Recently, C-reactive protein (CRP) was shown to affect intracellular calcium signaling and blood pressure in vitro and in vivo, respectively. The aim of the present study was to further investigate if a direct effect on G-protein coupled... more
Recently, C-reactive protein (CRP) was shown to affect intracellular calcium signaling and blood pressure in vitro and in vivo, respectively. The aim of the present study was to further investigate if a direct effect on G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling by CRP can be observed by using CRP in combination with different GPCR agonists on spontaneously beating cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. All used agonists (isoprenaline, clenbuterol, phenylephrine, angiotensin II and endothelin 1) affected the beat rate of cardiomyocytes significantly and after washing them out and re-stimulation the cells developed a pronounced desensitization of the corresponding receptors. CRP did not affect the basal beating-rate nor the initial increase/decrease in beat-rate triggered by different agonists. However, CRP co-incubated cells did not exhibit desensitization of the respective GPCRs after the stimulation with the different agonists. This lack of desensitization was independent of the G...
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Trichophyton (T.) verrucosum is a highly pathogenic dermatophyte causing zoonotic bovine ringworm that is transmissible to humans. The virulence factors subtilisin (Sub)3 and Sub6 are discussed to contribute to disease manifestation but... more
Trichophyton (T.) verrucosum is a highly pathogenic dermatophyte causing zoonotic bovine ringworm that is transmissible to humans. The virulence factors subtilisin (Sub)3 and Sub6 are discussed to contribute to disease manifestation but no protein expression study is available for T. verrucosum. We used customized antibodies (against Trichophyton-species, Sub3 and Sub6) to examine skin biopsies of infected cattle via immunofluorescence stainings. Both virulence factors Sub3 and 6 were solely expressed by conidia and not only found in epidermal but also in dermal and hair structures. The anti-T-antibody reliably detected the fungus and proved more sensitive compared to histological stains. Lay Summary We examined the zoonotic dermatophyte Trichophyton (T.) verrucosum in bovine skin and studied two important virulence factors called subtilisin (Sub)3 and Sub6 that T. verrucosum produces and secretes using immunolabeling.
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PURPOSE To compare the efficacy of an herbal toothpaste with two other chemically active toothpastes regarding plaque and gingivitis control. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventy-six (27 females and 49 males, mean age 47.8 years, range 40-58... more
PURPOSE To compare the efficacy of an herbal toothpaste with two other chemically active toothpastes regarding plaque and gingivitis control. MATERIALS AND METHODS Seventy-six (27 females and 49 males, mean age 47.8 years, range 40-58 years) of 84 initial participants with slight and moderate chronic periodontitis used standardised manual toothbrushes and their usual technique for daily manual mechanical plaque control for 24 weeks of supportive periodontal therapy. The volunteers were randomly assigned to one of 3 groups: group 1 used the herbal toothpaste, group 2 a triclosan/copolymer toothpaste, and group 3 an amine/stannous fluoride toothpaste. OHI, API, SBI, BOP, PD and AL were recorded at baseline and after 6, 12 and 24 weeks (PD and AL only at baseline). The Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U-, Friedman, and Wilcoxon tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS Moderate changes occurred in API and OHI in all groups. The herbal toothpaste resulted in significantly lower API ...
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The incorporation of plant proteins into meat raw materials on condition that they form complexes with the muscle myosin would have contributed to the improvement of their distribution in a meat mass and probably to leveling on their... more
The incorporation of plant proteins into meat raw materials on condition that they form complexes with the muscle myosin would have contributed to the improvement of their distribution in a meat mass and probably to leveling on their negative properties, such as hidden allergenicity of soya beans. A possibility of formation of the complexes of soya and green peas proteins with meat myosin in solutions was studied. It is shown that such formation of complexes is possible not only at high temperatures (80 to 90 °C), but at room temperatues, provided that the acid denaturation of the plant protein had occured previously. The process of complexes formation was fixed by two methods : HPLC and differential scanning calorimetry. A percent of myosin involved into formation of unsolvable complexes with soya glycinine and peas legumin was calculated; in the first case it was equal to 70 %, and in the second 88 %.
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A technique for systematic peptide variation by a combination of rational and evolutionary approaches is presented. The design scheme consists of five consecutive steps: ( i ) identification of a “seed peptide” with a desired activity, (... more
A technique for systematic peptide variation by a combination of rational and evolutionary approaches is presented. The design scheme consists of five consecutive steps: ( i ) identification of a “seed peptide” with a desired activity, ( ii ) generation of variants selected from a physicochemical space around the seed peptide, ( iii ) synthesis and testing of this biased library, ( iv ) modeling of a quantitative sequence-activity relationship by an artificial neural network, and ( v ) de novo design by a computer-based evolutionary search in sequence space using the trained neural network as the fitness function. This strategy was successfully applied to the identification of novel peptides that fully prevent the positive chronotropic effect of anti-β 1 -adrenoreceptor autoantibodies from the serum of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. The seed peptide, comprising 10 residues, was derived by epitope mapping from an extracellular loop of human β 1 -adrenoreceptor. A set of 90 pep...
