Alterations triggered by steroid gonadal hormones in triglycerides and the cellular immune response of Calomys callosus infected with the Y strain of Trypanosoma cruzi     

D'Ambrósio Fernandes R  Caetano LC  dos Santos CD  Abrahão AA  Pinto AC  Prado JC 《Veterinary parasitology》2008,152(1-2):21-27

Calomys callosus is a wild rodent found naturally infected with different Trypanosoma cruzi strains. In the work described here, groups of male and female C. callosus were subjected to orchiectomy, ovariectomy and sham operation. One month after surgery, animals were inoculated intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 4x10(4) blood trypomastigotes of the "Y" strain of T. cruzi. Parasitemia, triglycerides, nitric oxide (NO) and concanavalin A (ConA)-induced proliferation were evaluated. Parasitemia during the course of infection was significantly higher in infected and sham operated animals as compared to infected orchiectomized animals. The opposite was observed in the ovariectomized and infected group. Orchiectomized and infected animals displayed elevated triglyceride levels, as well as a more vigorous immune response, with higher splenocyte proliferation and elevated concentrations of NO. Ovariectomy resulted in an impaired immune response, as observed by a reduction of splenocyte proliferation and NO concentration. The results suggest a pivotal role for gonadal hormones in the modulation of triglyceride levels and the magnitude of the immune response during the acute phase of T. cruzi infection.  相似文献   

AVES POLYOMAVIRUS 1 IN ARA CHLOROPTERA AND ECLECTUS RORATUS WITH DISCLOSURE OF FULL GENOMIC SEQUENCES     

Ana Margarida Henriques  Teresa Fagulha  Silvia Carla Barros  Fernanda Ramos  Margarida Dias Duarte  Tiago Luís  Paulo Carvalho  Paula Mendonça  Madalena Monteiro  Hélder Craveiro  Miguel Fevereiro 《Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine》2018,27(1):4-10

Aves polyomavirus 1 (APyV) is the causative agent of acute disease in birds and causes high mortality rates in nestlings. Infections have been reported worldwide in a significant number of caged bird species, such as parrots, caiques, budgerigars, lovebirds, and macaws. However, the number of complete viral sequences available in public databases is scarce, especially those with associated clinical histories. In this study, the clinical, pathological, epidemiological, and molecular characteristics of 2 APyV strains detected in Portugal are described. In the autumn of 2015, a 2-month-old female green-winged macaw (Ara chloroptera) from a small breeder died with signs of dehydration, weight loss, and depression, raising the suspicion of polyomavirus infection. Histopathological analysis revealed lesions compatible with APyV infection, and the presence of polyomavirus in several organs was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. From the cohabitants tested (n = 14), 1 eclectus parrot (Eclectus roratus), which was more than 1-year-old, was also APyV DNA-positive. The full genomic sequences of the 2 strains were obtained and found identical, suggesting a single introduction in the premises and the occurrence of subsequent infections by the same virus. When compared with sequences of other APyVs available in public databases, high nucleotide similarity percentages were obtained, confirming the close genetic relationship among polyomaviruses worldwide. Interestingly, strain APV7, detected in a white-bellied parrot in 2008 in Japan, was the closest strain to those isolated in this report. Attempts to isolate the virus in eggs and cell lines failed. Phylogenetic analysis was performed by the Bayesian method to determine the phylogenetic classification of the macaw and parrot strains. Both clustered into group V, together with other strains from different bird species with no host or spatial-temporal relationships being observed.  相似文献   

Molecular epidemiology of bluetongue virus in Portugal during 2004-2006 outbreak   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Barros SC  Ramos F  Luís TM  Vaz A  Duarte M  Henriques M  Cruz B  Fevereiro M 《Veterinary microbiology》2007,124(1-2):25-34

After 44 years of epidemiological silence, bluetongue virus (BTV) was reintroduced in Portugal in the autumn of 2004. The first clinical cases of bluetongue disease (BT) were notified in sheep farms located in the South of Portugal, close to the Spanish border. A total of six BTV, five of serotype 4 and one of serotype 2 were isolated from sheep and cattle during the 2004-2006 epizootics. The nucleotide sequence of gene segments L2, S7 and S10 of BTV-4 prototype strain (BTV4/22045/PT04) obtained from the initial outbreak and of BTV-2 (BTV2/26629/PT05) was fully determined and compared with those from other parts of the world. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that BTV4/22045/PT04 is related to other BTV-4 strains that circulate in the Mediterranean basin since 1998, showing the highest identity (99%) with BTV-4 isolates of 2003 from Sardinia and Corsica, whereas BTV2/26629/PT05 is almost indistinguishable from the Onderstepoort BTV-2 live-attenuated vaccine strain and its related field strain isolated in Italy. Since live-attenuated BTV-2 vaccine was never used in Portugal, the isolation of this strain may represent a natural circulation of the vaccine virus used in other countries in Mediterranean Europe.  相似文献   

