Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: The Honey Bee as a Social Animal Model.

Animal models have been essential for advancing research of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in humans, but few animal species effectively replicate the behavioural and clinical signs of FASD. The honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a previously unexplored research model for FASD that offers the distinct benefit of highly social behaviour. In this study, we chronically exposed honey bee larvae to incremental concentrations of 0, 3, 6, and 10% ethanol in the larval diet using an in vitro rearing protocol and measured developmental time and survival to adult eclosion, as well as body weight and motor activity of newly emerged adult bees. Larvae reared on 6 and 10% dietary ethanol demonstrated significant, dose-responsive delays to pupation and decreased survival and adult body weight. All ethanol-reared adults showed significantly decreased motor activity. These results suggest that honey bees may be a suitable social animal model for future FASD research.

Localization of Claudin-3 and Claudin-4 within the Small Intestine of newborn piglets.

Piglets must acquire passive immunity through colostrum within hours after birth to survive. How colostral macromolecules traverse the small intestinal epithelium may include nonselective pinocytosis and paracellular transport through tight junction proteins located between epithelial cells. Claudin proteins-3 and -4 contribute to the epithelial tight junctions (TJs) on the apical aspect of lateral surfaces of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) where they help regulate ion and macromolecule movement across the intestinal epithelium. Throughout the small intestine of newborn piglets, Claudin-3 was localized to the lateral and basolateral surface of intestinal epithelial cells as well as the membrane of large vacuoles. In the duodenum and jejunum, Claudin-4 was localized to the apical surface independent of tight junction regions. In the ileum, Claudin-4 was localized to the lateral and basolateral surfaces indicating region-specific differences and noncanonical patterns of Claudin-4 localization independent of tight junction regions. Understanding the timing of changes in surface localization of Claudin-3 and Claudin-4 and how they may coincide with changes in small intestinal permeability may help develop new protective strategies against infectious diseases within newborn piglets.

Assessment of Immunological Response and Impacts on Fertility Following Intrauterine Vaccination Delivered to Swine in an Artificial Insemination Dose.

To protect the health of sows and gilts, significant investments are directed toward the development of vaccines against infectious agents that impact reproduction. We developed an intrauterine vaccine that can be delivered with semen during artificial insemination to induce mucosal immunity in the reproductive tract. An in vitro culture of uterine epithelial cells was used to select an adjuvant combination capable of recruiting antigen-presenting cells into the uterus. Adjuvant polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C), alone or in combination, induced expression of interferon gamma, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and select chemokines. A combination adjuvant consisting of poly I:C, host defense peptide and polyphosphazene (Triple Adjuvant; TriAdj), which previously was shown to induce robust mucosal and systemic humoral immunity when administered to the uterus in rabbits, was combined with boar semen to evaluate changes in localized gene expression and cellular recruitment, in vivo. Sows bred with semen plus TriAdj had decreased γδ T cells and monocytes in blood, however, no corresponding increase in the number of monocytes and macrophages was detected in the endometrium. Compared to sows bred with semen alone, sows bred with semen plus TriAdj showed increased CCL2 gene expression in the epithelial layer. These data suggest that the adjuvants may further augment a local immune response and, therefore, may be suitable for use in an intrauterine vaccine. When inactivated porcine parvovirus (PPV) formulated with the TriAdj was administered to the pig uterus during estrus along with semen, we observed induction of PPV antibodies in serum but only when the pigs were already primed with parenteral PPV vaccines. Recombinant protein vaccines and inactivated PPV vaccines administered to the pig uterus during breeding as a primary vaccine alone failed to induce significant humoral immunity. More trials need to be performed to clarify whether repeated intrauterine vaccination can trigger strong humoral immunity or whether the primary vaccine needs to be administered via a systemic route to promote a mucosal and systemic immune response.