Research Interests: Computer Science, Computational Biology, Biology, Neural Network, Medicine, and 15 moreMultidisciplinary, Humans, Animals, Epitope mapping, Biological evolution, Peptide, Dilated cardiomyopathy, Fitness Function, Biological activity, Amino Acid Sequence, Artificial Neural Network, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay, Autoantibodies, De Novo Design, and Neutralization tests
<i>Streptococcus suis</i> (<i>S. suis</i>) causes meningitis, arthritis and endocarditis in piglets. The aim of this study was to characterize the IgM degrading enzyme of <i>S. suis</i>... more
<i>Streptococcus suis</i> (<i>S. suis</i>) causes meningitis, arthritis and endocarditis in piglets. The aim of this study was to characterize the IgM degrading enzyme of <i>S. suis</i> (Ide<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i>) and to investigate the role of IgM cleavage in evasion of the classical complement pathway and pathogenesis. Targeted mutagenesis of a cysteine in the putative active center of Ide<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i> abrogated IgM cleavage completely. In contrast to wt rIde<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i>, point mutated rIde<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i>_C195S did not reduce complement-mediated hemolysis indicating that complement inhibition by rIde<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i> depends on the IgM proteolytic activity. A <i>S. suis</i> mutant expressing Ide<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i>_C195S did not reduce IgM labeling, whereas the wt and complemented mutant showed less IgM F(ab')2 and IgM Fc antigen on the surface. IgM cleavage increased survival of <i>S. suis</i> in porcine blood <i>ex vivo</i> and mediated complement evasion as demonstrated by blood survival and C3 deposition assays including the comparative addition of rIde<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i> and rIde<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i>_C195S. However, experimental infection of piglets disclosed no significant differences in virulence between <i>S. suis</i> wt and isogenic mutants without IgM cleavage activity. This work revealed for the first time <i>in vivo</i> labeling of <i>S. suis</i> with IgM in the cerebrospinal fluid of piglets with meningitis. In conclusion, this study classifies Ide<i><sub>Ssuis</sub></i> as a cysteine protease and emphasizes the role of IgM cleavage for bacterial survival in porcine blood and complement evasion though IgM cleavage is not crucial for the pathogenesis of serotype 2 meningitis.
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Skin infections by keratinophilic fungi are commonly referred to as dermatophytosis and represent a major health burden worldwide. Although patient numbers are on the rise, data on virulence factors, their function and kinetics are... more
Skin infections by keratinophilic fungi are commonly referred to as dermatophytosis and represent a major health burden worldwide. Although patient numbers are on the rise, data on virulence factors, their function and kinetics are scarce. We employed an ex vivo infection model based on guinea pig skin explants (GPSE) for the zoonotic dermatophyte Trichophyton (T.) benhamiae to investigate kinetics of the virulence factors subtilisin (sub) 3, sub 6, metallocarboxypeptidase A (mcpA) and isocitrate lyase (isol) at gene level for ten days. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were used to detect and quantify the transcripts, respectively. Kingdom-spanning, species-specific and virulence factor-specific probes were successfully applied to isolated fungal elements showing inhomogeneous fluorescence signals along hyphae. Staining results for inoculated GPSE remained inconsistent despite thorough optimization. qPCR revealed a significa...
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Gegenstand: Untersuchung des Einflusses konservativ nicht therapierbarer Torsio uteri intra partum mit Sectio caesarea auf den Blutplasmagehalt des C-reaktiven Proteins (CRP) im Vergleich mit Dystokien anderer Genese und Sectio caesarea... more
Gegenstand: Untersuchung des Einflusses konservativ nicht therapierbarer Torsio uteri intra partum mit Sectio caesarea auf den Blutplasmagehalt des C-reaktiven Proteins (CRP) im Vergleich mit Dystokien anderer Genese und Sectio caesarea sowie Normalgeburten beim Rind. Material und Methode: In die Studie gingen 55 Rinder ein, eingeteilt in drei Gruppen. Gruppe1 bestand aus 31 Rindern mit operativ beendeter Torsio uteri intra partum. In Gruppe2 befanden sich 13 Tiere mit durch Kaiserschnitt beendeter Dystokie anderer Genese und in Gruppe3 11 Kuhe mit Normalgeburten und ungestortem Puerperium. Im Abstand von 24 Stunden, beginnend unmittelbar praoperativ, bis 10Tage post operationem wurden Blutproben aus der V.jugularis externa entnommen und das CRP im Plasma mittels ELISA quantitativ bestimmt. Ergebnisse: Schwere intrazellulare Odeme und Nekrosen am Uterus als Folge einer Torsio uteri intra partum fuhrten zu einem Anstieg der CRP-Konzentration, eine Ovariohysterektomie bedingte einen A...
