Long-term clinical observations on feline immunodeficiency virus infected asymptomatic carriers.

Eleven feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infected asymptomatic carrier (AC) cats were observed for 2 years for development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Four of the 11 (36.4%) showed progression of the clinical stage. Persistent generalized lymphadenopathy was noted in three cats as the first sign of illness after the AC phase, while the other showed lymphadenopathy with signs of AIDS-related complex. In all four cats the AIDS-related complex stage lasted for 10 months or longer, and two showed progression of the disease into AIDS. The two cats showing AIDS illnesses died within approximately 1 year after they had developed persistent generalized lymphadenopathy. Pathology confirmed the diagnosis of AIDS characterized by the presence of depletion lesions in the lymphoid organs, and of severe infections of an opportunistic nature. The overall mortality of FIV infected AC cats during a 2 year period was two out of 11 (18.2%). These cats showed decreased concanavalin A mitogen response of peripheral blood mononuclear cells as the disease progressed.

Elevation of tissue cathepsin B and L activities in gastric cancer.

Cathepsin B and L activities were determined with 7-amino-4-methyl-coumarin conjugates as substrates using small tissue specimens of gastric cancer and benign gastric ulcer. Both cathepsin B and L activities were higher in homogenates of gastric cancer tissue than in regenerative mucosa of benign gastric ulcer. Cathepsin B activity was much higher in cancer tissue than in tissue surrounding the tumor. In contrast, the activity in regenerative mucosa of benign gastric ulcer was not elevated as compared with the tissue surrounding the ulcer. Similar results were obtained with cathepsin L activity. These results indicate that cathepsin B and L are related to proliferation and evolvement of gastric cancer.

Distribution of copper in biopsied canine liver.

Biopsied canine liver tissues were investigated histochemically by electron microscopy to demonstrate copper localization. The samples were fixed and stained with the modified sulfide-silver method with a combination of iron and zinc removal. Using this method, the hepatic copper, even at a low concentration of 30 micrograms/g dry weight, was detectable. Copper was found in the hepatocyte lysosomes or in the cytoplasm as electrondense granules.

D-glucose transport and glycolytic enzyme activities in erythrocytes of dogs, pigs, cats, horses, cattle and sheep.

The activities of D-glucose transport (D-GT) and the glycolytic enzymes hexokinase (HK) and pyruvate kinase (PK), were measured in the erythrocytes of dogs, pigs, cats, horses, cattle and sheep. The erythrocytes of dogs had the highest activities of D-GT, HK and PK, significantly higher than the activities in the erythrocytes of the herbivores. The activities of D-GT and HK in cat erythrocytes were significantly lower than in those of dogs. The differences between the activities of D-GT in the erythrocytes of the different species followed the differences in activities of HK but not those in the activities of PK or in the blood glucose concentrations. It is considered that the activity of HK provides a convenient measurement of the relative rates of glucose oxidation in erythrocytes.

Electrophoretical analysis of serum ALP isoenzymes in neonatal calves.

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) isoenzymes obtained from sera of fetus and neonatal calves were examined by electrophoretical analysis using cellulose acetate membrane. A band at Rf 0.45 was detected in the fetal sera. Two bands at Rf 0.53 and Rf 0.31 were observed in the sera of calves 60 days after birth. By immunoelectrophoretical analysis with the anti-kidney ALP in agarose, a precipitin line appeared from the sera of calves at 4.5 hours after birth. No precipitin line was observed from the fetal sera. Results showed that kidney ALP isoenzymes are present in the serum just after birth in cattle.

Elution profiles and molecular weights of placental cystine aminopeptidase in animals.

