Veterinary journal最新文献

Peste-des-petits-ruminants (PPR) is an acute, contact infectious disease caused by peste-des-petits-ruminants virus (PPRV) infection. PPRV mainly infects goats, sheep and other small ruminants, posing a serious threat to the development of the livestock industry and the safety of wildlife. In this study, a competitive ELISA (c-ELISA) method for detecting neutralizing antibodies against PPRV was developed using the extracellular domain of haemagglutinin (tH) protein and a monoclonal antibody against tH protein. The results showed that the specificity and sensitivity of c-ELISA were 99.38% and 100%, respectively. The agreement rate of the c-ELISA and viral neutralization test (VNT) was 96.65%, suggesting that the c-ELISA could detect neutralizing antibody against PPRV and could be used for protective immunity evaluation.

Skin plays a vital role in maintaining various physiological functions, including barrier protection, temperature regulation, and sensory perception. Effective wound healing is crucial for restoring tissue integrity after injury, involving a complex interplay of cellular and molecular mechanisms. Hydatid cyst fluid (HCF), derived from Echinococcus granulosus, contains bioactive components that may enhance wound healing. This study evaluates the potential of lyophilized HCF to promote skin wound repair using an in vitro assay and an in vivo rat wound model. Lyophilized HCF was prepared from hydatid cyst fluid obtained from the lungs of infected camels and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Cytotoxicity was assessed using the MTT assay (3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-Diphenyltetrazolium Bromide) on endothelial and fibroblast cell lines. An in vivo full-thickness skin defect model was created in rats, and wounds were treated with either lyophilized HCF or saline (control). Wound closure rates were measured on days 7 and 21, and histological evaluations were conducted using standard techniques. GC-MS analysis revealed that lyophilized HCF contains bioactive compounds, including antimicrobial agents, fatty acids, and molecules that promote angiogenesis. In vitro MTT assay confirmed that lyophilized HCF exhibited no cytotoxicity and supported cell viability. In vivo results revealed significantly improved wound closure in the HCF-treated group compared to control groups. Specifically, in the control group, the wound closure was 23.52 % ± 4.23 on day 7 and 86.02 % ± 1.08 on day 21. In the lyophilized HCF group, the closure was significantly higher, with 48.99 % ± 6.12 on day 7 and 91.13 % ± 1.9 on day 21. Histological analysis revealed that the HCF-treated wounds exhibited significantly improved epithelialization (p = 0.0211 on day 7; p = 0.0003 on day 21), reduced inflammatory cell infiltration (p = 0.0277 on day 7; p = 0.0179 on day 21), enhanced collagen deposition (p = 0.0082 on day 7; p = 0.0127 on day 21), and increased angiogenesis (p = 0.0001 on day 7; p < 0.0001 on day 21), compared to the control group. In conclusion, lyophilized HCF promotes effective wound healing through its bioactive components, supporting cell proliferation, reducing inflammation, and enhancing collagen deposition and angiogenesis. These findings suggest that HCF could serve as a promising therapeutic agent for wound repair. Further studies are warranted to explore its clinical applications.

In commercial pig farming, aggression and stress during herd mixing negatively affect animal welfare and productivity. This study developed an environmental pressure-feedback (EPF) model that applies metabolic and spatial pressure through brief feed withdrawal and crowding animals together in a limited space, combined with resource-based feedback, to modulate pig behavior and stress. EPF treatment significantly reduced fight frequency (95 % CI: -1.95 to -1.28) and skin lesions (P < 0.001), indicating lower aggression. Compared with controls, EPF-treated pigs showed significantly lower cortisol levels at 12 h (-69.80 ng/mL, P = 0.003) and 24 h (-58.15 ng/mL, P = 0.012) post-mixing. Chromogranin A decreased by 2.80 ng/mL (P = 0.035) and 4.34 ng/mL (P = 0.001) at these times. Glucose dropped significantly at 3 h (-2.48 mmol/L, P < 0.001), 24 h (-0.77 mmol/L, P = 0.017), and 7 days (-1.10 mmol/L, P < 0.001). Additionally, EPF-treated pigs had lower body temperature (P < 0.001) and heart rate (P < 0.05) at 3, 12, and 24 h. The reduction in these indicators demonstrates that the EPF model effectively alleviates stress load. This study reveals that the EPF model, by introducing moderate external pressure and utilizing a contrast effect to enhance feedback perception, prioritizes feeding motivation, suppresses aggressive behavior, and attenuates activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, thereby effectively mitigating stress responses.

