3D imaging and body measurement of riding horses using four scanners simultaneously.

Although there have been advances in the technology for measuring horse body size with stereoscopic three-dimensional (3D) scanners, previously reported methods with a single scanner still face a significant challenge: the time necessary for scanning is too long for the horses to remain stationary. This study attempted to scan the horse simultaneously from four directions using four scanners in order to complete the scans in a short amount of time and then combine the images from the four scans on a computer into one whole image of each horse. This study also compared body measurements from the combined 3D images with those taken from conventional manual measurements. Nine riding horses were used to construct stereoscopic composite images, and the following 10 measurements were taken: height at the withers, back, and croup; chest depth; width of the chest (WCh), croup, and waist; girth circumference, cannon circumference (CaC), and body length. The same 10 measurements were taken by conventional manual methods. Relative errors ranged from -1.89% to 7.05%. The correlation coefficient between manual and 3D measurements was significant for all body measurements (P<0.01) except for WCh and CaC. A simple regression analysis of all body measurements revealed a strong correlation (P<0.001, R2=0.9994, root-mean-square error=1.612). Simultaneous scanning with four devices from four directions reduced the scanning time from 60 sec with one device to 15 sec. This made it possible to perform non-contact body measurements even on incompletely trained horses who could not remain stationary for long periods of time.

Evaluation of a rapid coliform detection kit from clinical mastitis milk using colloidal gold nanoparticle-based immunochromatographic strips.

The accurate identification of mastitis-causing bacteria assists in effective management by both dairy farmers and veterinarians and can be used to implement the selective use of antimicrobials for treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of our developed anti-ribosomal protein-L7/L12 antibody-coated immunochromatographic strip (ICS) test to detect coliforms in milk by comparing the results with the bacteriological culture method. We investigated the performance of the ICS test as compared with the bacteriological culture method using 308 milk samples from clinical bovine mastitis. First, to determine the optimal ICS test cutoff point for detecting coliform mastitis, we developed a receiver-operating characteristic curve. The result showed that the cutoff point was at 0.5 of our index. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value of the ICS test were 81.3%, 84.8%, 69.2%, and 91.54%, respectively. As the clinical signs increased in severity, the F-measure, a weighted harmonic mean of the sensitivity and overall PPV performance, increased. Because it is especially important to treat clinical mastitis appropriately in the early stages of detection, the ICS test, which can be used by both dairy farmers and veterinarians on dairy farms, is considered to be a useful tool for detecting coliform mastitis, which often presents with severe signs.

Body measurement of riding horses with a versatile tablet-type 3D scanning device.

The measurement of various body dimensions of horses plays a significant role in quality improvement, genetic breeding, health, and soundness. There has been significant advancement in the technology for acquiring stereoscopic images with a three-dimensional (3D) scanner. This study aimed to validate the accuracy of body measurements obtained from stereoscopic images taken with a 3D scanner. We manually took the following body measurements for 8 riding horses: height at the withers, height at the back, height at the croup, chest depth, width of the chest, width of the croup, width of the waist, girth circumference, cannon circumference, and body length. Using a versatile tablet-type 3D scanning device, we captured a 3D image of each horse. Relative errors varied from -1.37% to 6.25%. The correlation coefficient between manual and 3D measurements was significant for all body measurements (P<0.01) except for width of the waist and cannon circumference. The low accuracy of cannon circumference (r=0.248) was due to effect of hair. A simple regression analysis of all body measurements revealed a strong correlation (P<0.001, R2=0.9994, root-mean-square error [RMSE]=1.522). Notable advantages of this methodology include high accuracy, good operability, non-contact, high versatility, and low cost. Further studies are required for the establishment of an accurate measurement methodology that can scan the whole body in a shorter time.

Intramammary infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus increases IgA antibodies to iron-regulated surface determinant-A, -B, and -H in bovine milk.

