Evaluation of Lipopolysaccharide and Interleukin-6 as Useful Screening Tool for Chronic Endometritis.

Universal diagnostic criteria for chronic endometritis (CE) have not been established due to differences in study design among researchers and a lack of typical clinical cases. Lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) have been reported to cause inflammation in the reproductive systems of several animals. This study aimed to elucidate the influence of LPS in the pathogenesis of CE in humans. We investigated whether LPS affected cytokine production and cell proliferation in the endometrium using in vivo and in vitro experiments. LPS concentrations were analyzed between control and CE patients using endometrial tissues. LPS administration stimulated the proliferation of EM-E6/E7 cells derived from human endometrial cells. High LPS concentrations were detected in CE patients. LPS concentration was found to correlate with IL-6 gene expression in the endometrium. Inflammation signaling evoked by LPS led to the onset of CE, since LPS stimulates inflammatory responses and cell cycles in the endometrium. We identified LPS and IL-6 as suitable candidate markers for the diagnosis of CE.

Associations between plasma testosterone levels and season, nutritional status, age, and body size in free-ranging male Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus) in central Honshu, Japan.

Testosterone is an important regulator of male reproduction in terms of spermatogenesis and physiological changes in the accessory reproductive organs. Despite the important role of the testosterone level in male reproduction, testosterone levels vary among male bears even during the breeding season, and the causative underlying factors remain unknown. We postulated that testosterone levels are higher during the breeding season than during other seasons in free-ranging male bears, and that testosterone levels increase with advancing age, larger body size, and better nutritional status. We assessed potential factors (season, time of sampling, body condition index, head circumference, and age) associated with the testosterone level in 80 blood samples collected from free-ranging Asian black bears (Ursus thibetanus) captured in barrel traps in the Ashio-Nikko Mountains and Okutama Mountains in central Honshu Island, Japan. The plasma testosterone level was higher during the breeding season (May-July) than during the non-breeding season (August-November). The body condition index was significantly and positively associated with the plasma testosterone level. None of the other factors were significantly associated with the plasma testosterone level. Therefore, the body condition index may be essential for maintaining high plasma testosterone levels. These findings imply that testosterone secretion might be activated in free-ranging males during the breeding season, and animals with good nutritional status may be able to maintain high plasma testosterone levels. This study uncovered an association between nutritional conditions and reproductive activity in male bears.

Age-Related Arteriolar Changes With Lipid and Amyloid Deposits in the Gonads of Dogs.

Arteriolar lesions with lipid and/or amyloid deposits are frequently detected in canine gonads by routine histopathologic examination; however, they have never been examined in detail. In the present study, a total of 139 testes/epididymides and 200 ovaries from 72 male (4 months to 14 years old) and 105 female (7 months to 16 years old) dogs were examined for arteriolar lesions. Arteriolar lesions were detected in 21 of 72 male dogs (29%) and 54 of 105 female dogs (51%). These lesions were histologically classified into 4 types: "fibromuscular hypertrophy," characterized by thickening of the tunica intima; "focal vasculitis," characterized by mononuclear cell infiltration; "vacuolar change," consisting of lipid accumulation and infiltration of foamy cells; and "hyalinosis," characterized by irregular thickening with amyloid deposits. In the lesions of vacuolar change and hyalinosis, lipid deposition and infiltration of α-SMA-positive cells and Iba-1-positive cells were also observed. Foamy cells and amyloid deposits were immunopositive for apolipoproteins and oxidized low-density lipoprotein-related proteins. These results indicate that vacuolar change is possibly an early stage of atherosclerosis, and that amyloid may deposit as a consequence of the microenvironment associated with atherogenesis. Logistic regression analysis revealed that arteriolar lesions with lipid deposits were associated with age and interstitial cell tumors in male dogs, and with age in female dogs. Aging is likely an important risk factor of arteriolar lesions with lipid deposits of the canine gonads.

Effects of human chorionic gonadotropin treatment after artificial inseminations on conception rate with the first follicular wave dominant follicle in the ovary ipsilateral to the corpus luteum in lactating dairy cows.