Ventral thermal burns are frequent in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps), raising questions about reptile thermal nociception. This randomized, Latin-square experimental study compared thermal threshold (TT) and cold thermal latency (CTL) in six healthy, adult bearded dragons at three anatomical sites (inner thigh, dorsum, and ventrum). A 0.5 °C/s thermal ramp was applied to each anatomical location in triplicate, until a response (kicking/jumping, turning) was observed. Similarly, CTL was evaluated using a 0 °C probe applied at the same locations. Safety cut-offs of 55 °C for TT and 60 s for CTL were applied. The experiment was repeated four weeks later for test-retest reliability. Thermal threshold and CTL were compared among sites using extended Mantel-Haenszel statistics. Repeatability and test-retest reliability were assessed by coefficient of variation and Spearman's correlation coefficient. Median [interquartile range (Q1, Q3)] TT recorded 47.55 °C (40.33, 51.63 °C) at the inner thigh, 52.68 °C (49.57, 55 °C) at the ventrum, and 51.82 °C (51.03, 54.33 °C) at the dorsum. Thermal threshold was significantly higher at the ventrum than the thigh (P = 0.02). Median (Q1, Q3) CTL were 38.83 s (34.33, 41.67 s) at the inner thigh, 55.33 s (41.00, 60.00 s) at the ventrum, and 49.00 s (35.67, 51.00 s) at the dorsum, with significantly longer CTL at the ventrum (P < 0.01) and dorsum (P = 0.03) than the thigh. Thermal threshold demonstrated excellent repeatability but poor test-retest reliability, whereas CTL had low-to-moderate repeatability and good test-retest reliability.

Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors like canagliflozin (CFZ) have shown promise in preventing hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis in horses, but data on pharmacokinetics, tolerability, and controlled studies are limited. This randomized, open-label, placebo-controlled, crossover study evaluated these aspects of CFZ treatment in eight healthy Standardbred mares. Each horse received single supratherapeutic oral doses of CFZ (1.8 mg/kg or 3.6 mg/kg) and placebo, with a two-week washout between treatments. A graded glucose infusion (GGI) was administered post-treatment to evaluate glucose and insulin responses. Plasma CFZ, glucose, insulin, urinary glucose, serum biochemistry, and urinalysis samples were collected over 72 h post-treatment. For CFZ 1.8 mg/kg, median C_max was 2623 ng/mL, T_max 2.2 h, and T_1/2Z 21.8 h; for 3.6 mg/kg, C_max was 4975 ng/mL, T_max 2.8 h, and T_1/2Z 23.0 h. The pharmacokinetics of CFZ displayed dose-proportionality across the two tested doses. Insulin and glucose responses to a GGI, measured by the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC), were similar between CFZ doses but significantly reduced compared to placebo (p < 0.001). Specifically, mean glucose AUC for CFZ treatments was approximately 14-15 % lower, and mean insulin AUC 22-29 % lower, than for placebo. For CFZ-treated horses, mean urinary glucose concentrations ranged from 277 to 347 mmol/L at 24, 48, and 72 h post-administration, with no significant differences between dose levels. No clinical signs of adverse effects were observed, although a significant increase in GLDH levels compared to placebo (p < 0.05) was observed with the CFZ 3.6 mg/kg dose.

Metritis affects up to 20 % of dairy cows after giving birth, causing significant losses in terms of animal welfare and dairy farm profitability. The aim of the present transversal study is to evaluate the possible changes in salivary and serum proteomes in bovine metritis using a high-throughput quantitative proteomic analysis to potentially discover biomarkers of this disease. For this, proteomes of paired saliva and serum samples from cows with metritis (n = 5) and healthy controls (n = 5) were analyzed using Tandem Mass Tags (TMT). In addition, an independent set of n = 33 salivary samples was employed to further evaluate calprotectin in saliva as a candidate biomarker of metritis. TMT proteomic approach identified 326 proteins in saliva and 275 in serum (with 2 unique peptides and 1 % FDR), with 15 and 22, respectively, showing significant changes in the metritis group in comparison to controls. These proteins with different abundance between the two groups were related to different pathways including the immune system, inflammation, lipid metabolism and homeostasis, oxidative stress, DNA repair, cellular signaling, and structural and mucosal functions. One protein, calprotectin (S100A8-A9), was further validated in bovine saliva for the first time, showing higher levels in cows with metritis (median = 0.44, IQR = 0.41-0.50 mg/L) than in controls (median = 0.17, IQR = 0.10-0.26 mg/L), consistent with the increase in S100A8 found in the proteomic results. Overall, this study indicates that saliva and serum proteomes can reflect physiopathological changes caused during metritis, being a potential source of potential biomarkers of the disease. SIMPLE SUMMARY: This study identifies distinct protein profiles in the saliva and serum of healthy cows compared to cows with metritis using a gel-free proteomic approach. Significant changes in protein abundance were observed in 15 salivary and 22 serum proteins, involved in inflammation, lipid metabolism, and oxidative stress. Since S100A8 protein was found at higher levels in cows with metritis, calprotectin (S100A8-A9) was further validated in saliva in an independent sample cohort. These findings offer potential biomarkers for metritis in dairy cows and could contribute to understanding disease-related changes, impacting animal health management and milk production.