Unveiling of brain transcriptome of masked palm civet (Paguma larvata) with chronic infection of Toxoplasma gondii.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the transcriptomic changes that occur in a wild species when infected with Toxoplasma gondii. The masked palm civet, an artifically domesticated animal, was used as the model of a wild species. Transcriptome analysis was used to study alterations in gene expression in the domesticated masked palm civet after chronic infection with T. gondii. METHODS: Masked palm civets were infected with 105 T. gondii cysts and their brain tissue collected after 4 months of infection. RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) was used to gain insight into the spectrum of genes that were differentially expressed due to infection. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was also used to validate the level of expression of a set of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) obtained by sequencing. RESULTS: DEGs were screened from the sequencing results and analyzed. A total of 2808 DEGs were detected, of which 860 were upregulated and 1948 were downregulated. RNA-Seq results were confirmed by qRT-PCR. DEGs were mainly enriched in cellular process and metabolic process based on gene ontology enrichment analysis. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed that transcriptional changes in the brain of infected masked palm civets evolved over the course of infection and that DEGs were mainly enriched in the signal transduction, immune system processes, transport and catabolic pathways. Finally, 10 essential driving genes were identified from the immune signaling pathway. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed novel host genes which may provide target genes for the development of new therapeutics and detection methods for T. gondii infection in wild animals.

Radiography, CT, and MRI Diagnosis of Enzootic Nasal Tumor in Goats Infected With Enzootic Nasal Tumor Virus.

The aim of this study was to describe radiography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of enzootic nasal tumors in goats infected with enzootic nasal tumor viruses. Five of six goats with a mean age of 2 years, showed clinical signs of respiratory disease. Head radiographs showed increased density of the unilateral or bilateral nasal cavity in four goats, and a CT scan showed that the space-occupying lesion of the nasal cavity originated from the ethmoid bone and was enhanced homogeneously postcontrast in all goats. The nasal concha was destroyed and the paranasal sinus mucosa was thickened and filled with fluid in some goats. On MRI, the mass exhibited equal or slightly higher signal intensity on T2 weighted images, equal signal intensity on T1 weighted images, a high signal on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images and heterogeneous enhancement postcontrast. After dissection, histopathological examination of the mass and virus genome detection of the nasal secretions confirmed that the intranasal mass was a low-grade adenocarcinoma and that the goats were infected with enzootic nasal tumor virus type 2. In conclusion, CT and MRI have high diagnostic values for enzootic nasal tumors because they match the postmortem findings and are more accurate than radiography.

R.E.N.A.L. Nephrometry Score: A Preoperative Risk Factor Predicting the Fuhrman Grade of Clear-Cell Renal Carcinoma.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and feasibility of the R.E.N.A.L. Nephrometry Score to postoperatively predict high-grade clear-cell renal carcinoma (ccRCC). Methods: The study included 288 patients diagnosed with ccRCC who had complete CT/CTA data and R.E.N.A.L. Nephrometry Scores and underwent renal surgery at our center between January 2012 and December 2015. The relationship between the pathological grade of renal masses and R.E.N.A.L. Nephrometry Score was evaluated. Results: Univariate analysis indicated that diagnostic modality, cystic necrosis, enlargement of the regional lymph node, distant metastasis, clinical T stage, TNM stage, surgical modality, tumor size, nearness of the tumor to the collecting system or sinus, total Nephrometry Score and individual anatomic descriptor components were significantly associated with postoperative tumor grade (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size, the maximal diameter (R score), exophytic/endophytic properties (E score) and the location relative to the polar lines (L score) were independent prognostic factors to preoperatively predicting ccRCC pathological grade. The areas under the ROC curve with respect to the multi-parameter regression model (0.935, 95%CI: 0.904-0.966), tumor size (0.901, 95%CI: 0.866-0.937), R score (0.868, 95%CI: 0.825-0.911), E score (0.511, 95%CI: 0.442-0.581) and L score (0.842, 95%CI: 0.791-0.892) were calculated and compared. Conclusion: Tumor size, as well as R, E, and L scores were independent prognostic factors for high-grade pathology. Lager tumor sizes and higher R, E and L scores were more likely to be associated with high-grade pathological outcomes. Thus, the R.E.N.A.L. Score is of practical significance in facilitating urologists to make therapeutic decisions.

Inhibition of highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus replication by recombinant pseudorabies virus-mediated RNA interference in piglets.

Highly pathogenic porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (HP-PRRSV) is a variant of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) which, in recent years, has caused heavy economic losses to swine-producing areas. Although current vaccines are somewhat prophylactic, they provide only limited protection. Furthermore, there are currently no effective anti-HP-PRRSV drugs. Consequently, it is necessary to develop novel antiviral strategies. In the present study, three recombinant pseudorabies viruses (PRV) expressing siRNAs against the ORF7 of HP-PRRSV strain HN1 (PRV gG-/siRNAN1, PRV gG-/siRNAN2, and PRV gG-/siRNAN3) were evaluated for the inhibition of HP-PRRSV replication. The results indicated that recombinant PRV-mediated siRNA could significantly decrease the replication of traditional PRRSV strain H1 at mRNA and protein levels in Marc-145 cells. Moreover, one recombinant PRV (PRV gG-/siRNAN2) was found to be inhibit the multiplication of HP-PRRSV strain HN1 effectively in Marc-145 cells at both the protein and ORF7 mRNA level. Twenty 21-day-old healthy weaned piglets were divided into four groups of five piglets each. Groups 1 and 2 were injected i.m. with PRV gG-/siRNAN2 and PRV gG-/siRNANeg individually. The piglets in group 3 were challenged with the HP-PRRSV control. After 24h, the piglets in groups 1-3 were challenged i.m. with HP-PRRSV strain HN1, while those in group 4 were i.m. administered with PBS as a negative control. The results showed that HP-PRRSV in serum and lung samples from piglets was effectively inhibited by PRV gG-/siRNAN2. The clinical signs and gross lesions of piglets inoculated with PRV gG-/siRNAN2 were significantly less invasive than those of the PRV gG-/siRNANeg group and HP-PRRSV control group. These results showed that siRNAs mediated by recombinant PRV could effectively suppress HP-PRRSV replication in vitro as well as in vivo. RNAi mediated by recombinant PRV presents a potential novel method to prevent HP-PRRSV infections in swine. However, the protective efficiency of PRV gG-/siRNAN2 should be assessed in a larger number of piglets in future studies.