We examined the effect of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) treatment 5 days after artificial insemination (AI) on conception rate when the first-wave dominant follicle (DF) in the ovaries was either ipsilateral or contralateral to the corpus luteum (CL) in lactating dairy cows. 577 cows from 4 dairy farms were divided into the following two groups 5 days after AI using transrectal ultrasonography: (1) the ipsilateral group (IG; n = 348), in which the DF was ipsilateral to the CL, and (2) the contralateral group (CG; n = 229), in which the DF was contralateral to the CL. IG and CG were further subdivided into two groups: non-treatment groups, which received no treatment (IG, n = 220; CG, n = 128), and hCG treatment group, that was administrated 1500 IU hCG 5 days after AI (IG, n = 143; CG, n = 86). Pregnancy was diagnosed by rectal palpation or transrectal ultrasonography from 53 to 67 days after AI. Conception rate was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in the hCG treatment group of IG (40.6%) than in the non-treatment group of IG (21.4%); however, there was no difference in the non-treatment (51.7%) and hCG treatment (43.0%) groups of CG. Parity, farm, days in milk at AI, interaction between the farm and hCG treatment and interaction between the farm and location of the first-wave DF and CL did not affect conception rate. Our results suggest that conception rate can be improved by administrating hCG only to cows with the first wave DF ipsilateral to the CL.

Short communication: Serum osteoprotegerin concentrations in periparturient dairy cows.

Dairy cows experience hypocalcemia at the onset of lactation; however, the contribution of bone metabolism to circulating Ca concentrations during the periparturient period is not well understood. Osteoprotegerin (OPG) protects against loss of skeletal mass by regulating osteoclastogenesis. We previously reported that the bone resorption increased around parturition in dairy cows from the perspective of bone markers in blood. The aim of this study was to explore osteoclastic bone resorption in periparturient dairy cows by measuring changes in serum OPG concentrations around calving. The OPG concentrations were evaluated in primiparous (n = 9) and multiparous (n = 9) cows at 21 d precalving and over 5 d after calving. Based on mixed model analyses, the multiparous cows had a higher serum OPG concentration than primiparous cows at precalving and exhibited a significant decline in serum OPG and Ca concentrations after calving. In contrast to multiparous cows, primiparous cows did not exhibit these changes. Therefore, we hypothesized that multiparous cows preserve their bone mineral content during late pregnancy and activate the osteoclastic bone resorption after calving. Based on our serum OPG data, we identified the different periparturient osteoclastic bone resorption patterns in healthy primiparous and multiparous dairy cows.

Associations of the first occurrence of pathogen-specific clinical mastitis with milk yield and milk composition in dairy cows.

The aim of this study was to estimate the associations of the first occurrence of pathogen-specific clinical mastitis (CM) with milk yield and milk composition (somatic cell count (SCC), lactose, fat, protein content in milk and milk urea nitrogen (MUN)). We studied 3149 dairy cows in 31 Hokkaido dairy farms in Japan. Five pathogen groups were studied: Streptococcus spp.; Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus); coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS); coliforms; and fungi. Test-day milk data and clinical records were collected from June 2011 until February 2014. Mixed models with an autoregressive correlation structure were fitted to quantify the effects of CM and several other control variables (herd, calving season, parity, week of lactation, and other diseases). Primipara (first lactation) and multipara (second and later lactations) were analysed separately. All pathogens, particularly S. aureus and fungi, were associated with significant milk losses in multipara. In this study, S. aureus and CNS infections were not associated with significant milk loss in primipara. All pathogens, in particular S. aureus and fungi, significantly increased SCC in both parity groups. All pathogens, especially CNS (in primipara) and S. aureus (in multipara), decreased lactose content. All pathogen groups except for fungi were associated with significant changes in fat, protein and MUN. Some pathogens such as Streptococcus spp. and coliforms seemed to be associated with long-term fat, protein and MUN changes. These findings provide estimates that could be used to calculate precise costs of CM, and also provide better indicators of pathogen-specific mastitis.

Gene set differential analysis of time course expression profiles via sparse estimation in functional logistic model with application to time-dependent biomarker detection.

High-throughput time course expression profiles have been available in the last decade due to developments in measurement techniques and devices. Functional data analysis, which treats smoothed curves instead of originally observed discrete data, is effective for the time course expression profiles in terms of dimension reduction, robustness, and applicability to data measured at small and irregularly spaced time points. However, the statistical method of differential analysis for time course expression profiles has not been well established. We propose a functional logistic model based on elastic net regularization (F-Logistic) in order to identify the genes with dynamic alterations in case/control study. We employ a mixed model as a smoothing method to obtain functional data; then F-Logistic is applied to time course profiles measured at small and irregularly spaced time points. We evaluate the performance of F-Logistic in comparison with another functional data approach, i.e. functional ANOVA test (F-ANOVA), by applying the methods to real and synthetic time course data sets. The real data sets consist of the time course gene expression profiles for long-term effects of recombinant interferon ß on disease progression in multiple sclerosis. F-Logistic distinguishes dynamic alterations, which cannot be found by competitive approaches such as F-ANOVA, in case/control study based on time course expression profiles. F-Logistic is effective for time-dependent biomarker detection, diagnosis, and therapy.