Gel filtration was performed for cystine aminopeptidase (CAP) [EC 3.4.11.3] on full term placental extracts from human, cynomolgus monkey, dog, goat, pig and horse. The enzymatic profiles of CAP were examined and compared with that of CAP in pregnancy plasma on the basis of inhibitory effects. Elution profiles of placental extracts exhibited 2 CAP activity peaks in human and pig, 3 peaks in cynomolgus monkey, dog and goat, and 4 peaks in horse. The molecular weights of placental CAP that showed identical inhibitory effects to that of pregnancy plasma CAP were estimated to be approximately 325,000 in human, 350,000 in the cynomolgus monkey, 140,000 in the dog, 140,000 in the goat, 128,000 in the pig, and 115,000 in the horse. These molecular weights tended to decrease in accordance with the increase of barrier layers present between maternal blood and placental syncytiotrophoblasts in which CAP is synthesized.

Serum bile acid composition of the dog, cow, horse and human.

The fractionation of serum bile acids was performed in the dog, cow, horse, and human by high performance liquid chromatography equipped with an immobilized 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3 alpha-HSD) column. There were significant differences in the bile acid compositions, conjugation patterns and quantities of each bile acid among these animals. Cholic acid was the major primary bile acid in the dog and cow, which constituted 62.9% and 83.5%, respectively, whereas chenodeoxycholic acid was the major acid in the horse and human, which constituted 68.4% and 46.3%, respectively. Taurine conjugates were predominant in the dog and horse, which constituted 94.4% and 85.3%, respectively, whereas glycine conjugates were predominant in the cow and human, which constituted 31.0% and 49.4%, respectively. Although there were several unidentified peaks, it was confirmed that they had a hydroxy group at the C-3 alpha position by chromatographing the samples without the 3 alpha-HSD column.

Histopathology and viral antigen distribution in lymph nodes of cats naturally infected with feline immunodeficiency virus.

Lymph nodes from cats with natural feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection were examined histopathologically for characterization of lesions in the symptomatic and terminal stages. The localization of viral antigen was also studied in the nodes by immunohistochemistry using a monoclonal antibody to FIV p24. In a node of persistent generalized lymphadenopathy stage, follicular hyperplasia was prominent and the viral antigen was demonstrated predominantly in the follicular lymphocytes and tingible body macrophages. In cats died at AIDS related complex stage, the lymph nodes showed either mixed follicular hyperplasia and involution, involution, or mixed involution and depletion. The lymph nodes in those died at AIDS stage showed considerable destruction of the nodal architecture with involution and depletion of lymphoid follicles. In this terminal stage, the viral antigen was seen prominently in histiocytes/macrophages of the sinus. These findings observed in the dead cats were similar to the lymph node changes seen in human AIDS associated with HIV infection. It was suggested that sequential histologic changes from follicular hyperplasia to depletion via involution took place in the FIV infected lymph node with persistence of FIV antigen.

Changes in bile acid composition of serum and gallbladder bile in bile duct ligated dogs.

Biliary obstruction was produced by surgical ligation of the common bile duct to observe alterations in serum bile acid composition. The percent composition of serum bile acids was found to change with time. Taurocholic acid increased on day 3 and accounted for more than 90% of the total bile acids in all dogs, however it decreased after day 7. The percentage of taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDC) and taurodeoxycholic acid (TDC) decreased to 4.2-6.0% and 0.2-0.7% on day 3, respectively. However, the percentage of TCDC increased after day 7 in all dogs and reached greater than 20% on day 14 in 2 dogs, whereas the percent TDC after bile duct ligation remained low in all dogs. Glycolithocholic acid, which was not identified in normal dog sera, was detected on day 3 and remained throughout the study in all dogs. Bile acid composition of gallbladder bile sampled on day 35 was similar to the serum bile acid composition on the same day. This indicates that the bile acids refluxed into the circulation in these dogs. In the present study, total cholic acid to chenodeoxycholic acid (C:CDC) ratio increased to 15.5-22.3 at three days post bile duct ligation and after the day 14, the C:CDC ratio decreased to its pre-ligation value or below. In contrast, the glycine conjugated to taurine conjugated bile acids (G:T) ratio did not change. Therefore, at this time, the G:T ratio would not be usable as an indicator of liver disease in dogs while it may be possible to use the C:CDC ratio.

Placental and plasma cystine aminopeptidase in pregnant animals.

