Homing and reparative effect of intra-articular injection of autologus mesenchymal stem cells in osteoarthritic animal model

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This work aimed to study the homing evidence and the reparative effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the healing process of induced osteoarthritis in experimental animal model (donkeys).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Twenty-seven donkeys were equally divided into 3 groups based on the observation period after induction of arthritis (3, 6 and 9 weeks) to achieve different degrees of osteoarthritis. Each group was subdivided into three subgroups of three animals each based on the follow-up period (1, 2 and 6 months) after treatment. The induction was done through intra-articular (IA) injection of 2 ml of Amphotericin-B in both carpal joints. MSCs were harvested in a separate procedure, labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) using monster GFP vector and suspended in hyaluronic acid for IA injection. Treatment approaches consisted of cell-treatment using MSCs suspended in 3 ml of hyaluronic acid (HA) for the right carpal joint; and using the same amount of (HA) but without MSCs for the left contralateral carpal joint to serve as a control. Animals were assessed clinically and radiologically before and after treatment. Synovial fluid was also evaluated. Histopathologically; articular cartilage structural changes, reduction of articular cartilage matrix staining, osteophyte formation, and subchondral bone plate thickening were graded. Data was summarized using median and percentile for scores of histopathologic grading. Comparison between groups was done using non-parametric Mann Whitney test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The reparative effect of MSCs was significant both clinically and radiologically in all treated groups (P < 0.05) compared to the control groups. Fluorescence microscopy of sections of the cell-treated joints of all animals indicated that the GFP-transduced injected cells have participated effectively in the reparative process of the damaged articular surface and have integrated within the existing articular cartilage. The cells were associated with the surface of the cartilage and, were also detected in the interior.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Homing was confirmed by the incorporation of injected GFP-labeled MSCs within the repaired newly formed cartilage. Significant recovery proves that the use of IA injection of autologous MSCs is a viable and a practical option for treating different degrees of osteoarthritis.</p

Canine ehrlichiosis in Egypt: sero-epidemiological survey

A total of 374 dogs, 252 from five military kennels and 122 privately owned, were tested for Ehrlichia canis antibody. Sera were tested at a 1:20 dilution by indirect fluorescent antibody with the use of E. canis cell-culture antigen slides. The overall prevalence of E. canis antibody was 33%. Antibody prevalence among military dogs (29 %) was significantly lower than among privately owned dogs (41 %; P < 0,05) . The E. canis seroprevalence among dogs infested with ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) was higher (44 %) than that among uninfested dogs (31 %; P = 0,08) . The seroprevalence among military dogs varied from 21-46% at the five kennels; lower prevalences were observed in kennels with higher sanitary and hygienic conditions. Age- and sex-related E. canis antibody prevalences were not significantly different among military and privately owned dogs, although adult and male privately owned dogs had the highest seroprevalences (45% and 44 %, respectively). Three dogs with epistaxis had E. canis antibody titres > 1:320. These data demonstrate the first laboratory evidence of E. canis infection among dogs in Egypt.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.Naval Medical Research and Development Command, NMC, NCR, Bethesda, MD.mn201

Challenges to the Fight against Rabies-The Landscape of Policy and Prevention Strategies in Africa.

Nearly 59,000 human deaths worldwide are attributable to rabies annually, of which more than a third occur in Africa. In recent years, progress has been made in both action and collaboration including implementation of surveillance and prevention measures. In this review we assess the scale of surveillance, preventive, and control efforts of canine-transmitted human rabies in African countries. We reviewed literature published from 2014 to 2018, retrieved from electronic databases including MEDLINE, Global Index Medicus, BIOSIS, Science Citation Index, and EMBASE. WHO reports, national disease control program reports, and conference proceedings were also reviewed. The database search was conducted using keywords including rabies, control, and prevention. In forty countries (40/54), some level of rabies control and prevention strategy was available while in fourteen (14/54) countries, no specific national control and prevention strategy for human rabies could be retrieved. Thirty-four (34/54) countries utilized the Stepwise Approach towards Rabies Elimination (SARE) tool to monitor the national rabies control efforts-five of these countries were at the lowest tier (0/5) of the SARE scoring system while no country had achieved the highest score (5/5). High burden countries need to step up the implementation of context specific national rabies control, prevention, and monitoring strategies. As a zoonosis, rabies control and elimination require coordination between human and veterinarian health sectors under the "One Health" umbrella and with national master plans on the prevention and control of neglected tropical diseases ending in 2020, the time to act is now