Construction of a virtual Mycobacterium tuberculosis consensus genome and its application to data from a next generation sequencer.

BACKGROUND: Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates are consisted of several different lineages and the epidemiology analyses are usually assessed relative to a particular reference genome, M. tuberculosis H37Rv, which might introduce some biased results. Those analyses are essentially based genome sequence information of M. tuberculosis and could be performed in sillico in theory, with whole genome sequence (WGS) data available in the databases and obtained by next generation sequencers (NGSs). As an approach to establish higher resolution methods for such analyses, whole genome sequences of the M. tuberculosis complexes (MTBCs) strains available on databases were aligned to construct virtual reference genome sequences called the consensus sequence (CS), and evaluated its feasibility in in sillico epidemiological analyses. RESULTS: The consensus sequence (CS) was successfully constructed and utilized to perform phylogenetic analysis, evaluation of read mapping efficacy, which is crucial for detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and various MTBC typing methods virtually including spoligotyping, VNTR, Long sequence polymorphism and Beijing typing. SNPs detected based on CS, in comparison with H37Rv, were utilized in concatemer-based phylogenetic analysis to determine their reliability relative to a phylogenetic tree based on whole genome alignment as the gold standard. Statistical comparison of phylogenic trees based on CS with that of H37Rv indicated the former showed always better results that that of later. SNP detection and concatenation with CS was advantageous because the frequency of crucial SNPs distinguishing among strain lineages was higher than those of H37Rv. The number of SNPs detected was lower with the consensus than with the H37Rv sequence, resulting in a significant reduction in computational time. Performance of each virtual typing was satisfactory and accorded with those published when those are available. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that virtual CS constructed from genome sequence data is an ideal approach as a reference for MTBC studies.

Distribution of follicles in canine ovary - A simple and rapid method for counting follicles.

The distribution of follicles within canine ovarian cortex was evaluated to estimate follicular homogeneity. The analysis of follicular homogeneity prior to ovarian tissue transplantation limits the impact if follicular heterogeneity on experimental results. In this report, ovarian fragments from 14 immature bitches were embedded in OCT compound. Sections (5-µm-thick) were cut on a cryostat and stained with methylene blue. The mean number follicles ranged from 3.7 to 15.6/mm(2) in the 14 ovaries examined. The variance and distortion ranged from 2.05 to 144.30 and -2.09 and 2.01, respectively. The distribution of follicles was considered even, when the variance value was lower than 10 or between 10 and 16; and absolute value of distortion was inferior to 1. The distribution of follicles within ovarian cortex in 9 of 14 bitches was judged uneven. These results indicated that follicles were not homogeneously distributed within the ovarian cortex of the majority of bitches.

Experimental investigation of bone mineral density in Thoroughbreds using quantitative computed tomography.

Bone mineral density (BMD) is one of the indications of the strength and health. BMD measured by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) was compared with that measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and radiographic bone aluminum equivalence (RBAE). Limbs were removed from horses that had been euthanized for reasons not associated with this study. Sixteen limbs (left and right metacarpals and metatarsals) from 4 horses were used to compare BMD as measured by QCT with those measured by DXA and RBAE. There was a strong correlation between BMD values measured by QCT and those measured by DXA (R(2)=0.85); correlation was also observed between values obtained by QCT and those obtained by RBAE (R(2)=0.61). To investigate changes in BMD with age, 37 right metacarpal bones, including 7 from horses euthanized because of fracture were examined by QCT. The BMD value of samples from horses dramatically increased until 2 years of age and then plateaued, a pattern similar to the growth curve. The BMD values of bone samples from horses euthanized because of fracture were within the population range, and samples of morbid fracture were not included. The relationship between BMD and age provides a reference for further quantitative studies of bone development and remodeling. Quantitative measurement of BMD using QCT may have great potential for the evaluation of bone biology for breeding and rearing management.

Pathogen and severity-dependent immune responses in bovine mastitis: highlight the dynamics of differential somatic cell count.

