Evaluation of hematological changes, oxidant/antioxidant status and immuno-logical responses in sheep and goats naturally infected with Linguatula serrata.

Linguatula serrata is a worldwide zoonotic food-borne parasite. The parasite is responsible for linguatulosis and poses a concern to human and animal health in endemic regions. This study investigated the hematological changes, oxidant/antioxidant status and immunological responses in goats and sheep naturally infected with L. serrata. Hematological changes, antioxidant enzymes and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were measured. The level of inter-leukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) mRNA expression was investigated in lymph nodes. According to the hemogram results, eosinophils were significantly increased in the infected goats and sheep, and Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT), hematocrit (HCT), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) were significantly decreased. The levels of MDA and the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were significantly higher in infected animals than in non-infected animals. However, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) was significantly lower in infected animals than in non-infected animals. A comparison of the cytokine mRNA expression in lymph nodes from infected and non-infected animals showed higher cytokine expression in the infected animals. Infection with L. serrata caused microcytic hypochromic and normocytic hypochromic anemia in goats and sheep. The inconsistent results of immunological changes were found in infected goats and sheep. In both animals, oxidative stress occurred and led to an increase in lipid peroxidation. L. serrata created a cytokine microenvironment biased towards the type 2 immune responses.

Comparison of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis infection in cattle, sheep and goats in the Khuzestan Province of Iran: Results of a preliminary survey.

BACKGROUND: Paratuberculosis or Johne's disease, the chronic infectious granulomatous enteritis of ruminants, is a worldwide infection, which is caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP). The most common symptoms of this disease in cattle are loss of milk production, weight loss and diarrhoea, whereas in sheep and goats, the symptoms are emaciation, anorexia and severe disability. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the seroprevalence of MAP in cattle, sheep and goats in the southwest of Iran. METHODS: Blood samples were randomly collected from 530 cattle, 568 sheep and 368 goats in southwest of Iran. Sera were tested by a commercial ELISA kit (ID vet; ID Screen® Paratuberculosis Indirect) for detection of antibodies of MAP. RESULTS: Overall apparent and true seroprevalence rate of MAP was 6.00% (95% CI: 4.90%-7.30%) and 13.25% (95% CI: 11.55%- 14.95%). Apparent and true seroprevalence of MAP, respectively, was 4.34% (95% CI: 3.88%-6.46%) and 9.19% (95% CI: 6.98%-11.98%) in cattle, 6.87% (95% CI: 5.05%-9.27%) and 15.37% (95% CI: 12.60%-16.60%) in sheep and 7.07% (95% CI: 4.82%-10.18%) and 15.86% (95% CI: 12.41%-20.01%) in goats, respectively. As a result, there was no significant relationship between animal species and MAP infection. Moreover, multivariate logistic regression showed that the infection rate is not associated with age, gender and geographical location in cattle, sheep and goats (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study confirms that the seroprevalence of MAP is relatively considerable in the cattle, sheep and goats in the southwest of Iran, although in cattle, it is less than goats and sheep. Therefore, preventive and control measures should be considered by animal health authorities and meat and dairy processing units.

The potential therapeutic effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells in the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by L. major in BALB/c mice.

Leishmaniasis is one of the most neglected tropical infectious diseases in the world. The emergence of drug resistance and toxicity and the high cost of the available drugs with a lack of new anti-leishmanial drugs highlight the need to search for newer therapies with anti-leishmanial activities. Due to the mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) immunomodulatory capacity, they have been applied in a wide variety of disorders. In this study, the potential effects of adipose-derived MSC (AD-MSCs) therapy and its combination with glucantime were evaluated in a murine model of cutaneous leishmaniasis induced by L. major. The results showed that AD-MSCs improved wound healing and decreased parasite burden. The real-time PCR results obtained from mice treated with AD-MSCs showed that IL-12 and TNF-α genes were upregulated. IL-10, arginase, and FOXP3 genes were downregulated whereas no differences in expression of the IL-4 gene were found. Overall, it seems that AD-MSCs therapy enhances Th1 immune response in L. major infected BALB/c mice. Unexpectedly, our results showed that the association of glucantime to AD-MSCs treatments did not lead to an increment in the anti-leishmanial activity.

Efficacy of a Eudragit L30D-55 encapsulated oral vaccine containing inactivated bacteria (Lactococcus garvieae/Streptococcus iniae) in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

The efficacy of a Eudragit L30D-55 encapsulated vaccine against Lactococcus garvieae and Streptococcus iniae was investigated in rainbow trout. Fish were divided into four groups and fed the different experimental feeds. Groups were: A) fish immunized by Eudragit-coated pellets containing vaccine, B) fish immunized by vaccine-coated pellets without Eudragit, C) fish fed Eudragit-coated pellets without vaccine and D) fish fed pellets without vaccine orEudragit (control group). In groups A and B, the vaccination was conducted for 14 days. Similar to groups A and B, fish of group C were fed 14 days with pellets coated with Eudragit and afterwards they were fed control diet. Serum samples were taken on day 0, 20, 40 and 60 of the experiment. After 60 days, fish were challenged with L. garvieae and S. iniae. In almost all groups, innate immunity components including alternative complement activity, lysozyme activity, bactericidal activity, IgM and total protein showed no significant changes during the 60 days that the experiment lasted. However, the blood respiratory burst activity and lysozyme activity showed a significant increase on day 20 of experiment in groups B and D respectively (P < 0.05). The relative expression of immune-related genes including IL-6 and IgM genes was higher in vaccinated fish, with the highest expression in those immunized by Eudragit-coated pellets (Group A). In addition, the relative expression of IL-6 and IgM peaked on day 20 but decreased on day 60 in vaccinated groups. The ELISA antibody titer against L. garvieae increased from day 20 and peaked on day 60 of experiment (P < 0.05). Also, the antibody titer against L. garvieae was higher in fish immunized by Eudragit-coated pellets (Group A) compared to fish of group C and control. After bacterial challenge, a survival percentages of % 85 ±â€¯7.07% (challenged with S. iniae) and % 72.21 ±â€¯7.8% (challenged with L. garvieae) were observed respectively in groups immunized with pellets coated with Eudragit L30D-55 (Group A), which were higher than survival percentages obtained in other experimental groups (P < 0.05). The results of the present study demonstrate that the oral administration of Eudragit L30D-55-encapsulated vaccine appropriately protects rainbow trout against Lactococcus garvieae and Streptococcus iniae.