The aim of this study was to identify virulence factors that have high immunogenicity. An in vivo-expressed Staphylococcus aureus antigen was identified by probing bacteriophage expression libraries of S. aureus with antibodies in bovine mastitis milk. Eighteen clones were isolated, and their proteins were identified as 5 characterised proteins (IsdA, Protein A, IsdB, autolysin, and imidazole glycerol phosphate dehydratase) and 13 hypothetical proteins. We focused on IsdA, IsdB, and IsdH as virulence factors that have a high immunogenicity and are capable of inducing a specific humoral immune response in S. aureus-infected quarters. The optical density (OD) values of IsdA and IsdB IgA and IgG antibodies in milk affected by naturally occurring mastitis caused by S. aureus increased significantly compared to those in healthy milk. In the experimental infection study, the OD values of IsdA- and B-specific IgA and IgG antibodies were significantly increased from 2 to 4 weeks after S. aureus infection compared to day 0 (P < 0.05). On the other hand, we demonstrated that milk from natural and experimental intramammary infections caused by S. aureus are associated with significantly higher IgA levels against IsdH (P < 0.05), but no significant change in IgG levels. Our findings facilitated our understanding of the pathogenicity of S. aureus in bovine mastitis, as well as the mechanisms by which specific humoral immune responses to S. aureus infection are induced. In addition, the results obtained could provide insight into how bovine mastitis can be controlled, for example, through vaccination.

Effect of Lipopolysaccharide and Muramyl Dipeptide on Apoptosis of Bovine Mammary Gland Lymphocytes.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether apoptosis of lymphocytes is modulated by stimulation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Escherichia coli or muramyl dipeptide (MDP). Cell populations were obtained by lavaging of the mammary glands 24, 48, 72, and 168 hours following intramammary induced inflammation. The portion of apoptotic lymphocytes peaked at 48 hours after treatment with LPS or MDP. The analysis of CD44 expression of the same cell populations showed a higher percentage of CD44-positive lymphocytes 24- and 48-hours following induction of inflammation by LPS or MDP. The results demonstrate that during both experimental infection of bovine mammary glands with LPS or MDP, apoptosis of lymphocytes was induced in the initial phase of the inflammatory response and CD44 was also overexpressed at the beginning of inflammation. These data suggest a connection of lymphocyte apoptosis with the expression of CD44 receptors.

Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma in a cow.

We examined a 10-year-old cow in which about half of the liver was displaced by malignant tissue consisting of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CC). Cytokeratin (CK) 18 and 7 were expressed in the latter. Metastasis was present in the hepatic, pancreaticoduodenal and mediastinal lymph nodes, where malignant cells had hepatocellular features, but more pleomorphic and atypical than in the primary lesion. Areas composed solely of CC cells or less-differentiated HCC cells were observed. In contrast, well-differentiated HCC cells were almost always admixed with the other two types, and may have had the ability to transform into CC cells and to dedifferentiate into less-differentiated cells. This report suggests that CK18 is an excellent marker for biliary differentiation in cattle.

Immunosuppression in Cows following Intramammary Infusion of Mycoplasma bovis.

Mycoplasma bovis is a destructive pathogen that causes large economic losses in rearing cattle for beef and dairy worldwide. M. bovis causes suppression of and evades the host immune response; however, the mechanisms of host immune function involved in M. bovis mastitis have not been elucidated. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the characteristics of the bovine immune response to mycoplasmal mastitis. We evaluated the responsiveness of the bovine mammary gland following infusion of M. bovis Somatic cell counts and bacterial counts in milk from the infected quarter were increased. However, the proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (blood MNCs) and mononuclear cells isolated from M. bovis-stimulated mammary lymph nodes (lymph node MNCs) did not differ from that in the unstimulated cells. Transcriptome analysis revealed that the mRNA levels of innate immune system-related genes in blood MNCs, complement factor D (CFD), ficolin 1 (FCN1), and tumor necrosis factor superfamily member 13 (TNFSF13) decreased following intramammary infusion of M. bovis The mRNA levels of immune exhaustion-related genes, programmed cell death 1 (PD-1), programmed cell death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), lymphocyte activation gene 3 (LAG3), and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA4) of milk mononuclear cells (milk MNCs) in the infected quarter were increased compared with those before infusion. Increase in immune exhaustion-related gene expression and decrease in innate immune response-related genes of MNCs in quarters from cows were newly characterized by M. bovis-induced mastitis. These results suggested that M. bovis-induced mastitis affected the immune function of bovine MNCs, which is associated with prolonged duration of infection with M. bovis.

