Association of jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus with pulmonary carcinoma in Sardinian moufflon (Ovis musimon).

Bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma has been described in man and in several animal species, including cattle, dogs, opossums, goats and sheep. In sheep, a bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma, known as ovine pulmonary carcinoma (OPC), is caused by jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV), an exogenous type D retrovirus. In the mid-1980s, a severe outbreak of a disease resembling OPC was described in captive Sardinian moufflon (Ovis musimon). In the present study, the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of nucleic acids extracted from archival material established that JSRV was associated with OPC in affected moufflon. JSRV was detected in the lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes. Immunohistochemical and in-situ PCR demonstrated that in the lungs, JSRV proviral DNA was localized in transformed and untransformed type II pneumocytes and in the alveolar macrophages. In the mediastinal lymph nodes, JSRV DNA was mainly located in the cortical follicles and paracortex. These data suggest that JSRV is the cause of OPC in Sardinian moufflon, as it is in Sardinian sheep.

Isolation of Helicobacter pylori from sheep-implications for transmission to humans.

OBJECTIVES: When and how Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) originally entered the human population as well as how the infection is transmitted in different communities is unknown. We previously showed that Sardinian shepherds had almost a 100% prevalence of H. pylori and that the prevalence was higher than that of their same-household siblings. AIM: To examine whether H. pylori infection might be transmitted from sheep. METHODS: Milk and gastric tissue were cultured and analyzed by PCR amplification using three sets of primers Helicobacter genus-specific 16S rRNA and two sets of primers specific for H. pylori vacA gene. RESULTS: Helicobacter DNA was demonstrated in 60% (38/63) of milk samples and in 30% (6/20) of sheep tissue samples. H. pylori vacA gene was amplified in five of 38 milk samples, and in two of six sheep tissue samples respectively. H. pylori were cultured from sheep milk and tissue samples and confirmed as H. pylori on the basis of colony morphology, positive biochemical reactions, and negative Gram stain. Sequence analysis of 16S rRNA PCR products from these isolates demonstrated 99% identity with H. pylori. CONCLUSIONS: Together, the presence of H. pylori in sheep stomach in the absence of associated gastritis and recovery of H. pylori from sheep milk and gastric tissue suggest that sheep may be a natural host for H. pylori.

In situ-PCR for the detection of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis DNA in paraffin-embedded tissues.

Molecular biological techniques have permitted the rapid and sensitive detection of the Mycobacterium paratuberculosis genome in infected tissues, most commonly by polymerase chain reaction amplification of sequences in the IS900 DNA insertion sequence. The aim of this work was the detection of M. paratuberculosis DNA in ovine tissues by in situ-polymerase chain reaction, which is sensitive and localises the signal within the tissue sample. Paraffin embedded tissues from three acid-fast positive ovine guts with classical lesions of paratuberculosis, and from negative control samples were tested. A 413-bp fragment of the IS900 sequence was amplified in-situ and hybridised to an internal PCR-synthesised digoxygenin-labelled probe. The samples from sheep affected by paratuberculosis clearly showed cell-specific cytoplasmic signals in mucosal and submucosal macrophages. This technique could be useful both in the diagnosis and study of the pathogenesis of infections in which involvement of M. paratuberculosis is suspected.

Dermatophilosis in sheep: first report in Italy, experimental reproduction and evaluation of immune response.

A severe exudative-crustous and proliferous dermatitis in a 2 year old sheep caused by Dermatophilus congolensis (observed for the first time in Italy), is reported. The disease was reproduced experimentally in sheep, goats, rabbits and guinea pigs, whose skin was treated in different ways before infection. E.L.I.S.A. and Immunoblotting tests carried out in experimentally infected sheep, showed the antigenic complexity of the pathogen and the existence of cross-immunity to the protein components. Intradermoreaction tests were carried out in all animals. The development of a positive reaction only in rabbits and guinea pigs, confirmed that these animals have a cellular immunity against Dermatophilus congolensis.

[Modifications of the Portoscuso ecosystem. Distribution, accumulation,and dynamics of pollutants. I. Observations on animal tissues]. / Modificazioni dell'ecosistema a Portoscuso. Distribuzione, accumulo e dinamica degli inquinanti. I). Osservazioni sui parenchimi animali.

In order to assess the extent of environmental pollution by Pb, Cd and Zn in the industrial area of Portoscuso (Southwestern Sardinia-Italy), anatomohistopathological, histochemical and chemical tests were carried out on the heart, liver, kidneys and bones of sheep slaughtered in the local abattoir. On microscopic examination, degenerative lesions were severe in liver and kidneys and slight in the heart; histochemical stainings clearly showed a notable presence of Zn, while spectrophotometric examination confirmed, besides Zn pollution, very high tissue concentrations of Pb and Cd. The Authors conclude that other trial observations over larger areas are necessary.

[Neurotoxic syndrome of sheep due to the ingestion of plants of the Mediterranean scrub: clinical, histopathological, histochemical and ultrastructural observations]. / Sindrome neurotossica da ingestione di piante della 'macchia mediterranea' nell'ovino: osservazioni cliniche, istopatologiche, istochimiche ed ultrastrutturali.

A severe neurological disorder was observed during a very dry season, in sheep pasturing on land with mediterranean vegetation. During the crisis, lasting 5-20", ataxia and convulsions were the main clinical signs. Brain congestion, spongy appearance of the liver, interstitial nephritis and hyperpigmentation of visceral lymph nodes were the most important macroscopic lesions. Histopathological, histochemical and ultrastructural findings confirmed liver and kidney lesions and showed considerable neurovisceral storage of lipofuscin. Although further toxicological and experimental studies are needed to elucidate the origin of the disease, the Authors attribute the outbreak of the neurological syndrome to the ingestion of a neurotoxin containing plant.