Inhibition by Rifampin of African Swine Fever Virus Replication in Tissue Culture

Vaccinia virus and African swine fever virus are deoxyribonucleic acid viruses of cytoplasmic origin. The fact that rifampin inhibits the replication of the former virus led to an investigation of its effect on African swine fever virus. The virus used was cytopathogenic to a PK-15 cell line, hemadsorbing in pig leukocyte cultures and lethal to pigs. Rifampin clearly inhibited the multiplication and cytopathogenicity of the virus in PK-15 cells. There was a 1- to 5-log reduction in virus titer depending upon the rifampin concentration, the multiplicity of infection, and the time after infection. Inhibition was greatest at a concentration of 200 mug of rifampin/ml. The drug was not viricidal per se, and the inhibition of virus replication was not due to the cell-granulating effect of rifampin since cultures which were transiently pretreated for long as 90 hr with 200 mug of drug/ml supported viral replication to the same degree as untreated cultures.     

Correlating Material Properties with Tissue Composition in Enzymatically Digested Bovine Annulus Fibrosus and Nucleus Pulposus Tissue

Aging and degeneration of the intervertebral disk are accompanied by decreases in water and proteoglycan contents, and structural alterations. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of compositional changes on the material properties of intervertebral disk tissues. Confined compression stress-relaxation experiments were applied to bovine caudal annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus tissue specimens that were separated into three experimental groups: in situ, free-swelling control (PBS), and digestion (chondroitinase-ABC). Measurements of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and water content, as well as nonlinear finite deformation biphasic theory and multiple linear regression analyses were performed. The compressive modulus H _A0 and permeability k ₀ of in situ specimens were 0.37±0.06 MPa and 0.49±0.08×10⁻¹⁵ m⁴ N⁻¹ s⁻¹ for nucleus, and 0.74±0.13 MPa and 0.42±0.05×10⁻¹⁵ m⁴ N⁻¹ s⁻¹ for annulus, respectively. There was a larger effect of swelling and digestion on the material properties and biochemical composition of nucleus pulposus than for annulus fibrosus. Alterations in proteoglycan and water content affected the compressive modulus and permeability, although the permeability was somewhat more strongly affected by water content than by proteoglycan content. Correlation coefficients r≤0.75 for the multiple regression indicated water and GAG content can moderately predict material properties, however other compositional and structural factors must be considered.     

Correlation between Nasal Microbiome Composition and Remote Purulent Skin and Soft Tissue Infections

The incidence of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) has increased dramatically over the past decade, resulting in significant morbidity in millions of otherwise healthy individuals worldwide. Certain groups, like military personnel, are at increased risk for SSTI development. Although nasal colonization with Staphylococcus aureus is an important risk factor for the development of SSTIs, it is not clear why some colonized individuals develop disease while others do not. Recent studies have revealed the importance of microbial diversity in human health. Therefore, we hypothesized that the nasal microbiome may provide valuable insight into SSTI development. To examine this hypothesis, we obtained anterior-naris samples from military trainees with cutaneous abscesses and from asymptomatic (non-SSTI) participants. We also obtained samples from within abscess cavities. Specimens were analyzed by culture, and the microbial community within each sample was characterized using a 16S sequencing-based approach. We collected specimens from 46 non-SSTI participants and from 40 participants with abscesses. We observed a significantly higher abundance of Proteobacteria in the anterior nares in non-SSTI participants (P < 0.0001) than in participants with abscesses. Additionally, we noted a significant inverse correlation between Corynebacterium spp. and S. aureus (P = 0.0001). The sensitivity of standard microbiological culture for abscesses was 71.4%. These data expand our knowledge of the complexity of the nasal and abscess microbiomes and potentially pave the way for novel therapeutic and prophylactic countermeasures against SSTI.     