Immune responses in bovine clinical mastitis (CM) probably differ depending on the causative pathogen and disease severity. The observational study aimed to investigate whether both factors are associated with the dynamics of immune indicators, including somatic cell score (SCS), white blood cell count (WBC), serum albumin/globulin (A/G) ratio, and differential somatic cell count (DSCC). We collected blood and milk samples 0, 3, 5, 7, 14, and 21 days after CM occurred in 38 cows, and grouped the cases (n=49) by disease severity and pathogen. We analyzed data using a linear mixed model considering the effects of pathogens and severity, calculated estimated-marginal means for indicators at each time point, and compared the means between groups. The dynamics of WBC varied depending on both pathogen and severity. WBC changed drastically in either severe or coliform-caused CM, slightly elevated in streptococcal mastitis, but unchanged in staphylococcal mastitis. This possibly relates to the deficiency in innate immune response toward staphylococci. The A/G ratio also changed depending on severity, as it dropped sharply only in severe CM. We observed a non-linear relationship between DSCC and SCS, possibly due to mammary epithelial cells shedding in milk when CM occurred. When cows recovering from Streptococcus dysgalatiae mastitis, DSCC decreased while SCS remained high, suggesting a healing process requiring more macrophages. Our results demonstrate that both the severity and pathogen are associated with immune responses in CM, providing insights into mastitis pathogenesis.

Ultrashort Echo Time Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Cruciate Ligaments in Normal Beagles.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to provide normative ultrashort echo time magnetic resonance imaging (UTE MRI) data of the patellar ligament (PL), cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) and caudal cruciate ligament (CdCL) in non-lame Beagles. STUDY DESIGN: Eight stifles from four subjects obtained immediately postmortem were imaged using UTE MRI in the true sagittal plane. Regions of interest were drawn manually and the total (T2*), short T2* (T2*S) and long T2* (T2*L) values of the signal decay were calculated to evaluate the bound and free water components of the tendon. The T2*S, T2*L and T2* values were compared between the PL, CrCL and CdCL RESULTS: The mean and standard deviation of T2*S, T2*L and T2* were as follows: 0.54 ± 0.13, 4.65 ± 1.08 and 8.35 ± 0.82 ms for the PL; 0.46 ± 0.14, 5.99 ± 0.52 and 8.88 ± 0.4 ms for the CrCL and 0.41 ± 0.13, 7.06 ± 0.57 and 9.26 ± 0.18 ms for the CdCL. Significant differences were found between the T2*L component of the PL and each CrCL/CdCL and a smaller difference was noted between the T2*L of the CrCL and CdCL (p = 0.05). No difference of the T2*S value was found between any of the ligaments. CONCLUSION: Establishing normative UTE data of the canine stifle is valuable for comparison in future studies in which normal and damaged ligaments may be evaluated, particularly in those affected limbs in which no instability is identified on physical examination in which normal and damaged ligaments may be evaluated.

Quantitative analysis of the skull in the Japanese wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax) using CT.

In this study using computed tomography (CT), the volumes of the internal cranial cavities, such as the braincase, frontal sinus and tympanic cavity, and the ratio of the volume of each cavity to the skull volume in Japanese wolves were quantified, and CT images of the frontal sinus were observed. The results were then compared with those of other wolf subspecies, including Akita, a dog breed, to clarify the characteristics of the internal cranial cavities in Japanese wolves. The present study revealed that the Japanese wolf had a relatively larger braincase volume and a relatively smaller frontal sinus volume than the wolf ssp. (a group of wild wolf subspecies except the Japanese wolf) and Akita. Moreover, the relative and absolute tympanic cavity volumes of the Japanese wolf and Akita were significantly smaller than those of the wolf ssp. In the CT image or macroscopic observations, the frontal sinuses of the wolf ssp. and Akita were relatively well developed to the caudal and dorsal directions, respectively, compared with that of the Japanese wolf, and the tympanic cavity of the wolf ssp. was more largely swelled ventrally and medially than that of other groups.

ROS-DET: robust detector of switching mechanisms in gene expression.

