show that this aerosol formulation of R-salbutamol sulfate met all the requirements of the new EMA guidelines for nebulizer. The efficacy of a half-dose of R-salbutamol equaled that of a normal dose of racemic salbutamol.KEY WORDS: R-salbutamol, Nebulizer, NGI, Particle size, Dose uniformity, Guinea pigs, Asthma     

Cost Implications of African Swine Fever in Smallholder Farrow‐to‐Finish Units: Economic Benefits of Disease Prevention Through Biosecurity

African swine fever remains the greatest limitation to the development of the pig industry in Africa, and parts of Asia and Europe. It is especially important in West and Central African countries where the disease has become endemic. Biosecurity is the implementation of a set of measures that reduce the risk of infection through segregation, cleaning and disinfection. Using a 122‐sow piggery unit, a financial model and costing were used to estimate the economic benefits of effective biosecurity against African swine fever. The outcomes suggest that pig production is a profitable venture that can generate a profit of approximately US$109 637.40 per annum and that an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) has the potential to cause losses of up to US$910 836.70 in a single year. The implementation of biosecurity and its effective monitoring can prevent losses owing to ASF and is calculated to give a benefit‐cost ratio of 29. A full implementation of biosecurity will result in a 9.70% reduction in total annual profit, but is justified in view of the substantial costs incurred in the event of an ASF outbreak. Biosecurity implementation is robust and capable of withstanding changes in input costs including moderate feed price increases, higher management costs and marginal reductions in total outputs. It is concluded that biosecurity is a key to successful pig production in an endemic situation.     

Human TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand-expressing dendritic cells from transgenic pigs attenuate human xenogeneic T cell responses

Kemter E, Lieke T, Kessler B, Kurome M, Wuensch A, Summerfield A, Ayares D, Nagashima H, Baars W, Schwinzer R, Wolf E. Human TNF‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand‐expressing dendritic cells from transgenic pigs attenuate human xenogeneic T cell responses. Xenotransplantation 2012; 19: 40–51. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: Background: Efficient and precise techniques for the genetic modification of pigs facilitate the generation of tailored donor animals for xenotransplantation. Numerous transgenic pig lines exist with the focus on inhibition of the complement system and of humoral immune responses. In addition, immune cell‐based responses need to be controlled to prevent pig‐to‐primate xenograft rejection. Expression of human (hu) TNF‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) on porcine cells has the potential to ameliorate human T cell responses. Methods: We generated transgenic pigs expressing human tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (huTRAIL) under the control of either the mouse H2K^b promoter or a CMV enhancer/chicken β‐actin (CAG) promoter, the latter one (CAG‐huTRAIL) on a GGTA1 knockout/huCD46 transgenic background. The biological activity of huTRAIL was demonstrated by its apoptosis‐inducing effect on Jurkat lymphoma cells. To clarify whether huTRAIL affects also primary immune cells and whether its effects depend on the presence of co‐stimulatory molecules, we exposed human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) or isolated T cells to huTRAIL‐expressing porcine fibroblasts or dendritic cells in vitro. Results: H2K^b‐huTRAIL transgenic pigs express huTRAIL mainly in the spleen and secondary lymphoid tissues. The CAG‐huTRAIL construct facilitated huTRAIL expression in multiple organs, the level being at least one order of magnitude higher than in H2K^b‐huTRAIL transgenic pigs. Incubation with huTRAIL‐expressing H2K^b‐huTRAIL transgenic porcine dendritic cells decreased human T cell proliferation significantly without any signs of apoptosis. In spite of the high transgene expression level, CAG‐huTRAIL transgenic fibroblasts did not affect proliferation of human PBMC, independent of their activation state. Conclusions: These results suggest huTRAIL expression on porcine dendritic cells as a possible strategy to attenuate T cell responses against pig‐to‐primate xenografts.     

Islet isolation and purification from inbred Wuzhishan miniature pigs

Jiang X, Qian T, Linn T, Cao L, Xiang G, Wang Y, Peng H, Xue P, Zhang L, Chen D, Yang X. Islet isolation and purification from inbred Wuzhishan miniature pigs. Xenotransplantation 2012; 19: 159–165. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: Background: To investigate the applicability of inbred Wuzhishan (WZS) miniature pigs for porcine islet isolation and purification. Methods: Islet isolation and purification was conducted on adult (1‐yr‐old), male inbred WZS miniature pigs and age‐ and sex‐matched market pigs obtained from a local slaughterhouse (control group). Pancreata were excised, and islet isolation was carried out by static digestion and discontinuous gradient centrifugation. Viability of the purified islets was tested by radioimmunochemistry assay to measure glucose‐induced insulin release in culture and transplantation in an in vivo study. Results: The anatomical structure of the WZS miniature pig pancreas was more similar to the human pancreas than that of the market pig. Islet yield of the WZS miniature pigs’ pancreata was significantly higher than that of the market pigs (6078 ± 1105 vs. 2500 ± 625 islet equivalents [IEQ]/g). In vitro study demonstrated that the islets isolated from WZS miniature pigs were viable, as they efficiently responded to glucose challenge. In vivo study showed that the islets from both groups could cure the diabetic rat with the survival varied from 3 to 5 days (median, 4.3 days) and 2–4 days (median, 3.6 days) in experimental group and control group, respectively. Conclusion: Wuzhishan miniature pig pancreas may be a feasible source of islets for xenotransplantation.     

Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 Virus in Pigs, R��union Island

During 2009, pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus affected humans on Réunion Island. Since then, the virus has sustained circulation among local swine herds, raising concerns about the potential for genetic evolution of the virus and possible retransmission back to humans of variants with increased virulence. Continuous surveillance of A(H1N1)pdm09 infection in pigs is recommended.