Extracellular Matrix Composition of Full-Thickness Defect Repair Tissue is Little Influenced by Exercise in Rat Articular Cartilage

Full-thickness articular cartilage defects in the femoral condyles of adult rats were examined four and eight weeks after injury. Quantitative polarized light microscopic analysis showed that birefringence of the tissue in the central repair area increased more in rats exercised on a treadmill. Glycosaminoglycan content in the repair tissue was also higher than in the intermit-tent active motion group at four weeks after injury, but by eight weeks the levels were similar in both groups. No normal-looking articular cartilage was formed in the lesions, and only in one animal type II collagen was observed in the superficial zone of repair tissue. No 3B3(-) antigenicity of the proteoglycans was seen during repair. In conclusion, exercise minimally modified the repair of full-thickness articular cartilage defects in adult rats. The repair in the exercised group may occur slightly faster in the early stages but no difference was seen at the eight week time interval between the exercised and the intermittently active group.     

Proteasome Activity and Their Subunit Composition in Endometrial Cancer Tissue: Correlations with Clinical Morphological Parameters

The development of endometrial cancer is related to the status of the intracellular proteasome system. Total proteasome activity and pools 26S and 20S activities are higher in tumor tissue than in intact endometrium, and their composition is different. The expression of α1α2α3α5α6α7 is lower in endometrial cancer tissue in comparison with intact endometrium and the content of immune subunits LMP7, LMP2, and PA28β is increased. Total proteasome activity depends on the disease stage.     

True Arterial System Compliance Estimated From Apparent Arterial Compliance

A new method has been developed to estimate total arterial compliance from measured input pressure and flow. In contrast to other methods, this method does not rely on fitting the elements of a lumped model to measured data. Instead, it relies on measured input impedance and peripheral resistance to calculate the relationship of arterial blood volume to input pressure. Generally, this transfer function is a complex function of frequency and is called the apparent arterial compliance. At very low frequencies, the confounding effect of pulse wave reflection disappears, and apparent compliance becomes total arterial compliance. This study reveals that frequency components of pressure and flow below heart rate are generally necessary to obtain a valid estimate of compliance. Thus, the ubiquitous practice of estimating total arterial compliance from a single cardiac cycle is suspect under most circumstances, since a single cardiac cycle does not contain these frequencies. © 2000 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC00: 8719Uv, 8719Rr     

Characteristics of a Swine Papovavirus

A new member of the papovavirus group has been isolated and appears to infect swine. The new agent, tentatively named swine papovavirus, appears to be very defective and replicates only within a very narrow host cell range. The original source of the isolate is under investigation. Preliminary evidence suggests that the origin of swine papovavirus is either a stable pig kidney cell line or pancreas-derived trypsin     

Modeling Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease in MHC-Matched Mouse Strains: Genetics,Graft Composition,and Tissue Targets

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a major complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Acute GVHD (aGVHD) results from direct damage by donor T cells, whereas the biology of chronic GVHD (cGVHD) with its autoimmune-like manifestations remains poorly understood, mainly because of the paucity of representative preclinical models. We examined over an extended time period 7 MHC-matched, minor antigen–mismatched mouse models for development of cGVHD. Development and manifestations of cGVHD were determined by a combination of MHC allele type and recipient strain, with BALB recipients being the most susceptible. The C57BL/6 into BALB.B combination most closely modeled the human syndrome. In this strain combination moderate aGVHD was observed and BALB.B survivors developed overt cGVHD at 6 to 12 months affecting eyes, skin, and liver. Naïve CD4⁺ cells caused this syndrome as no significant pathology was induced by grafts composed of purified hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) or HSC plus effector memory CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ cells. Furthermore, co-transferred naïve and effector memory CD4⁺ T cells demonstrated differential homing patterns and locations of persistence. No clear association with donor Th17 cells and the phenotype of aGVHD or cGVHD was observed in this model. Donor CD4⁺ cells caused injury to medullary thymic epithelial cells, a key population responsible for negative T cell selection, suggesting that impaired thymic selection was an underlying cause of the cGVHD syndrome. In conclusion, we report for the first time that the C57BL/6 into BALB.B combination is a representative model of cGVHD that evolves from immunologic events during the early post-transplant period.     

Mycoplasma hyorhinis Swine Arthritis III. Modified Disease in Piney Woods Swine

Piney Woods miniature swine, when injected with Mycoplasma hyorhinis, develop an acute arthritis. The disease in these animals is limited clinically, microbiologically, and pathologically to a mild acute illness without the more chronic and destructive features noted in a previous study of the experimental disease in Yorkshire swine.