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Bacteremia is a hallmark of invasive Streptococcus suis (S. suis) infections of pigs often leading to septicemia, meningitis or arthritis. An important defense mechanism of neutrophils is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).... more
Bacteremia is a hallmark of invasive Streptococcus suis (S. suis) infections of pigs often leading to septicemia, meningitis or arthritis. An important defense mechanism of neutrophils is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we report high levels of ROS production by blood granulocytes post intravenous infection of a pig with high levels of S. suis-specific antibodies and comparatively low levels of bacteremia. This prompted us to investigate the working hypothesis that immunoglobulin-mediated oxidative burst contributes to killing of S. suis in porcine blood. Several S. suis strains representing serotypes 2, 7 and 9 proofed to be highly susceptible to the oxidative burst intermediate hydrogen peroxide, already at concentrations of 0.001%. The induction of ROS in granulocytes in ex vivo infected reconstituted blood showed association with pathogen-specific antibody levels. Importantly, inhibition of ROS production by the NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin le...
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Biotyper analysis of Nannizziopsis guarroi, a fatal fungal pathogen in lizards, was described recently. Hypocrealean fungal infections in captive reptiles appear with an increasing frequency during the last decade. Therefore, the aim of... more
Biotyper analysis of Nannizziopsis guarroi, a fatal fungal pathogen in lizards, was described recently. Hypocrealean fungal infections in captive reptiles appear with an increasing frequency during the last decade. Therefore, the aim of this study was to proof Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) as diagnostic tool for the identification of reptile pathogenic hypocrealean fungi. Ten fungal isolates obtained from nine reptiles with fungal glossitis, disseminated visceral mycosis, pneumomycosis, and fungal keratitis were analyzed. Phylogeny consisted of fragments of the large subunit of nuclear encoded ribosomal DNA (D1/D2, LSU) and the internal transcribed spacer region 1 of nuclear encoded ribosomal DNA (ITS1) as well as the protein coding gene translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF). Results revealed unanimously two Metarhizium granulomatis genotypes in a total of three isolates, various M. viride genotypes (n = 3), two dif...
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Einleitung: Chlamydia psittaci (Cp)-Infektionen konnen bei Mensch und Tier respiratorische Erkrankungen unterschiedlichen Schweregrades verursachen. Unter Verwendung eines etablierten Kalber-Modells [1, 2] waren die Ziele der vorliegenden... more
Einleitung: Chlamydia psittaci (Cp)-Infektionen konnen bei Mensch und Tier respiratorische Erkrankungen unterschiedlichen Schweregrades verursachen. Unter Verwendung eines etablierten Kalber-Modells [1, 2] waren die Ziele der vorliegenden Studie 1.) die pathophysiologische Charakterisierung der pulmonalen Reaktionsmechanismen sowie 2.) der klinische Vergleich mit naturlich infizierten Kalbern. Methoden: Je 21 Kalbern wurden 108 Einschluss-bildende Einheiten Cp oder Zellsuspension intrabronchial inokuliert. 1 – 2 Tage nach Inokulation (dpi) wurden drei gesunde, naive Sentinel-Kalber mit den Cp-infizierten Tieren vergesellschaftet. Ausgangswerte wurden ab einer Woche vor Inokulation gewonnen. Analysiert wurden Ergebnisse des klinischen Scorings, der nicht-invasiven Lungenfunktionsdiagnostik (Spirometrie, Kapnovolumetrie, Impulsoszillo-resistometrie) und der Blutproben (Zellkomposition, Konzentration des Lipopolysaccharid-bindenden Proteins (LBP), Gehalt chlamydialer DNA, Antikorper Bildung). Wahrend der Sektionen (n = 3 an 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 14 & 35 dpi) wurde broncho-alveolare Lavageflussigkeit (BALF) gewonnen und zytologisch untersucht. Ergebnisse: Nach experimenteller Inokulation erreichte die fieberhafte, von respiratorischen Symptomen gepragte Allgemeininfektion ihren Hohepunkt 2 – 3 dpi und klang im Laufe einer Woche ab, ohne das Ausgangsniveau wieder zu erreichen. Dieser Verlauf spiegelte sich auch in der LBP-Konzentration wider. Trotz kurzen, flachen Atmungsmusters war 2 – 3dpi das