Acceptance of candidate baits by domestic dogs for delivery of oral rabies vaccines

Protocols for evaluating oral rabies vaccine baits for domestic dogs were field tested in central Mexico, after which dog-food manufacturers and suppliers to the pet-food industry were advised as to potential ingredients for use in prototype dog baits. Bait-preference trials in which confined dogs were used were then undertaken, followed by field tests of free-ranging farmer-owned dogs in three towns in the Nile River Delta region of Egypt. Both confined and free-ranging dogs showed strong preferences for certain baits or bait coatings (poultry, beef tallow, cheese, egg and a proprietary product). Fish-meal polymer baits, widely used for wildlife species, were less preferred. In Egypt, a commercial dog-food-meal bait coated with beef tallow and dry cheese was consumed at a rate approaching that of a chicken-head bait. The percentage baits that were actually eaten after they had been offered to dogs, ranged from 71-96% for household dogs tested in Mexico, 65-91% for confined dogs (beagles and mixed breeds) tested in the United States, and 32-88% for farmer-owned dogs tested in Egypt.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat X Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Detection of zoonotic bacterial pathogens in multiple hosts using a microbiome approach and molecular characterization of Anaplasma phagocytophilum

The Mnisi community, a rural area, is nestled at the cusp of a human/livestock/wildlife interface in Bushbuckridge Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. In this area, undifferentiated non-malarial acute febrile illness (AFI) is among the most common presenting signs in patients seeking healthcare at the community clinics. Recent research suggested that zoonotic pathogens either rodent-borne or tick-borne may be common aetiologies of febrile illness in the community. The study had shown that patients presenting with non-malarial AFI had prior exposure to Bartonella spp., spotted fever group Rickettsia, Coxiella burnetii and Leptospira spp. Low levels of West Nile and Sindbis, but no Rift Valley fever virus exposure were found. In a separate study, the molecular detection of a bacterium closely related to Anaplasma phagocytophilum in dog samples collected in the Mnisi community was also reported. The aim of this study was, therefore to investigate wild rodents, cattle and dogs as well as their associated ticks, as possible sources of zoonotic pathogen infection in the Mnisi community using a microbiome sequencing approach. We also screened AFI patient samples, rodents, dogs, cattle and ticks for the presence of A. phagocytophilum using a real-time PCR assay. The Anaplasma species detected were subsequently characterized using gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The sample set consisted of 282 wild rodents trapped across three habitat types, 74 AFI patients, 56 domestic dogs, 100 cattle, 160 Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks collected from dogs and 348 Amblyomma hebraeum ticks collected from cattle. Of these, the bacterial blood microbiome of a subset of samples was generated using circular consensus sequencing (CCS) performed on the Pacific Biosciences platform at Washington State University. The full sample set was then also screened for the specific presence of A. phagocytophilum using a Taqman real-time PCR assay, followed by the molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of A. phagocytophilum targeting the 16S rRNA, gltA, ankA and msp4 genes. The bacterial blood microbiome of 25 Mastomys rodent species collected from three habitat areas revealed a total of 65,060 bacterial sequences with 29% of the total sequence reads obtained corresponding to Bartonella grahamii, 23% to Bartonella sp. strain RF255YX and 12% of sequences to Bartonella spp. Overall, rodents from Hlalakahle (urban/periurban area) and Tlhavekisa (communal rangeland) had higher proportions of Bartonella species (~85%), while Gottenburg (urban/periurban area) and Manyeleti (protected area) had lower Bartonella spp. loads (~45%). Other organisms of zoonotic and veterinary