The placental and plasma cystine aminopeptidase (CAP) in pregnant animals was examined on stability after the treatment with L-methionine, ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (EDTA) and heat. Inhibitory effects of these treatments on enzyme activities were different among CAPs from the animal species, however, significant correlation in those effects between placental and plasma CAPs was observed. These results suggested that plasma CAP might reflect placental CAP and seemed to be available for estimating maternal gestational conditions.

Pathologic features of acquired immunodeficiency-like syndrome in cats experimentally infected with feline immunodeficiency virus.

Five specific pathogen free cats were inoculated with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) isolated in Japan to observe changes toward development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-like disease. All inoculated cats had lymphadenopathy and mild respiratory disease shortly after inoculation. Following the initial acute phase lasting for more than 40 weeks, the clinical signs gradually diminished in three animals, and the asymptomatic carrier (AC) stage was observed at 45 (1 cat) and 70 (2 cats) weeks postinoculation (p.i.). Two of the three cats developed respiratory signs and diarrhea at 105 or 106 weeks p.i. One cat died at 121 weeks p.i. with severe wasting, with necropsy findings consistent with AIDS-related complex (ARC). The others were surviving at 150 weeks p.i. with mild clinical signs or asymptomatic. Another group of two cats developed more severe illness without the AC phase. One died at 48 weeks p.i. with the ARC illness. The other cat developed marked emaciation with diarrhea at 75 weeks p.i., and died at 100 weeks p.i. with a histologic diagnosis suggestive of terminal immunodeficiency. Histologically, the lymph nodes showed serial changes toward the terminal illness, from follicular hyperplasia at the acute phase to the lymphoid depletion at the ARC and AIDS-like terminal stages. The FIV antigen was demonstrated in the lymph nodes. The virus was isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of all the inoculated animals. These data demonstrated possible etiologic association of FIV with development of AIDS-like disorders in the cat.

Feline immunodeficiency virus infection in cats of Japan.

A seroepidemiologic survey for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection was conducted in Japan. Between June and December 1987, individual sera (n = 3,323) were submitted by veterinary practitioners from many parts of the country. Specimens were from 1,739 cats with clinical signs suggestive of FIV infection and from 1,584 healthy-appearing cats seen by the same practitioners. The overall FIV infection rate among cats in Japan was 960/3,323 cats (28.9%). The infection rate was more than 3 times higher in the clinically ill cats, compared with that in the healthy cats of the same cohort (43.9 vs 12.4%). Male cats were 1.5 times as likely to be infected as were females. Almost all FIV-infected cats were domestic cats (as opposed to purebred cats). Complete clinical history was available for 700 of 960 FIV-infected cats. Of these 700 FIV-infected cats, 626 (89.4%) were clinically ill, and the remainder did not have clinical signs of disease. The mean age at the time of FIV diagnosis for the 700 cats was 5.2 years, with younger mean age for males (4.9 years) than for females (5.8 years). Most of the infected cats (94.7%) were either allowed to run outdoors or had lived outdoors before being brought into homes. The mortality for FIV-infected cats during the 6 months after diagnosis was 14.7%, and the mean age at the time of death was 5.7 years. Concurrent FeLV infection was seen in 12.4% of the FIV-infected cats, but this was not much different from the historical incidence of FeLV infection in similar groups of cats not infected with FIV.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Immunological investigation of intestinal, liver, kidney, bone, placental and serum alkaline phosphatase in cattle.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the immunological difference between intestinal, liver, kidney, bone, placental and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALPs) in cattle. Kidney, bone and placental ALPs were purified from each tissue by gel filtration and ion-exchange chromatographies, and intestinal, liver, and placental ALPs were obtained from a commercial source. The antibody to each tissue ALP was prepared by immunizing rabbits and tested by double immunodiffusion analysis in cross reactivities. The results indicated that the bovine tissue ALPs are divided into four groups in antigenicity, that is, intestinal, bone, liver and kidney-placental ALPs. The fetus, calf and cow sera contained bone ALP, and calf and cow sera also contained kidney or placental ALP, but all of the sera did not contain intestinal and liver ALP.