Atemminutenvolumen erhoht. Anderungen der Atmungsmechanik resultierten aus Obstruktionen und Restriktionen, die bis 11dpi nachweisbar waren. Der Gehalt an Lymphozyten (L) im Blut sank nach Cp Inokulation signifikant (bis 4 dpi), wahrend stab- und segmentkernige neutrophile Granulozyten (N) anstiegen (2 dpi Leukozytose). Beide Zellfraktionen wurden zum Entzundungsherd Lunge rekrutiert (BALF: ↑N: 2 – 7 dpi, ↑L : 7 – 10 dpi). Nach Erregerkontakt war chlamdiale DNA bei 67% der Cp-exponierten Kalber im Blut nachweisbar, wobei der Gehalt in der experimentell infizierten Gruppe signifikant hoher war als bei den Sentinels, deren Infektion auch deutlich milder verlief. In beiden Gruppen fanden sich geringe DNA-Mengen bis zum Studienende (35 dpi) im Blut. Eine humorale Immunantwort war nur bei 67% der experimentell inokulierten Tiere nachweisbar, begann fruhestens 10 dpi und sank teilweise schon zum Studienende hin wieder ab. Diskussion: Die Freiheit von Symptomen nach Cp-Infektion erlaubt keinen Ruckschluss bezuglich der Elimination des Erregers oder dem Aufbau einer humoralen Immunantwort. Literatur: [1] Ostermann C et al. Vet J 2013; 196:351 – 359. [2] Reinhold P et al. PLoS One. 2012;7:e30125.7.
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The aim of this study was the production of specific IgY against cell-associated, highly conserved mammalian proteins. CD 14 is expressed on monocyte surfaces and was identified as endotoxin receptor. P 23 is a cellular protein with... more
The aim of this study was the production of specific IgY against cell-associated, highly conserved mammalian proteins. CD 14 is expressed on monocyte surfaces and was identified as endotoxin receptor. P 23 is a cellular protein with unclear biological function. The induction, preparation and characterization of egg yolk antibodies against these antigens are described.
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ABSTRACT Objective: Specific parameters of blood and peritoneal fluid of horses with different types of colic were evaluated to indicate the degree of intestinal ischemia. Material and methods: Following physical examination of eight... more
ABSTRACT Objective: Specific parameters of blood and peritoneal fluid of horses with different types of colic were evaluated to indicate the degree of intestinal ischemia. Material and methods: Following physical examination of eight healthy and 26 colic horses (14 with large colon displacement [mild ischemia], 12 with small intestinal strangulating obstruction [severe ischemia]) blood and peritoneal fluid (PF) samples were taken to analyze WBC, PCV, pH, base excess, urea, creatinine, total protein (TP), albumin, lactate, LDH, AP, CK, and C-reactive protein (CRP). Furthermore, the ratio of PF and blood values (PF/B ratio) of TP, albumin, lactate, LDH, AP, CK, CRP was calculated to distinguish PF into transudate or exudate according to the Light&#39;s criteria. Differentiation of leukocytes of stained PF smears, and the classification into morphological normal, apoptotic and necrotic cells was performed. Statistical analysis included the verification of the reliability of Light&#39;s criteria and the calculation of the correlation of parameters and the severity of ischemia. Results: In all colic horses activities of blood lactate, LDH, CK as well as TP, albumin, lactate, LDH, AP, CK and CRP of PF were significantly increased and positively correlated depending on the severity of colic. The PF/B ratio of these parameters also had a correlation to the degree of ischemia. Regarding the Light&#39;s criteria only PF of horses with small intestinal strangulating obstruction represented an exudate. The probability of PF to be an exudate was greatest if LDH activity exceeded 200 U/l. CRP was significantly increased in PF of horses with severe ischemia. The percentage of apoptotic cells, especially of PMN was increased in all colic horses. Only horses with small intestinal strangulating obstruction had a significantly increased percentage of necrotic cells. Clinical relevance and conclusions: The values of TP, albumin, lactate, LDH, AP, CK of PF, as well as the PF/B ratio of these parameters are helpful to evaluate ischemic injuries. An increased CRP of PF as well as the Light&#39;s criteria can be used to detect severe intestinal injuries. An increased percentage of PF leukocyte apoptosis and necrosis indicates abdominal inflammatory processes.