A switching mechanism in gene expression, where two genes are positively correlated in one condition and negatively correlated in the other condition, is a key to elucidating complex biological systems. There already exist methods for detecting switching mechanisms from microarrays. However, current approaches have problems under three real cases: outliers, expression values with a very small range and a small number of examples. ROS-DET overcomes these three problems, keeping the computational complexity of current approaches. We demonstrated that ROS-DET outperformed existing methods, under that all these three situations are considered. Furthermore, for each of the top 10 pairs ranked by ROS-DET, we attempted to identify a pathway, i.e. consecutive biological phenomena, being related with the corresponding two genes by checking the biological literature. In 8 out of the 10 pairs, we found two parallel pathways, one of the two genes being in each of the two pathways and two pathways coming to (or starting with) the same gene. This indicates that two parallel pathways would be cooperatively used under one experimental condition, corresponding to the positive correlation, and the two pathways might be alternatively used under the other condition, corresponding to the negative correlation. ROS-DET is available from http://www.bic.kyoto-u.ac.jp/pathway/kayano/ros-det.htm.

Relationship between the Placental Retention Time and the Reproductive Performance at the Foal Heat in Thoroughbred and a Comparison with Heavy Draft.

The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between the placental retention time (PRT) and the reproductive performance following mating at the foal heat in Thoroughbreds. For this purpose, we interviewed 292 farmers over a period of 3 years with questionnaires evaluating foaling, expulsion of placenta and reproductive performance at the foal heat in 1,432 mares. The obtained data were later compared with a previous study of heavy draft mares. The average of the PRT of the 1,432 Thoroughbred mares was 58 ± 88 min (mean ± SD). The mean PRT of Thoroughbreds was significantly shorter than that of the148 min of heavy draft mares. The incidences of retained placenta (RP) occurring in the Thoroughbred mares were 5.2 and 4.0%, for over 3 and 4 hr after foaling, respectively. The incidence of RP over 4 hr was significantly lower than that of 25% in heavy draft mares. The pregnancy rate at foal heat of the mares in which PRT was less than 3 hr was 37%, and it significantly decreased to 11% for those with PRT of more than 3 hr. In the comparison of the reproductive performance between Thoroughbred and heavy draft mares, the pregnancy rate of Thoroughbreds dropped drastically to 10% when PRT exceeded 40, and in consequence, the pregnancy rate of Thoroughbreds was significantly lower than the 30% of heavy draft mares, which had a PRT of over 4 hr. In conclusion, the Thoroughbred mares had a low incidence of RP, however, a PRT exceeding 3 hr severely affected the reproductive performance at the foal heat.

LPS Administration during Fertilization Affects Epigenetic Inheritance during Embryonic Development.

Intrauterine inflammation can cause infertility by disrupting reproductive function. The pathogenesis underlying this process may primarily involve endotoxins from lipopolysaccharides (LPS), which are produced by Gram-negative bacteria. However, the long-term effects of endotoxins in mammalian pregnancy following LPS exposure during fertilization have not been clarified. In this study, we performed experiments to analyze the influence of LPS on early embryonic development and fetal development in mice. Mice uteruses were examined for the expression of genes related to the inflammatory response. The expression of Il-1ß and Il-6 increased following the administration of 200 and 1000 µg/kg LPS. Exposure to LPS using in vitro fertilization (IVF) significantly decreased the embryonic developmental rate. A concentration of 100 µg/kg LPS significantly increased the placental weight and fetal crown -rump length (CRL), whereas a concentration of 200 µg/kg LPS significantly decreased the placenta weight and fetal weight in vivo. These findings indicate that maternal LPS during fertilization affects fetal development until the late stage of pregnancy. Thus, maternal endotoxins may affect epigenetic inheritance during embryonic development from the early to late stages of pregnancy.

Seasonal Variation and Factors Affecting Trypanosoma theileri Infection in Wild Sika Deer (Ezo Sika Deer Cervus nippon yesoensis) in Eastern Hokkaido.

Trypanosoma (Megatrypanum) spp. are isolated from domestic and wild ruminants, including deer, worldwide. The prevalence of trypanosomes in mammals is influenced by a number of factors such as host age and vector abundance. However, the seasonal variation of and factors affecting trypanosome infection in the wild deer population remain elusive. In this study, we analyzed the seasonal variation in trypanosome prevalence and the factors that affect Trypanosoma theileri Laveran, 1902, infection in wild sika deer (Ezo sika deer) Cervus nippon yesoensis (Heude, 1884) in Eastern Hokkaido through a two-year survey. Seasonal variation in the prevalence of trypanosome infection in the deer population ranged from 0 to 41% as per hematocrit concentration and 17 to 89% as per PCR results. In general, the prevalence of T. theileri by PCR in 2020 was higher than that in 2019. Moreover, the prevalence was significantly higher in the aged population than among the younger population. These findings may explain why individual conditions and sampling season were associated with trypanosome prevalence. This is the first study to investigate the seasonal variation in and risk factors affecting trypanosome infection in wild deer.