The microheterogeneity of bovine serum alpha 1-acid glycoprotein.

The microheterogeneity in bovine serum alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (alpha 1AGP) was examined by crossed affino-immunoelectrophoresis with concanavalin A(Con A). In healthy cows, serum alpha 1AGP revealed 2 fractions which were named fraction 1 and 2 according to the degree of binding affinity to Con A. The mean +/- SD of serum alpha 1AGP concentration was 0.31 +/- 0.09 g/l and the relative amounts of fraction 1 and 2 were approximately 67% and 33% respectively on this method. In bovine leukemia cases, 5 out of 8 had a high serum alpha 1AGP concentration of more than 0.7 g/l. On the electrophoretic pattern, the other 2 fractions (Con A weakly and non-reactive fractions, named fraction 3 and 4) were observed in 5 cases and their relative amounts of 4 fractions were 17.8-28.5%, 35.5-46.0%, 17.9-24.4% and 12.0-17.2%, respectively. In bovie leukemia virus infected cows with no clinical symptoms, however, serum alpha 1AGP concentration and the electrophoretic patterns were almost the same as those in healthy cows.

Altered mitogen response of peripheral blood lymphocytes in different stages of feline immunodeficiency virus infection.

To elucidate relationship between disease progress and immunologic alteration in feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection, we classified naturally infected cats into clinical stage groups using the working criteria modified from those for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Among the five distinct stages described for HIV infection, the three phases; asymptomatic carrier (AC), AIDS related complex (ARC), and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), were evaluated for concanavalin A (Con A)-induced lymphocyte blastogenic activities by using glucose consumption assay. There was a significant decrease of lymphocyte response in AC phase. The loss of response became marked as the disease progressed to ARC and AIDS, with an almost complete loss of mitogen response in AIDS phase. In addition to the loss of a lymphocyte function, AIDS in FIV infection was characterized by marked emaciation, anemia or pancytopenia, and postmortem evidences of opportunistic infections and lymphoid depletion.

Decrease in mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferative responses in cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus.

The blastformation tests using concanavalin A and pokeweed mitogen were carried out on peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). The infected cats included those showing multiple chronic disease, those with a single mild sign, and one with no clinical sign. The infected cats showed significantly lower mitogenic responses of peripheral lymphocytes to both mitogens and lower lymphocyte counts as compared to uninfected healthy cats. These immunologic alterations in the infected cats may be closely related to the development of immunodeficiency-like disorders associated with FIV.

The changes of antioxidative enzyme activities in equine erythrocytes following exercise.

The change in activities of 3 major antioxidative enzymes in equine erythrocytes, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSHpx), and catalase, was investigated in order to evaluate the effect of exercise. Blood samples were obtained from 11 thoroughbred horses before and immediately after vigorous exercise which induced the increase of plasma lipid peroxide (Lpx) concentration from 1.16 +/- 0.40 nmol/ml to 1.29 +/- 0.34 nmol/ml. Following the exercise, the GSHpx activity in erythrocytes was significantly reduced from 69 +/- 10 IU/gHb to 65 +/- 8 IU/gHb, whereas SOD and catalase activities were not changed. Effects of an antioxidative compound, containing selenium and vitamin E(Se-E), on the response of antioxidative enzyme activities following the exercise were examined. Seven horses were injected intramuscularly with Se-E(Se:25 mg, vitamin E:54.8 mg) and received the same vigorous exercise. After Se-E treatment, plasma Lpx levels before the exercise were decreased from 1.24 +/- 0.09 nmol/ml to 0.86 +/- 0.03 nmol/ml, however, SOD, GSHpx, and catalase activities were not varied. The Se-E treatment slightly prevented the decrease in GSHpx activity and the increase in plasma Lpx level after the exercise, having no effect on SOD and catalase activities. These results suggested that the changes of GSHpx activity in erythrocytes might reflect the protective condition against exercise-induced lipid peroxidation.