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Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a possible causative factor of the destructive processes observed during the weeks after myocardial infarction. Methods: We developed a clinically relevant animal model including the removal of CRP... more
Background: C-reactive protein (CRP) is a possible causative factor of the destructive processes observed during the weeks after myocardial infarction. Methods: We developed a clinically relevant animal model including the removal of CRP from blood plasma utilizing a specific CRP adsorber and the visualization of the infarct scar in the living animal by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging as a tool to investigate the impact of CRP after acute myocardial infarction. Results: We describe the facets of this model system and kinetics of clinical blood parameters like CRP and troponin. In addition, we demonstrate the potency of CRP apheresis reducing CRP levels by ∼70% in the established treatment system. Conclusion: We showed for the first time that it is possible to conduct apheresis at the following 2 days after acute myocardial infarction in a porcine infarction model and to analyze the infarct by cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging at day 1 and 14.
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Dermatophytoses represent a major health burden in animals and man. Zoophilic dermatophytes usually show a high specificity to their original animal host but a zoonotic transmission is increasingly recorded. In humans, these infections... more
Dermatophytoses represent a major health burden in animals and man. Zoophilic dermatophytes usually show a high specificity to their original animal host but a zoonotic transmission is increasingly recorded. In humans, these infections elicit highly inflammatory skin lesions requiring prolonged therapy even in the immunocompetent patient. The correct identification of the causative agent is often crucial to initiate a targeted and effective therapy. To that end, matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) represents a promising tool. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reliability of species identification of zoophilic dermatophytes using MALDI-TOF MS. The investigation of isolates from veterinary clinical samples suspicious of dermatophytoses suggests a good MALDI-TOF MS based identification of the most common zoophilic dermatophyte Microsporum canis. Trichophyton (T.) spp. usually achieved scores only around the cutoff va...
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is an emerging zoonotic dermatophyte. We present a case of a small animal stock infected with two species. was isolated from 15 out of 26 (58%) guinea pigs including two morphologically different phenotypes. Eight guinea pigs were... more
is an emerging zoonotic dermatophyte. We present a case of a small animal stock infected with two species. was isolated from 15 out of 26 (58%) guinea pigs including two morphologically different phenotypes. Eight guinea pigs were infected with and simultaneously. The animals showed alopecia and crusts or no clinical signs at all. was not detected in rats, rabbits and mice kept in the same stock.
Streptococcus suis (S. suis) causes meningitis, arthritis and endocarditis in piglets. The aim of this study was to characterize the IgM degrading enzyme of S. suis (Ide) and to investigate the role of IgM cleavage in evasion of the... more
Streptococcus suis (S. suis) causes meningitis, arthritis and endocarditis in piglets. The aim of this study was to characterize the IgM degrading enzyme of S. suis (Ide) and to investigate the role of IgM cleavage in evasion of the classical complement pathway and pathogenesis. Targeted mutagenesis of a cysteine in the putative active center of Ide abrogated IgM cleavage completely. In contrast to wt rIde, point mutated rIde_C195S did not reduce complement-mediated hemolysis indicating that complement inhibition by rIde depends on the IgM proteolytic activity. A S. suis mutant expressing Ide_C195S did not reduce IgM labeling, whereas the wt and complemented mutant showed less IgM F(ab')2 and IgM Fc antigen on the surface. IgM cleavage increased survival of S. suis in porcine blood ex vivo and mediated complement evasion as demonstrated by blood survival and C3 deposition assays including the comparative addition of rIde and rIde_C195S. However, experimental infection of piglets...
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Streptobacillus (S.) moniliformis is a rat-associated zoonotic pathogen that occasionally causes disease in other species. We investigated the working hypothesis that intranasal infection might lead to different immune responses in... more
Streptobacillus (S.) moniliformis is a rat-associated zoonotic pathogen that occasionally causes disease in other species. We investigated the working hypothesis that intranasal infection might lead to different immune responses in C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice associated with distinct pathologies. This study confirmed with 75% mortality the known high susceptibility of C57BL/6 mice to Streptobacillus moniliformis infection in comparison to BALB/c mice which did not develop signs of disease. Main pathologies in C57BL/6 mice were purulent to necrotizing lymphadenitis and pneumonia. Significant seroconversion was recorded in surviving mice of both strains. Differentiation of IgG-subclasses revealed mean ratios of IgG2b to IgG1 below 0.5 in sera of all mice prior to infection and of BALB/c mice post infection. In contrast, C57BL/6 mice had a mean IgG2b/IgG1 ratio of 2.5 post infection indicating a Th1 immune response in C57BL/6 versus a Th2 response in BALB/c mice. Evaluation of different se...