Development of a candidate DNA vaccine against Maedi-Visna virus   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Henriques AM  Fevereiro M  Prazeres DM  Monteiro GA 《Veterinary immunology and immunopathology》2007,119(3-4):222-232

DNA vaccine candidates against Maedi-Visna virus (MVV) infection in ovines were developed as an alternative to conventional vaccines. Candidates were constructed by cloning genes encoding the MVV gag polyprotein and gag proteins p16 and p25 fused to a beta-galactosidase reporter in a plasmid backbone. Transfection of different ovine cells showed a higher protein expression with plasmid lacZp16, which was hence further optimised by (i) removing a putative inhibitory sequence via reduction of the AU-content in the p16 gene or by (ii) introducing a secretory signal (Sc) to promote antigen secretion and increase its presentation to APCs. Unexpectedly, plasmids constructed on the basis of the first strategy by mutagenesis of lacZp16 (lacZp16mut(24)), led to a reduction in the expression of the antigen/reporter fusion in cultured ovine cells. This indicates that the high AU content in MVV does not inhibit protein expression. However, mice primed with lacZp16mut(24) and boosted with MVV protein displayed higher humoral response when compared with control lacZp16. The addition of the Sc signal (Sc-p16) led to lower amounts of intracellular antigen/reporter fusion in transfected ovine cells, thus confirming secretion. These findings correlate with in vivo experiments, which showed that mice primed with Sc-p16 and boosted with MVV exhibited stronger antibody responses when compared with control mice primed with lacZp16 and boosted with MVV. Stronger humoral responses were recorded by immunising mice with (i) Sc-p16 and lacZp16mut(24) plasmids together or with (ii) one plasmid containing both the mutations and the Sc signal.  相似文献   

Metabolic status of lactating cows given a hepatoprotectant and different feed energy sources     

Pinheiro  Jessyca Karen  Gonzaga Neto  Severino  Signoretti  Ricardo Dias  Henriques  Lara Toledo  Cesar Neto  José Maria  Pinheiro  Jovanna Karine 《Tropical animal health and production》2021,53(1):1-6

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Communal rearing has been reported in several mammals, including wild ungulates. However, until now, there was no evidence of any alloparental care in the...  相似文献   

Economic evaluation of the commercial production between Brazilian samphire and whiteleg shrimp in an aquaponics system     

Leonardo Castilho-Barros  Fábio H. Almeida  Marcelo B. Henriques  Walter Q. Seiffert 《Aquaculture International》2018,26(5):1187-1206

The implementation of aquaponics systems has significantly increased in the last two decades, and several studies have reported on the technical, socioeconomic, and environmental ramifications in order to achieve sustainability in food production. The present study, however, aimed to perform a commercial-scale economic evaluation, using a model marine aquaponics production system with the halophyte Sarcocornia ambigua and the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei cultivated in nutrient film technology (NFT) and biofloc technology (BFT) systems, respectively. To calculate phytotechnical and zootechnical indexes, we used recent studies available in the literature. Indicators of operational costs (total cost of production—TCP) and financial viability were calculated based on a cash flow horizon of 10 years. The proposed study estimated an initial investment of US$ 474,253.07, with annual TCPs around US$ 192,220.50, US$ 247,740.52, and US$ 223,482.65 years 1, 2 to 9, and 10, the different periods studied. Within these respective periods, the annual production of halophyte was 17,017, 23,286, and 18,808 kg, while marine shrimp production was 10,659, 14,586, and 11,781 kg. Based on these annual production numbers, the TCPs were US$ 4.75, US$ 4.03, and US$ 4.67 kg^?1 for halophyte and US$ 10.45, US$ 14.43, and US$ 11.52 kg^?1 for shrimp. Three sales prices were estimated per kilogram of halophyte produced and one fixed price per kilogram of shrimp produced. Only the highest selling price showed favorable indexes after testing sensitivities. Based on the above parameters, halophyte TCP was below sales value, i.e., reference price, with the possibility of increasing the price to “premium” level, indicating that this marine aquaponics production system was feasible for implementation in Brazil.  相似文献