RESUMEN
The use of ketamine/xylazine for its anesthetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-depressant properties could alter other medications and immune functions of the body. Thus, the current study explored how ketamine/xylazine affects the severity of influenza infection in BALB/c and C57Bl/6 mice, monitored for weight loss after intranasal inoculation with A/Puerto Rico/8/34 influenza virus. Mice were inoculated by using a micropipettor to insert 18 µL of control or a suspension of virus into each nostril and allowing the mouse to inhale the material. Several experiments were performed where groups of mice were treated with various combinations of virus and anesthesia and the results compared. Mice were weighed daily and monitored for other signs of illness. The experiments continued until the mice either regained their original weight or died (were euthanized when signs indicated non-recoverable status), which ranged from nine to twenty-three days. Anesthetized mice experienced more weight loss. Additionally, in experiments where the virus suspension was potent enough to lead to death, only mice that were anesthetized died.
RESUMEN
Though Freund's complete adjuvant effectively increases immune response to vaccines in various species, its potentially severe inflammatory effects have led many animal researchers to seek alternative immunological adjuvants. In a study of New Zealand white rabbits, the authors compared the immune and adverse effects of Freund's complete adjuvant with the effects of two formulations of AdjuVac, an immunological adjuvant previously developed by their group. All three adjuvants improved humoral immune response but also caused inflammation. Inflammatory reactions caused by AdjuVac, however, tended to be less severe than those caused by Freund's complete adjuvant.
Asunto(s)
Adyuvantes Inmunológicos/farmacología , Adyuvante de Freund/farmacología , Conejos/inmunología , Vacunación/veterinaria , Adyuvantes Inmunológicos/efectos adversos , Animales , Anticuerpos/sangre , Femenino , Adyuvante de Freund/efectos adversos , Hormona Liberadora de Gonadotropina/inmunología , Vacunación/métodosRESUMEN
Avian scavengers, such as American crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos), have potential to translocate infectious agents (prions) of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) diseases including chronic wasting disease, scrapie, and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. We inoculated mice with fecal extracts obtained from 20 American crows that were force-fed material infected with RML-strain scrapie prions. These mice all evinced severe neurological dysfunction 196-231 d postinoculation (xâ=198; 95% CI: 210-216) and tested positive for prion disease. Our results suggest a large proportion of crows that consume prion-positive tissue are capable of passing infectious prions in their feces (Ëp=1.0; 95% CI: 0.8-1.0). Therefore, this common, migratory North American scavenger could play a role in the geographic spread of TSE diseases.
Asunto(s)
Cuervos/metabolismo , Sistema Digestivo/metabolismo , Priones/patogenicidad , Animales , Ensayo de Inmunoadsorción Enzimática , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Scrapie/transmisión , Análisis de SupervivenciaRESUMEN
Two serine protease enzymes, subtilisin 309 and subtilisin 309-v, were used to digest brain homogenates containing high levels of prion infectivity using mildly alkaline conditions to investigate prion decontamination methods. To establish that PrP(res) infectivity was eliminated, we utilized the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) mouse-adapted scrapie model system for bioassay. Only one digestion condition (subtilisin 309 at 138mAU/ml, 55 degrees C and 14h digestion time pH 7.9) was considered to be highly relevant statistically (P<0.001) compared to control, with 52% of challenged mice surviving until the end of the study period. In contrast, treatment of PrP(res) by autoclaving at 134 degrees C or treatment with hypochlorite at a concentration of 20,000 ppm completely protected mice from prionosis. Further, in vitro assays suggest that potential proteolytic based PrP(res) decontamination methods must use high enzyme concentration, pH values >9.0, and elevated temperatures to be a safely efficacious, thereby limiting applicability on delicate surgical instruments and use in the environment.