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Horses are much predisposed and susceptible to excessive and acute inflammatory responses that cause the recruitment and stimulation of polymorphnuclear granulocytes (PMN) together with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and the... more
Horses are much predisposed and susceptible to excessive and acute inflammatory responses that cause the recruitment and stimulation of polymorphnuclear granulocytes (PMN) together with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and the release of cytokines. The aim of the study is to develop easy, quick, cheap and reproducible methods for measuring tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) in the equine whole blood cultures ex-vivo time- and concentration-dependently. Horse whole blood diluted to 10, 20 and 50 % was stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), PCPwL (a combination of phytohemagglutinin E, concanavalin A and pokeweed mitogen) or equine recombinant TNF-α (erTNF-α). TNF-α and IL-1Ra were analyzed in culture supernatants, which were collected at different time points using specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Both cytokines could be detected optimal in stimulated 20 % whole blood cultures. TNF-α and IL-1Ra releases w...
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Acute phase proteins (APPs) are highly conserved plasma proteins that are increasingly secreted by the liver in response to a variety of injuries, independently of their location and cause. APPs favor the systemic regulation of defense,... more
Acute phase proteins (APPs) are highly conserved plasma proteins that are increasingly secreted by the liver in response to a variety of injuries, independently of their location and cause. APPs favor the systemic regulation of defense, coagulation, proteolysis, and tissue repair. Various APPs have been applied as general diagnostic parameters for a long time. Through proteomic techniques, more and more APPs have been discovered to be differentially altered. Since they are not consistently explainable by a stereotypic hepatic expression of sets of APPs, most of these results have unfortunately been neglected or attributed to the nonspecificity of the acute phase reaction. Moreover, it appears that various extrahepatic tissues are also able to express APPs. These extrahepatic APPs show focally specific roles in tissue homeostasis and repair and are released primarily into interstitial and distal fluids. Since these focal proteins might leak into the circulatory system, mixtures of he...
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ABSTRACT
Objective: Aim of this study was the evaluation of the peri-operative course of the canine C-reactive protein (CRP) serum concentration in uncomplicated and complicated wound healing. Material and methods: Based on the postoperative... more
Objective: Aim of this study was the evaluation of the peri-operative course of the canine C-reactive protein (CRP) serum concentration in uncomplicated and complicated wound healing. Material and methods: Based on the postoperative course of wound healing, 99 dogs were assigned to the following groups: uncomplicated wound healing (control group, n = 57), wound infection (n = 11), wound dehiscence (n = 5), seroma (n = 6), haematoma (n = 7), prolonged inflammatory condition (n = 12), and other complications (n = 1). Results: Patients with uncomplicated wound healing showed clinically a steady decrease of the initial local inflammatory reaction in the postoperative course. The CRP concentration was also characterized by an initial peak followed by a steady decline. Patients, whose wound healing was characterized by a prolonged or again increasing inflammation, nearly always displayed unchanged high CRP concentrations or a second marked increase and higher CRP concentrations in compari...
Im vorliegenden Heft der Schriftenreihe werden die Ergebnisse von zwei Projekten vorgestellt, die sich mit futtermittelhygienischen Aspekten befassten und von Wissenschaftlern der Universität Leipzig erarbeitet wurden. Untersuchungen zur... more
Im vorliegenden Heft der Schriftenreihe werden die Ergebnisse von zwei Projekten vorgestellt, die sich mit futtermittelhygienischen Aspekten befassten und von Wissenschaftlern der Universität Leipzig erarbeitet wurden. Untersuchungen zur Beeinflussung der Toxinexpression von Clostridium botulinum Typ B und C unter in-vitro-Bedingungen / Untersuchungen zu Vorkommen und Verbreitung von Clostridium botulinum in Rinderbeständen des Freistaates Sachsen / Mykotoxinscreening in Blut, Galle und Milch bei gesunden und kranken Kühen
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Summary: The ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis GL was tested for its applicability to the detection of botulinum neurotoxins. Botulinum neurotoxins attack different proteins of the SNARE-complex, which is involved in fusion processes of the... more
Summary: The ciliate Tetrahymena pyriformis GL was tested for its applicability to the detection of botulinum neurotoxins. Botulinum neurotoxins attack different proteins of the SNARE-complex, which is involved in fusion processes of the cellular membrane traffic. The exocytosis of enzymes and the phagocytosis of germs include several presumptive SNARE-dependent pathways within T. pyriformis. Acid phosphatase was chosen as indicator enzyme
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Biogas plants have been considered as a source for possible amplification and distribution of pathogenic bacteria capable of causing severe infections in humans and animals. Manure and biogas wastes could be sources for spore-forming... more
Biogas plants have been considered as a source for possible amplification and distribution of pathogenic bacteria capable of causing severe infections in humans and animals. Manure and biogas wastes could be sources for spore-forming bacteria such as Clostridium botulinum. In the present study, 24 liquid manure and 84 biogas waste samples from dairies where the majority of the cows suffered from chronic botulism were investigated for the presence of botulinum neurotoxins (BoNT) and C. botulinum spores. The prevalence of BoNT/A, B, C, D, and E in biogas wastes was 16.6, 8.3, 10.7, 7.1, and 10.8 %, respectively, while in manure, the prevalence was 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 8.3, and 4.1 %, respectively. After enrichment of samples in reinforced cultural medium, they were tested for C. botulinum BoNT/A, B, C, D, and E using ELISA (indirect C. botulinum detection). The prevalence of C. botulinum type A, B, C, D, and E samples in biogas wastes was 20.2, 15.5, 19, 10.7, and 34.8 %, respectively, whil...