significance detected included Ehrlichia sp. (~0.03%), C. burnetii (~0.02%), Anaplasma spp. (~0.5%), and Brucella spp. (~1%). Characterization of the blood microbiome of the dogs revealed 30,340 bacterial sequences, with 24% of the total sequences obtained from canine blood corresponding to Ehrlichia canis, 19.3% to A. platys, 14.8% to Anaplasma sp. ZAM dog, while 0.3% of sequences corresponded to A. phagocytophilum. The characterization of the blood microbiome from nine cattle revealed 34,559 bacterial sequences, of which 58% corresponded to A. marginale, 22.2% to Anaplasma sp. Mymensingh, 10.5% to Anaplasma spp. and 5.4% to Anaplasma sp. Dedessa. In addition, these species were detected in the following rates in cattle blood: Anaplasma sp. Hadesa: 2.7%, A. centrale: 1.4%, Bartonella spp.: 0.5%, A. platys: 0.2%, Anaplasma sp. Saso: 0.2% and A. phagocytophilum: 0.01%. Characterization of the bacterial microbiome from 24 pools of salivary glands and 23 pools of midgut tissues from the 348 A. hebraeum ticks produced a total of 86,308 bacterial sequence reads from the midgut pools as well as 84,420 sequences from the salivary gland pools. Of these, 81.7% of the bacterial sequences from the midgut pools and 83% of the sequences from the salivary gland pools were dominated by the zoonotic pathogen Rickettsia africae, the cause of African tick bite fever (ATBF). A further 6.8% of the sequences from the salivary gland pools and 6.9% of the sequences from the midgut pools corresponded to Rickettsia spp. Six percent of the total sequences from the salivary gland pools and 3.4% of the sequences from the midgut pools corresponded to E. ruminantium, while 1.4% of the sequence reads from the salivary gland pools and 1.2% of the reads from the midgut pools corresponded to Coxiella spp. symbionts. Characterization of the blood microbiome of nine AFI patients revealed 13,726 bacterial sequences. Of significance was the detection of R. africae from three AFI patients and Brucella melitensis from one AFI patient. DNA from 74 non-malarial acute febrile illness patients, 282 rodents, 100 cattle, 56 dogs, and 160 R. sanguineus ticks were screened using a quantitative real-time PCR designed to target the msp2 gene of A. phagocytophilum. However, the test was found to detect A. phagocytophilum and an Anaplasma sp. recently described from Zambian dogs (Anaplasma sp. ZAM dog). Sequencing of the 16S rRNA and gltA genes confirmed the presence of A. phagocytophilum DNA in humans, dogs and rodents; also highlighting its potential importance as a possible contributing cause of acute febrile illness in humans in this rural community in South Africa. Anaplasma sp. ZAM dog and Anaplasma platys were furthermore identified in dogs, while Candidatus Anaplasma boleense and Anaplasma sp. Mymensingh were identified in cattle. Anaplasma sp. ZAM dog was also identified in R. sanguineus ticks collected from dogs. Phylogenetic analyses grouped Anaplasma sp. ZAM dog into a distinct clade; providing sufficient divergence with the other Anaplasma species to warrant classification as a separate species. Until appropriate type-material can be deposited and the species can be formally described, we will refer to this novel organism as Anaplasma sp. SA dog (for Anaplasma sp. southern Africa dog). In conclusion, the detection of an array of zoonotic bacterial pathogens from wild rodents, domestic dogs, cattle and their associated ticks and humans in this study highlights their significance as possible contributing factors to non-malarial febrile illness in the Mnisi community area. We therefore recommend that healthcare practitioners in the community should consider them in the differential diagnosis of AFI.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2019.National Research Foundation (NRF)Veterinary Tropical DiseasesPhDUnrestricte

Subjects: Trematoda And Trematode Diseases, Part 3: Supergenera And Genera D

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industr

Special Publication No. 6, Subject: Nematoda and Nematode Diseases, Part 5: Supergenera, Genera, Species, and Subspecies: Sp-Z.

United States Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industr