Evaluation of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterins for porcine torque teno virus DNAs.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether commercial Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae bacterins sold for use in swine contain porcine torque teno virus (TTV). SAMPLE POPULATION: 22 commercially available M hyopneumoniae bacterins. PROCEDURES: Direct and nested PCR assays for genogroup-specific TTV DNAs were performed on serials of M hyopneumoniae bacterins by use of published and custom-designed primer pairs at 3 laboratories in North America and Europe. RESULTS: Of the 22 bacterins tested by use of direct and nested PCR assays, 7 of 9 from the United States, 2 of 5 from Canada, and 4 of 8 from Europe contained genogroup 1- and genogroup 2-TTV DNAs. In some bacterins, the TTV DNAs were readily detected by use of direct PCR assays. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Analysis of these data indicated that many of the commercially available M hyopneumoniae bacterins were contaminated with TTV DNA. It is possible that some of these bacterins could inadvertently transmit porcine TTV infection to TTV-naïve swine.

Diagnosis of trichomoniasis in 'virgin' bulls by culture and polymerase chain reaction.

The diagnostic test for Tritrichomonas foetus in bulls is microscopic examination of cultured preputial samples. Trichomonads other than T. foetus can be present in a preputial sample. Both a staining technique and a polymerase chain reaction assay were useful in differentiating between T. foetus and another trichomonad observed in samples from virgin bulls.

Early inflammatory response to the saponin adjuvant Matrix-M in the pig.

The early inflammatory response to Matrix-M was evaluated in pigs. Adverse reactions measured as body temperature, appetite, activity level and reaction at the site of injection were not observed after s.c. injection with three doses of the adjuvant (75, 100 or 150µg) into one week old piglets. Analyses of the immediate cytokine response of PBMC after in vitro exposure to Matrix-M (AbISCO-100(®)) revealed only a low expression of mRNA for tumour necrosis factor-α (p<0.05) after 6h incubation. Histological examination revealed an infiltration of leukocytes, haemorrhage and necrosis in muscle 24h after i.m. injection of 150µg Matrix-M in pigs aged eleven weeks. At this time, different grades of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia were recorded in the draining lymph node that was enlarged in three of these six pigs injected with Matrix-M. The global transcriptional response at the site of injection and in the draining lymph node was analyzed using Affymetrix GeneChip Porcine Genome Array. A significant enrichment of gene signatures for the cell types described as "myeloid cells" and "plasmacytoid dendritic cells" was observed at the site of injection in Matrix-M injected pigs compared with pigs injected with saline. A number of genes encoding cytokines/chemokines or their receptors were upregulated at the injection site as well as in the draining lymph node. In the draining lymph node, a majority of the upregulated genes were interferon-regulated genes (IRGs). The expression of IFN-ß, but not IFN-α, was increased in the draining lymph nodes of a majority of the pigs exposed to Matrix-M. These IFN-ß expressing pigs also expressed increased levels of osteopontin (OPN) or stimulator of interferon genes (STING), two factors known to facilitate the expression of type I IFNs in response to viral infection. Thus, Matrix-M does not appear to induce any harmful inflammatory response in piglets whilst contributing to the innate immunity by activating the type I IFN system, possibly through several alternative signalling pathways.