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The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of glyphosate on the microbiota and on the botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) expression during in vitro ruminal fermentation. This study was conducted using two DAISY(II)-incubators with... more
The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of glyphosate on the microbiota and on the botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) expression during in vitro ruminal fermentation. This study was conducted using two DAISY(II)-incubators with four ventilated incubation vessels filled with rumen fluid of a 4-year-old non-lactating Holstein-Friesian cow. Two hundred milliliter rumen fluid and 800 ml buffer solution were used with six filter bags containing 500 mg concentrated feed or crude fiber-enriched diet. Final concentrations of 0, 1, 10, and 100 µg/ml of glyphosate in the diluted rumen fluids were added and incubated under CO2-aerated conditions for 48 h. The protozoal population was analyzed microscopically and the ruminal flora was characterized using the fluorescence in situ hybridization technique. Clostridium botulinum and BoNT were quantified using most probable number and ELISA, respectively. Results showed that glyphosate had an inhibitory effect on select groups of the rumi...
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The aim of this study is to investigate Clostridium botulinum at a Saxony dairy farm with 159 cows and 18 heifers. The animals exhibited clinical symptoms of chronic botulism. To determine the source of the infection, feces, blood,... more
The aim of this study is to investigate Clostridium botulinum at a Saxony dairy farm with 159 cows and 18 heifers. The animals exhibited clinical symptoms of chronic botulism. To determine the source of the infection, feces, blood, organs, and gastrointestinal fluids of dead or euthanized cows; as well as soil, water, silage and manure were tested for C. botulinum spores and BoNTs using ELISA. BoNT/C and C. botulinum type C were detected in 53% and 3% of tested animals, respectively, while BoNT/D and C. botulinum type D were detected in 18% of the animals. C. botulinum also was detected in organs, gastrointestinal fluids, drinking water and manure. To evaluate possible treatments, animals were given Jerusalem artichoke syrup (JAS), Botulism vaccine (formalinised aluminum hydroxide gel adsorbed toxoid of C. botulinum types C and D) or a suspension of Enterococcus faecalis. After four weeks treatment with JAS, BoNT/C and C. botulinum type C were not detected in feces. In contrast, BoNT/D and C. botulinum type D were not significantly influenced by the JAS treatment. Vaccination with botulism vaccine and the E. faecalis suspension significantly decreased BoNT/D and C. botulinum type D. A significant increase of Enterococci was detected in animals treated with E. faecalis. Interestingly, there was a negative correlation between the detection of both BoNT and C. botulinum with the concentration of Enterococci in feces. Although C. botulinum C and D antibodies increased significantly (p &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.0001) after vaccination with the botulism vaccine, the reduction of C. botulinum and BoNT in feces did not result in recovery of the animals because they were deficient of trace elements [manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu) and selenium (Se)]. Animals treated with trace elements recovered. It appears that intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and trace element deficiency could explain the extensive emergence of chronic Botulism.
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In 26 cows with surgically corrected torsio uteri intra partum, severity of disease, wound healing and secondary diseases were correlated with plasma haptoglobin concentration. The objective of the investigation was to determine, if an... more
In 26 cows with surgically corrected torsio uteri intra partum, severity of disease, wound healing and secondary diseases were correlated with plasma haptoglobin concentration. The objective of the investigation was to determine, if an increased plasma haptoglobin concentration indicates the severity of disease respectively expected wound healing disorders or secondary diseases. The degree of severity of disease was determined by rectally diagnosed elasticity of the uterus before the surgery. In the present investigation, the severity of a uterine torsion intra partum could not be evaluated by determining the plasma haptoglobin concentration. In 9 of 11 days of investigation there was no significant difference in the plasma haptoglobin concentration of animals with an elastic uterus (animals with good prognosis) in contrast to cows with tight uterus (patients with poor prognosis) found. The significant differences on the 6th and 7th day post surgery are related to secondary diseases...