Risk factors for equine trypanosomosis and hematological analysis of horses in Paraguay.

Animal trypanosomosis, caused by Trypanozoon trypanosomes (Trypanosoma evansi and T. equiperdum), and Trypanosoma vivax, is endemic to South American countries and has a negative impact on the livestock industry. However, the risk factors for trypanosomosis in Paraguay remain unknown. This study aimed to determine the risk factors for equine trypanosomosis in Paraguay based on a PCR-based molecular survey and individual horse sampling data. In this study, 739 blood samples were collected from horses in 16 departments of Paraguay between August 2019 and November 2020. To elucidate the risk factors for trypanosome infection, the relationship between trypanosome infection status detected by PCR and the location, sex, age, breed of horses, and season of sample collection was analyzed. There were no significant differences in trypanosome prevalence in horses between the eastern and western regions, ages, or breeds of horses in Paraguay. Sex and season were identified as risk factors for trypanosome infection in horses in Paraguay in the current study. These results suggest that the rainy-summer season, when vectors increase in number and their blood-sucking activity, could be the most important risk factor for trypanosome infection in Paraguay horses. Preventive measures and treatments should be developed to address these factors.

Genetic and seasonal variations of Trypanosoma theileri and the association of Trypanosoma theileri infection with dairy cattle productivity in Northern Japan.

Trypanosoma theileri is considered a non- or low-pathogenic trypanosome that generally causes latent infection in apparently healthy cattle; however, T. theileri propagates in the bloodstream and may cause clinical disease in pregnant animals or co-infection with bovine leukemia virus or Theileria orientalis. In the current study, a monthly survey of T. theileri infection over one year was carried out in a research dairy farm in Hokkaido, Japan to determine the 1) seasonal variations in the prevalence, 2) genetic characterization of T. theileri, and 3) associations of milk and blood parameters in dairy cattle with T. theileri infection, including data of metabolic profile tests and dairy herd performance tests, using linear mixed models. We found that 1) the prevalence of T. theileri infection was significantly higher in summer and winter than in other seasons; 2) T. theileri possibly showed genetic diversity in Eastern Hokkaido; and 3) T. theileri infection was associated with significantly lower levels of blood urea nitrogen, milk protein, and solids-not-fat, which are caused by a low rumen fermentation level. This is the first study to report the negative impact of T. theileri infection in dairy cattle, and our study indicates that control of T. theileri infection can improve the productivity of dairy cattle.

Is Salmonella enterica shared between wildlife and cattle in cattle farming areas? An 11-year retrospective study in Tokachi district, Hokkaido, Japan.

BACKGROUND: Salmonella enterica in cattle has long been problematic and suspected to be transmitted by wildlife in Tokachi, Hokkaido, a major cattle farming area in Japan. Understanding the role of wildlife in S. enterica transmission would be helpful for developing control strategies of bovine salmonellosis. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to elucidate the possibility of S. enterica transmission between sympatric wildlife, including raccoons and crows and cattle, in Tokachi from 2008 to 2018 by analysing S. enterica detection records, and the genetic relatedness of serotypes shared between wildlife and cattle. METHODS: S. enterica detection records were based on the results of a field survey and existing cattle records at relevant organisations, including clinical reports, a monitoring survey and quarantine for introduced calves at growing farms and public calving farms. S. enterica was identified by polymerase chain reaction assay and serotyped by agglutination assay. The detection records were organised chronologically to investigate whether common serotypes in wildlife and cattle were detected in the same year. The isolates corresponding to detection records were assessed for their genetic patterns by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: The prevalence of S. enterica in raccoons and crows was 10.7% (17/159) and 5.7% (55/967), respectively. The following serotypes were detected from both wildlife and cattle: Braenderup, Dublin, Infantis, Mbandaka, Montevideo, 4,[5],12:i:- and Typhimurium. Genetically similar isolates for S. Braenderup, S. Dublin, S. Montevideo and S. 4,[5],12:i:- were detected from both species in the same year. CONCLUSIONS: Our long-term retrospective observations supported that S. enterica was shared between wildlife and cattle. Wildlife invasions should be controlled at farms to prevent inter-species transmission of S. enterica from livestock farms.