Effect of dry cow therapy products on the in vitro phagocytic function of goat milk leukocytes

O uso de medicamentos antimamíticos específicos para vacas no período seco é indicado para prevenção de infecções na lactação seguinte. Não obstante, a ação das células envolvidas no período de secagem tem fundamental importância para a involução da glândula mamária e seu restabelecimento para a lactação subseqüente. A indisponibilidade de tais medicamentos para uso em cabras tem resultado na extrapolação do uso de produtos recomendados para vacas sem que se considerem as particularidades e diferenças anátomo-fisiológicas entre as espécies bovina e caprina. O presente estudo teve por objetivo avaliar a influência de cinco antimamíticos específicos para vacas secas sobre a função dos fagócitos provenientes de leite caprino. Para tal, fez-se o isolamento de células somáticas de 20 amostras de leite provenientes de 10 cabras lactantes, sem antecedentes de tratamento de mamite nos últimos 30 dias, sob condições higiênico-sanitárias de colheita e com resultados negativos ao cultivo microbiológico do leite. As células aderidas a lamínulas de vidro foram confrontadas com formulações contendo princípios ativos disponíveis no mercado como Gentamicina (M1), Cefalônio Anidro (M2), Ampicilina (M3), Cloxacilina Benzatínica (M4) e Cefapirina Benzatínica (M5). Avaliou-se, por microscopia, a fagocitose de partículas de Zymosan. As médias dos índices de fagocitose das células submetidas ao tratamento com M2 (15,12% ± 16,22), M3 (6,02% ± 7,96), M4 (4,54% ± 5,45) e M5 (2,47% ± 4,64) foram menores (p<0,001) que a média dos índices de fagocitose do grupo controle (40,67% ± 19,68). A média dos índices de fagocitose das células submetidas ao tratamento com M2 foi maior (p<0,05) que as médias dos tratamentos com M3, M4 e M5 enquanto estas foram estatisticamente iguais entre si. As amostras celulares submetidas ao medicamento M1 exibiram adesão insuficiente ou ausente às lamínulas, inviabilizando a avaliação da fagocitose por meio da técnica utilizada. Os resultados obtidos permitem concluir que os medicamentos estudados exerceram influência negativa sobre os fagócitos do leite, porém, esta interferência sobre as funções das células somáticas não pode por si só determinar o insucesso da terapia proposta para o período seco, pois deve ser considerada, outrossim, a eficácia do princípio ativo sobre o patógeno causador do processo infeccioso.The use of specific anti-mastitis drugs is indicated in dry cow therapy to prevent infections in the following lactation. Nonetheless, cells active in the dry period are of fundamental importance for the involution of the mammary gland and its recovery for the following lactation. Since there are no specific drugs for dry goat therapy, the dry cow therapy drugs tend to be misused in goats despite of the anatomical and physiological differences apart from the particularities of the two species. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of five drugs specific for dry cow therapy on the function of goat milk phagocytes. Somatic cells were isolated from 20 milk samples of 10 lactating goats that had not been treated for mastitis during the previous 30 days. Milk samples were collected properly and microbiological culture yielded negative results. Cells adherent to glass coverslips were treated with commercially available dry cow therapy drugs containing active principles such as Gentamicin (M1), Cephalonium anhydrous (M2), Ampicillin (M3), Cloxacillin benzathine (M4) and Cephapirin benzathine (M5). Phagocytosis of Zymosan particles was evaluated. Mean phagocytosis indexes of cells treated with M2 (15.12% ± 16.22), M3 (6.02% ± 7.96), M4 (4.54% ± 5.45) and M5 (2.47% ± 4.64) were lower (p<0.001) than mean phagocytosis index of the control group (40.67% ± 19.68). Mean phagocytosis index of cells treated with M2 was greater (p<0.05) than those treated with M3, M4 and M5, whereas means of the latter three treatments were statistically similar. M1-treated cells did not adhere adequately to the cover slips, making it impossible to evaluate phagocytosis in this group. The results obtained enable the conclusion that drugs used affected milk phagocytes negatively. However, interference on somatic cell function is not the sole factor determining an unsuccessful dry period therapy, since the efficacy of the active principle on pathogens responsible for infectious processes also has to be considered