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The change of haptoglobin concentration in cattle with dystocia after torsio uteri which lead to Caesarean section is regarded in contrast to haptoglobin concentrations in cattle at parturitions with undisturbed puerperium and Caesarean... more
The change of haptoglobin concentration in cattle with dystocia after torsio uteri which lead to Caesarean section is regarded in contrast to haptoglobin concentrations in cattle at parturitions with undisturbed puerperium and Caesarean section without torsio uteri intra partum. Animals with natural parturition had low haptoglobin concentrations with slight changes, for a slightly increased haptoglobin concentration was seen as physiologic. Also surgical treatment such as Caesarean section did not result in changes of haptoglobin concentration. Thus, the curve of animal patients with anomalies concerning position or with a too large fetus (relatively or absolutly) was nearly identical to the curve of animals with regular parturitions over the first four days after surgery. Not before the fifth day after surgery, a moderate increase of haptoglobin could be observed. Animals with dystocia after torsio uteri intra partum showed significantly higher haptoglobin concentrations in contras...
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Control of intestinal pathogens during the earliest phases of broiler production may be the best strategy for the reduction of human pathogens on processed broiler carcasses. The recent ban on antibiotics in poultry feed has served to... more
Control of intestinal pathogens during the earliest phases of broiler production may be the best strategy for the reduction of human pathogens on processed broiler carcasses. The recent ban on antibiotics in poultry feed has served to focus much attention on alternative methods of controlling the gastrointestinal microflora. A field trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of the fructan-rich Jerusalem artichoke, or topinambur (administered as 0.5% topinambur syrup in drinking water), on cultural numbers of selected cecal bacteria (total aerobes, Enterobacteriaceae, Bdellovibrio spp., and Clostridium perfringens) and levels of bacterial endotoxins as well as on body weights and relative weights of organs (the pancreas and the bursa of Fabricius) of chickens in the first 35 days of life (with weekly investigations being conducted). One-day-old broiler chickens (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to experimental (with topinambur) and control (without topinambur) groups. They were allo...
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The parameters C-reactive protein (CRP) and neopterin, which are associated with immunological reactions, were investigated in serum of healthy, diseased and with Haemophilus parasuis infected pigs. When comparing diseased young pigs with... more
The parameters C-reactive protein (CRP) and neopterin, which are associated with immunological reactions, were investigated in serum of healthy, diseased and with Haemophilus parasuis infected pigs. When comparing diseased young pigs with healthy young pigs significant increases of the CRP- and neopterin concentrations can be seen. The increase of the CRP-concentration was most remarkable. After the infection of SPF-piglets with Haemophilus parasuis, significantly decreased neopterin concentrations and increased CRP concentrations were determined in comparison with non-infected animals. The animals with the symptoms of arthritis and disorders of the central nervous system showed the lowest neopterin concentrations and the highest concentrations of CRP. It seems that CRP and neopterin are interesting serum parameters in pigs with regard to the recognition of immunological reactions after illness or infection.
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The C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein. Its deposit can be seen on several animal species. Following the development of a test system (enzyme-immunoassay/EIA) for the quantitative determination of bovine CRP, it was... more
The C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute phase protein. Its deposit can be seen on several animal species. Following the development of a test system (enzyme-immunoassay/EIA) for the quantitative determination of bovine CRP, it was possible to detect this protein in bovine raw milk for the first time. It was shown in the first extensive investigations that the CRP concentration in raw milk was increased, sometimes as much as tenfold as a result of udder inflammation (mastitis). In several screening analyses of a herd of cows, the CRP-values were compared with the somatic cell number, fat, protein and lactose content. The degree of CRP concentrations in raw milk in cows suffering from mastitis during the antibiotic treatment was reflected in the treatment success. When CRP was used as an additional parameter of selection, a better average udder health could be seen after five months. The first results of our investigations demonstrate that CRP is a practicable indicator of inflammati...
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CRP is an acute phase protein (APP) formed by hepatic cells in acute phase reaction (APR). APR is initiated by a broad spectrum of cytokines of activated macrophages of blood and tissues. During the APR, plasma concentrations of APP are... more
CRP is an acute phase protein (APP) formed by hepatic cells in acute phase reaction (APR). APR is initiated by a broad spectrum of cytokines of activated macrophages of blood and tissues. During the APR, plasma concentrations of APP are changed. Cytokines regulate APPs. CRP is a phylogenetically very old molecule. The degree of homology of amino acids in CRP is very high in a lot of species. CRP binding specificities depend on Ca++. The diagnostic importance of CRP in veterinary medicine is discussed.