Staphylococcus aureus-specific IgA antibody in milk suppresses the multiplication of S. aureus in infected bovine udder.

BACKGROUND: Bovine mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is extremely difficult to control and new methods for its prevention and management are required. Nasal vaccines may prevent initial bovine mastitis infection caused by S. aureus. However, limited information is available regarding induction of mucosal immune response through nasal immunization with antigen and its suppression of S. aureus multiplication during bovine mastitis. This study sought to investigate whether induction of immunoglobulin A (IgA) in milk by nasal immunization could suppress multiplication of S. aureus in the bovine udder. RESULTS: Nasal immunization with formalin-killed S. aureus conjugated with a cationic cholesteryl-group-bearing pullulan-nanogel was performed. Anti-S. aureus-specific IgA antibodies were significantly more abundant in the milk of immunized cows than in non-immunized animals (P < 0.05). S. aureus counts in the quarter were negative in both non-immunized and nasal-immunized cows 1 week after mock infusion. In S. aureus-infused quarters, S. aureus multiplication was significantly suppressed in immunized compared with non-immunized cows (P < 0.05). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was found between S. aureus-specific IgA antibodies and S. aureus counts in infused quarters of both non-immunized and nasal-immunized cows (r = - 0.811, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that S. aureus-specific IgA antibodies in milk successfully suppressed the multiplication of S. aureus in infected bovine udders. Although the exact mechanism explaining such suppressive effect remains to be elucidated, nasal vaccines that can induce humoral immunity may help prevent initial infection with S. aureus and the onset of bovine mastitis.

The bacterial load in milk is associated with clinical severity in cases of bovine coliform mastitis.

We evaluated the relationship between the severity of coliform mastitis and bacterial load in 106 quarter milk samples. We found no significant relationship between somatic cell count and coliform bacterial load in milk in bovine clinical coliform mastitis. Results of the Cochran-Armitage test for trend in milk bacterial load proportions indicated a significant decreasing low group (P<0.001), increasing medium group (P<0.002) and increasing high group (P<0.02) with increasing clinical grade. The present study indicates that the coliform bacterial load in milk is significantly associated with clinical severity states in cases of bovine coliform mastitis, and can be a useful indicator for optimal management of this disease.

Rapid Staphylococcus aureus Detection From Clinical Mastitis Milk by Colloidal Gold Nanoparticle-Based Immunochromatographic Strips.

Rapid diagnostic technologies for bovine mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) are urgently needed. In the current study, we generated an anti-ribosomal protein-L7/L12 antibody to detect S. aureus and an anti-ribosomal protein-L7/L12 antibody-coated immune-chromatographic strip (ICS) test. Moreover, we determined the ability of the ICS test to detect S. aureus from milk samples collected from cows with clinical mastitis. The developed ICS reacted to S. aureus in a bacteria load-dependent manner with a detection limit of ~104 CFU/mL. In the evaluation of possible cross-reactivity of the ICS test, six strains of coagulase-negative Staphylococci showed slightly positive reactions, although at a lower level; however, other bacteria were completely negative. Next, we investigated the sensitivity and specificity of the ICS test compared with the bacteriological culture method using milk samples from clinical bovine mastitis. The results of the experiments demonstrated that the ICS test had high sensitivity [100%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 91.3-100%] and specificity (91.9%, CI: 90.5-91.9%) compared with culture tests. In addition, the kappa statistic demonstrated that ICS tests showed substantial agreement (k = 0.77, CI: 0.66-0.87) with culture tests. Positive correlations were observed for the statistical analysis between S. aureus (nuc gene) copy numbers and ICS test scores in mastitic milk infected by S. aureus. Therefore, we assume that this new detection method using ICS may be useful as a highly sensitive S. aureus-screening method for the diagnosis of bovine mastitis. Our findings support the ongoing effort to develop an ICS method for bovine S. aureus-induced mastitis, which can contribute to the rapid diagnosis of this disease.

Cow's milk neutralizes the cytotoxicity of acrolein, a putative carcinogen in cigarette smoke.

Cigarette smoke is a strong and independent risk factor for esophageal cancer, while the consumption of cow's milk has been proposed as a protective factor. The mechanistic role of milk in preventing cancer, however, has not been clarified. We focused our study on acrolein, an abundant unsaturated aldehyde present in cigarette smoke. Acrolein is a highly toxic compound and a putative carcinogen. Using a cell culture system, we found that (1) acrolein caused necrosis in Ramos Burkitt's lymphoma cells, (2) the necrosis was inhibited by preincubation of acrolein with milk, and (3) acrolein formed adducts with milk proteins. These results indicated the protective effects of cow's milk against acrolein-induced cytotoxicity via protein-acrolein adduct formation.

Phenotypic and functional analysis of bovine peripheral blood dendritic cells before parturition by a novel purification method.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen presenting cells specializing in antigen uptake and processing, and play an important role in the innate and adaptive immune response. A subset of bovine peripheral blood DCs was identified as CD172a+ /CD11c+ /MHC (major histocompatibility complex) class II+ cells. Although DCs are identified at 0.1%-0.7% of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), the phenotype and function of DCs remain poorly understood with regard to maintaining tolerance during the pregnancy. All cattle used in this study were 1 month before parturition. We have established a novel method for the purification of DCs from PBMC using magnetic-activated cell sorting, and purified the CD172a+ /CD11c+ DCs, with high expression of MHC class II and CD40, at 84.8% purity. There were individual differences in the expressions of CD205 and co-stimulatory molecules CD80 and CD86 on DCs. There were positive correlations between expression of cytokine and co-stimulatory molecules in DCs, and the DCs maintained their immune tolerance, evidenced by their low expressions of the co-stimulatory molecules and cytokine production. These results suggest that before parturition a half of DCs may be immature and tend to maintain tolerance based on the low cytokine production, and the other DCs with high co-stimulatory molecules may already have the ability of modulating the T-cell linage.

Identification of a novel mechanism of action of bovine IgG antibodies specific for Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogen that causes subclinical mastitis associated with huge economic losses to the dairy industry. A few vaccines for bovine mastitis are available, and they are expected to induce the production of S. aureus-specific antibodies that prevent bacterial adherence to host cells or promote opsonization by phagocytes. However, the efficacy of such vaccines are still under debate; therefore, further research focusing on improving the current vaccines by seeking additional mechanisms of action is required to reduce economic losses due to mastitis in the dairy industry. Here, we generated S. aureus-specific bovine IgG antibodies (anti-S. aureus) that directly inhibited bacterial growth in vitro. Inhibition depended on specificity for anti-S. aureus, not the interaction between Protein A and the fragment crystallizable region of the IgG antibodies or bacterial agglutination. An in vitro culture study using S. aureus strain JE2 and its deletion mutant JE2ΔSrtA, which lacks the gene encoding sortase A, revealed that the effect of anti-S. aureus was sortase-A-independent. Sortase A is involved in the synthesis of cell-wall-associated proteins. Thus, other surface molecules, such as membrane proteins, cell surface polysaccharides, or both, may trigger the inhibition of bacterial growth by anti-S. aureus. Together, our findings contribute insights into developing new strategies to further improve the available mastitis vaccine by designing a novel antigen on the surface of S. aureus to induce inhibitory signals that prevent bacterial growth.

Exfoliation rate of mammary epithelial cells in milk on bovine mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus is associated with bacterial load.

The exfoliation rate of mammary epithelial cells (MECs) in milk is affected by physiological, breeding and environmental factors. Little is known about the relationship between the MEC exfoliation into milk and mammary-infected Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) load on bovine mastitis caused by S. aureus. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between S. aureus load and the proportion of MEC exfoliation in milk using five substantial bovine mastitis models. In 64 randomly extracted milk samples from udders at 3-21 days after S. aureus infusion, there were various samples with different numbers of S. aureus counts and somatic cell counts. No significant correlations were found between the S. aureus counts and somatic cell count (r = 0.338). In contrast, a significant correlation was noted between S. aureus counts and the proportion of cytokeratin-positive cells in the milk from the infused udders (r = 0.734, P < 0.01). In conclusion, the increasing MEC exfoliation rate in milk from mastitis udders caused by S. aureus may contribute to reduced milk yield.

Detection of bovine mastitis pathogens by loop-mediated isothermal amplification and an electrochemical DNA chip.

Bovine mastitis causes significant economic losses in the dairy industry. Effective prevention of bovine mastitis requires an understanding of the infection status of a pathogenic microorganism in a herd that has not yet shown clinical signs of mastitis and appropriate treatment specific for the pathogenic microorganism. However, bacterial identification by culture has drawbacks in that the sensitivity may be low and the procedure can be complex. In this study, we developed a genetic detection method to identify mastitis pathogens using a simple and highly sensitive electrochemical DNA chip which can specifically detect bacterial DNA in milk specimens. First, we selected microorganisms belonging to 12 families and/or genera associated with mastitis for which testing should be performed. Next, we optimized the conditions for amplifying microorganism DNA by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) using 32 primers and the use of a DNA chip capable of measuring all pathogens simultaneously. Sample detection could be completed in just a few hours using this method. Comparison of the results obtained with our DNA chip method and those obtained by bacterial culture verified that when the culture method was set to 100%, the total positive concordance rate of the DNA chip was 85.0% and the total negative concordance rate was 86.9%. Furthermore, the proposed method allows both rapid and highly sensitive detection of mastitis pathogens. We believe that this method will contribute to the development of an effective mastitis control program.

Effect of intramammary infusion of recombinant bovine GM-CSF and IL-8 on CMT score, somatic cell count, and milk mononuclear cell populations in Holstein cows with Staphylococcus aureus subclinical mastitis.

The effect of intramammary infusion of recombinant bovine granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rbGM-CSF) and interleukin-8 (rbIL-8) on mononuclear cell populations in quarters, somatic cell count (SCC) and the California Mastitis Test (CMT) score were investigated. From the selected cows with naturally occurring Staphylococcus aureus subclinical mastitis, one quarter of each cow were selected for the infusions of rbGM-CSF (400 µg/5 mL/quarter, n = 9), rbIL-8 (1 mg/5 mL/quarter, n = 9), and phosphate-buffered saline (5 mL/quarter, n = 7). The CMT score of both cytokines post infusion temporarily increased between days 0 and 1 and significantly decreased between days 7 and 14 compared to the preinfusion level. The SCC on day 14 after infusions of rbGM-CSF tended to be lower than that of the control group. The percentage of CD14+ cells increased on days 1 and 2 post infusion of rbGM-CSF. The percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ cells also increased on days 2 and 3, suggesting that the infusion of rbGM-CSF enhanced cellular immunity in the mammary gland. In contrast, the percentage of CD14+ cells decreased on days 0.25 and 1 post infusion of rbIL-8. No significant changes in the percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in milk after infusion of rbIL-8 were evident during the experimental period, which suggested that rbIL-8 had little effect on the function of T cells in the mammary gland. These results indicated that rbGM-CSF and rbIL-8 decreased the CMT score by a different mechanism and may have a potential as therapeutic agents for subclinical mastitis.

The cell wall component lipoteichoic acid of Staphylococcus aureus induces chemokine gene expression in bovine mammary epithelial cells.

Staphylococcus aureus (SA) is a major cause of bovine mastitis, but its pathogenic mechanism remains poorly understood. To evaluate the role of lipoteichoic acid (LTA) in the immune or inflammatory response of SA mastitis, we investigated the gene expression profile in bovine mammary epithelial cells stimulated with LTA alone or with formalin-killed SA (FKSA) using cap analysis of gene expression. Seven common differentially expressed genes related to immune or inflammatory mediators were up-regulated under both LTA and FKSA stimulations. Three of these genes encode chemokines (IL-8, CXCL6 and CCL2) functioning as chemoattractant molecules for neutrophils and macrophages. These results suggest that the initial inflammatory response of SA infection in mammary gland may be related with LTA induced chemokine genes.

Extracellular cyclophilin A possesses chemotaxic activity in cattle.

Cyclophilin A (CyPA) was originally discovered in bovine thymocytes as a cytosolic binding protein of the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine A. Recent studies have revealed that in mice and humans, CyPA is secreted from cells in injured or infected tissues and plays a role in recruiting inflammatory cells in those tissues. Here we found that in cattle abundant level of extracellular CyPA was observed in tissues with inflammation. To aid in investigating the role of extracellular CyPA in cattle, we generated recombinant bovine CyPA (rbCyPA) and tested its biological activity as an inflammatory mediator. When bovine peripheral blood cells were treated with rbCyPA in vitro, we observed that rbCyPA reacts with the membranous surface of granulocytes, monocytes and lymphocytes. Chemotaxis analysis showed that the granulocytes migrate toward rbCyPA and the migration is inhibited by pre-treatment with an anti-bovine CyPA antibody. These results indicate that, as for mice and humans, extracellular CyPA possesses chemotactic activity to recruit inflammatory cells (e.g., granulocytes) in cattle, and could thus be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammation.

Improved rapid and efficient method for Staphylococcus aureus DNA extraction from milk for identification of mastitis pathogens.

A rapid and efficient DNA extraction method was developed for detecting mastitis pathogens in milk. The first critical step involved cell wall disruption by bead-beating, as physical disruption using beads was more effective for DNA extraction from Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, than enzymatic disruption using proteinase K. The second critical step involves the use of acetic acid and ammonium sulfate in the purification process, as these reagents effectively and efficiently remove the lipids and proteins in milk. Using these methods, DNA suitable for loop-mediated isothermal amplification was obtained within 30 min. Also, the rapid and sensitive detection of S. aureus in milk was possible at levels as low as 200 cfu/ml.

Reliability in somatic cell count measurement of clinical mastitis milk using DeLaval cell counter.

Somatic cell counts (SCC) measurements are typically performed using quantitative methods, such as the Breed method (Breed) and the Fossomatic method (FSCC). The DeLaval cell counter (DCC) developed recently is a quantitative somatic cell counter with a low initial cost and superior portability. However, since the DCC was specifically developed for measuring SCC of ≤ 4 × 10(6) cells/mL milk from bulk tanks or individual cows, its reliability for estimating SCC that exceed this concentration has not yet been clarified. This study therefore examined whether it is possible to accurately measure SCC by diluting milk samples with initial SCC of 4 × 10(6) cells/mL, as seen in clinical mastitis milk. We collected milk samples from 99 quarters of 99 Holstein cows with clinical mastitis. These milk samples were diluted 10-fold with saline and thoroughly mixed before performing SCC measurement with the DCC. The correlation coefficients of SCC measured by the FSCC, Breed and DCC methods indicated strong correlations between each pair of methods. The findings showed that DCC can be used to identify bovine clinical mastitis milk and is useful as a quantitative SCC measurement device on farm sites.