Archiv fur experimentelle Veterinarmedizin最新文献

The renal fructose 1,6 bis-phosphatase was partially purified from goat kidney. The purified enzyme showed 10.5 as the pH optimum. The enzyme essentially required Mg2+ for its activity. Heavy metals inhibited enzyme activity. Inhibition was relieved by chelator EDTA and cysteine. These results suggest that renal fructose of goat, too, is sulfhydryl-requiring enzyme.

In investigations of 51 pregnant sows, blood Hb levels above 7.45 mmol/l (mean value of 8.94 +/- 0.88) were recorded from 43 animals (Group A), while levels below that margin were recorded from eight (Group B) (mean value of 6.73 +/- 0.31). Iron levels in blood plasma of Group A were 36.9 +/- 8.07 and were thus higher (p less than 0.01) than those in Group B (28.9 +/- 5.19 mumol/l). No difference was found to exist between the two groups with regard to iron fixation capacity as well as copper and zinc in blood plasma. Oral uptake of 50, 500 or 2,000 mg of iron in the form of FeSO4.7H2O with cereal shred as morning ration by 17 or 15 sows failed to cause any increase in blood plasma iron levels, within 360 minutes from uptake. Literature data as well as the results of these analyses have supported the recommendation that Hb variations between 4.96 and 9.93 mmol/l (8-16 g/dl) should be rated as physiological in the blood of pregnant sows. The GDR Standard TGL 35,423 on "Monitoring of Metabolism on Pig Breeding and Fattening Units" should be accordingly amended.

Twenty calves, following their re-accommodation on a calf raising unit, were tested twelve days for presence of Pasteurellae and mycoplasms on the mucosa of the nasal pharynx and in blood. The same microorganisms were searched for in another 65 calves, yet, only at the beginning of pneumonia. Tests were applied to 19 calves for presence of chlamydia in the blood. The nasopharynx of all 20 calves was colonised by Pasteurellae, whereas mycoplasms were detected only in few cases. Neither Pasteurellae nor mycoplasms were isolated by blood culturing, though chlamydia were found in concomitance with pneumonia in three of 13 evaluable cases.

Myocardia were histologically examined for the presence of pathomorphological processes in 143 pigs of varying age groups (one, three, seven to nine, and 24 months). Some of them had been slaughtered in clinically intact condition. Others had died of non-cardial diseases. Numerous alterations were recorded, with the following among them being more suitable than others for quantitative assessment and thus objective appraisal of the myocardium: inflammatory infiltrations, granular or hyaline disintegration of fibres, fibre necrosis, dystrophic calcification of fibres, degenerative fat infiltration, and sarcosporidiosis. These parameters were increasingly detectable along with growing age of animals. Inflammatory infiltrations were among the most common findings from pigs for slaughter, aged seven to nine months (40.4 percent of myocardial samples or 58 percent of hearts), followed by muscle fibre necroses (26.4 or 42.0 percent). Most of these disorders were but slightly manifest and were considered to be indicators of catabolic or reparative processes in the myocardium. Attention should be given to them, whenever it comes to pigs with cardiac or circulatory disturbances.

An account is given in this paper of characteristic parameters of Haemophilus somnus, the aetiological factor of various cattle diseases. Morphological properties of the pathogen are described together with techniques for isolation and identification. Also discussed are its physiological, biochemical, and antigenic properties as well as its present position in taxonomy and the structure of the outer membrane.

Measurement of vaginal temperature and electrical conductivity of cervicovaginal mucus were conducted in 20 dairy cows and were related to the phase of the oestrus cycle. Temperature and electrical conductivity in the anterior part of the vagina changed in synchronicity with phases of the oestrous cycle. About 12 hours before ovulation, the vaginal temperature increased from 37.94 +/- 0.33 degrees C to 39.00 +/- 0.64 degrees C, as compared to the pre-oestrus value. The occurrence of oestrus was accompanied by an increase in electrical conductivity of mucus in the anterior part of the vagina from 7.60 +/- 0.33 mS to 12.00 +/- 0.54 mS. Vaginal temperature dropped to 38.50 +/- 0.29 degrees C, and electrical conductivity dropped to 10.00 +/- 0.55 mS at ovulation time. Rises in vaginal temperature and electrical conductivity in the anterior part of the vagina were additional symptoms of oestrus and were followed by decrease in these values, indicating ovulation in cows.

We found coupling of short sequences of VP1 to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) by means of glutaraldehyde to be a very complex phenomenon which could only be controlled by strict standardization of components and reaction conditions. Considering the results, we may conclude that big immunogenic proteins, like KLH, are advantageous for achieving sufficient and specific antibody response with neutralizing activity. When using KLH, we did not find simple dependence of immunogenicity or neutralizing activity on the incorporation rate of hapten in KLH in a region between 50 and 200. To develop a synthetic vaccine of good economy, investigations have to be continued, primary with a view to lowering the doses involved.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV), like human T-cell leukemia viruses, Types I and II, contains three open reading frames at the 3' end of its genome. The longest open reading frame encodes a transactivator protein which is generated by a doubly-spliced mRNA. A series of co-transfection experiments, using proviral BLV pX expression plasmids under the control of the Moloney leukemia virus LTR and the indicator plasmid containing the assayable lac Z gene under the control of BLV LTR, revealed that both NIH3T3 cells and non-infected fetal lamb kidney cells are able to express an active transactivator protein.

Plasmids were constructed by the use of pEX vectors that encode and express different parts of the bovine leukemia virus (BLV): main core protein p24, nucleic acid-binding protein p12, transmembrane protein gp30, and different segments of envelope protein gp51. Expression of fusion proteins with molecular weights higher than 117 kD for all recombinant plasmids was shown in Coomassie-blue stained gels and by Western blot analysis with rabbit anti-BLV sera. Coupling of a gp51-encoding with a p24-encoding DNA fragment in pEX vectors led to synthesis of a fusion protein that was recognized by monoclonal antibodies directed against gp51 and p24 epitopes. Using another vector, a gp51-encoding DNA fragment of BLV was expressed as a fusion protein with 100 amino acids of the MS2 polymerase. The fusion protein was recognized by monoclonal antibodies directed against gp51.

A new ELISA test is described for the detection of antibodies to bovine leukemia virus protein p24. This test employs a bacterially synthesized p24 antigen which represents a hybrid protein consisting of beta-galactosidase and about 70% of the mature viral p24. The antigen preparation was enriched from Escherichia coli cells to 95% purity and was used for the detection of antibodies in cattle. In a selected set of 100 positive field sera, 97 could be verified by the new test.