Anthropogenic substrate-borne vibrations impact anuran calling

Anthropogenic disturbance is a major cause of the biodiversity crisis. Nevertheless, the role of anthropogenic substrate vibrations in disrupting animal behavior is poorly understood. Amphibians comprise the terrestrial vertebrates most sensitive to vibrations, and since communication is crucial to their survival and reproduction, they are a suitable model for investigating this timely subject. Playback tests were used to assess the effects of substrate vibrations produced by two sources of anthropogenic activity– road traffic and wind turbines– on the calling activity of a naïve population of terrestrial toads. In their natural habitat, a buried tactile sound transducer was used to emit simulated traffic and wind turbine vibrations, and changes in the toads’ acoustic responses were analyzed by measuring parameters important for reproductive success: call rate, call duration and dominant frequency. Our results showed a significant call rate reduction by males of Alytes obstetricans in response to both seismic sources, whereas other parameters remained stable. Since females of several species prefer males with higher call rates, our results suggest that anthropogenically derived substrate-borne vibrations could reduce individual reproductive success. Our study demonstrates a clear negative effect of anthropogenic vibrations on anuran communication, and the urgent need for further investigation in this area

Enhanced phagocytosis of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis by monocyte-macrophage cells from goats naturally infected with caprine arthritis encephalitis virus

Sanches B.G.S., Souza F.N., Azedo M.R., Batista C.F., Bertagnon H.G., Blagitz M.G. & Della Libera A.M.M.P. 2012. [Enhanced phagocytosis of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis by monocyte-macrophage cells from goats naturally infected with caprine arthritis encephalitis virus.] Fagocitose intensificada de Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis por celulas da serie monocito-macrofago de caprinos naturalmente infectados pelo virus da artrite encefalite. Pesquisa Veterinaria Brasileira 32(12):1225-1229. Departamento de Clinica Medica, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinaria e Zootecnia, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Avenida Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, Cidade Universitaria, Sao Paulo, SP 05508-270, Brazil. E-mail: [email protected] Caprine arthritis encephalitis (CAE) and caseous lymphadenitis (CL) have high incidence and transmissibility in small ruminants. Since both virus have tropism for macrophages and monocytes and affect the innate immune response, it is believed that CAE can predispose the animal to infection by Corynebacteruim pseudotuberculosis, the etiological agent of CL. To confirm this hypothesis, we evaluated phagocytosis from the monocyte-macrophage cells from 30 Saanen goats. Goats were uniformly divided in two groups according to results of agar gel immunodiffusion test for CAE virus (CAEV). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated by density gradient centrifugation and the monocyte-macrophage cells were isolated from the mononuclear cells by their adhesion properties in plaques. Afterwards, phagocytosis of C. psudotuberculosis was performed for two hours at 37 degrees C, 5% of CO2, and assessed by microscopic visualization. There was no difference in the percentage of monocyte-macrophage cells that phagocytozed C. bovis between groups (P = 0.41). However, when phagocytosis rates were classified according to the number of C. pseudotuberculosis phagocyted, the percentage of monocyte-macrophage cells that internalized more than 12 bacteria were higher in serologically CAEV positive animals compared to the serologically negative ones (P &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, a positive and significant correlation (r = 0.488; P = 0.006) between the percentage of monocyte-macrophage cells that internalized more than 12 bacteria and the percentage of monocyte that were carrying out phagocytosis was also encountered in serologically CAEV positive goats, however the same were not observed in serologically negative ones. These results demonstrated an alteration in the intensity of C. pseudotuberculosis phagocytosis by monocytes-macrophages from goats infected by CAEV. Thus, these results indicated that goats infected with CAEV may be more susceptible to CL

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio