Oral Vaccination With a Formulation Combining Rhipicephalus microplus Subolesin With Heat Inactivated Mycobacterium bovis Reduces Tick Infestations in Cattle.

Vaccines are an environmentally friendly alternative to acaracides for the control of tick infestations, to reduce the risk for tick-borne diseases affecting human and animal health worldwide, and to improve animal welfare and production. Subolesin (SUB, also known as 4D8) is the functional homolog of Akirin2 involved in the regulation of development and innate immune response, and a proven protective antigen for the control of ectoparasite infestations and pathogen infection. Oral vaccination combining protein antigens with immunostimulants has proven efficacy with increased host welfare and safety, but has not been used for the control of tick infestations. Here we describe the efficacy of oral vaccination with a formulation combining Rhipicephalus microplus SUB and heat inactivated Mycobacterium bovis (IV) on cattle tick infestations and fertility. The levels of IgG antibody titers against SUB and M. bovis P22, and the expression of selected immune response genes were determined and analyzed as possible correlates of protection. We demonstrated that oral immunization with the SUB+IV formulation resulted in 51% reduction in the number of female ticks and 30% reduction in fertility with an overall efficacy of 65% in the control of R. microplus infestations by considering the cumulative effect on reducing tick survival and fertility in cattle. The akr2, IL-1ß, and C3 mRNA levels together with antibody levels against SUB correlated with vaccine efficacy. The effect of the oral immunization with SUB+IV in cattle on tick survival and fertility is essential to reduce tick infestations, and extended previous results on the effect of R. microplus SUB for the control of cattle tick infestations. These results support the development of oral vaccines formulations for the control of tick infestations and the incidence of tick-borne diseases

Transcriptome and proteome response of Rhipicephalus annulatus tick vector to Babesia bigemina infection

Funding Information: RHIBAB - PTDC/CVT/112050/2009 “Differential expression and functional characterization of tick (Rhipicephalus annulatus) genes in response to pathogen infection (B. bigemina).” SA is the recipient of a post-doctoral grant supported by FCT Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) for funds to GHTM – UID/Multi/04413/2013. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2019 Antunes, Couto, Ferrolho, Sanches, Merino Charrez, De la Cruz Hernández, Mazuz, Villar, Shkap, de la Fuente and Domingos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.A system biology approach was used to gain insight into tick biology and interactions between vector and pathogen. Rhipicephalus annulatus is one of the main vectors of Babesia bigemina which has a massive impact on animal health. It is vital to obtain more information about this relationship, to better understand tick and pathogen biology, pathogen transmission dynamics, and new potential control approaches. In ticks, salivary glands (SGs) play a key role during pathogen infection and transmission. RNA sequencing obtained from uninfected and B. bigemina infected SGs obtained from fed female ticks resulted in 6823 and 6475 unigenes, respectively. From these, 360 unigenes were found to be differentially expressed (p < 0.05). Reversed phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry identified a total of 3679 tick proteins. Among them 406 were differently represented in response to Babesia infection. The omics data obtained suggested that Babesia infection lead to a reduction in the levels of mRNA and proteins (n = 237 transcripts, n = 212 proteins) when compared to uninfected controls. Integrated transcriptomics and proteomics datasets suggested a key role for stress response and apoptosis pathways in response to infection. Thus, six genes coding for GP80, death-associated protein kinase (DAPK-1), bax inhibitor-1 related (BI-1), heat shock protein (HSP), heat shock transcription factor (PHSTF), and queuine trna-ribosyltransferase (QtRibosyl) were selected and RNA interference (RNAi) performed. Gene silencing was obtained for all genes except phstf. Knockdown of gp80, dapk-1, and bi-1 led to a significant increase in Babesia infection levels while hsp and QtRibosyl knockdown resulted in a non-significant decrease of infection levels when compared to the respective controls. Gene knockdown did not affect tick survival, but engorged female weight and egg production were affected in the gp80, dapk-1, and QtRibosyl-silenced groups in comparison to controls. These results advanced our understanding of tick-Babesia molecular interactions, and suggested new tick antigens as putative targets for vaccination to control tick infestations and pathogen infection/transmission.publishersversionpublishe

Manual práctico para el reconocimiento de enfermedades comunes en ovinos de engorda en el noreste de México

\ua0En años recientes, en México se ha incrementado la demanda por la carne de ovino, teniendo que recurrir ha importaciones procedentes principalmente de Australia y Nueva Zelanda para cubrir el requerimiento nacional. Sin embargo, dadas las condiciones ambientales del noreste del país, los productores han venido incorporando y adoptando la explotación intensiva de ovinos, con la consecuente presentación de enfermedades relacionadas con el hacinamiento de los mismos.\ua0\ua0Debido a las pérdidas ocasionadas por estas enfermedades, se hace necesario contar con un seguimiento detallado para su detección y tratamiento. Por tal motivo, el presente manual presenta una revisión de los principales agentes etiológicos de los ovinos confinados en explotaciones intensivas del noreste de México, principalmente bacterias, virus, parásitos, además de aquellas enfermedades de carácter metabólico o nutricional, así como también representa un medio gráfico para su identificación, con el objeto de lograr el correcto enlace entre lo productores, médicos veterinarios y el laboratorio de diagnóstico.\ua

Frecuencia y caracterización de las principales neoplasias presentes en el perro doméstico en Tamaulipas (México)

In Mexico, research on veterinary oncology is scarce. This is the first report on the most common neoplasms in domestic dogs in northeastern Mexico, which establishes important bases for future epidemiological research. A retrospective study covering 2013 and a prospective study from January to August of 2014 was carried out in the Animal Pathology Department of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science at the Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, as well as in a private laboratory. A total of 250 samples of cytopathology and histopathology of tumors or lesions suggestive of neoplasms were analyzed. 213 of them were diagnosed as neoplasms and 37 as non-neoplastic processes. Malignant neoplasms were more frequent than benign ones. They were classified as epithelial or mesenchymal neoplasms. Mixed breed dogs were the most affected, followed by the Labrador breed. Female dogs developed tumors with the highest frequency, with 145 records. For the statistical analysis, Fisher’s exact test was used, which determined the existence of a statistically significant association (p < 0.05) between the presence of the five most frequent types of tumors and the patients’ sex, race, and age in the development of neoplasms. No significant differences were observed when evaluating the relation of the neoplastic tumor with race and sex, although there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) regarding the patients’ age.No México, a pesquisa sobre oncologia veterinária é escassa. Este é o primeiro relatório sobre as neoplasias mais comuns no cão doméstico no noroeste do México e estabelece as bases importantes para futuras pesquisas epidemiológicas. Realizou-se um estudo retrospectivo de 2013 e prospectivo de janeiro a agosto de 2014, no Departamento de Patologia Animal da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade Autônoma de Tamaulipas, mais um laboratório particular. Analisaram-se em total 250 amostras de cito patologia e histopatologia de tumores ou lesões sugestivas a neoplasias. Destas, 213 se diagnosticaram como neoplasias e 37 como processos não neoplásicos. As neoplasias malignas foram mais frequentes do que as benignas. Classificaram-se em epiteliais ou mesenquimais. Os cães foram os mais afetados, seguidos pela raça labrador. As fêmeas apresentaram maior frequência no desenvolvimento de tumores, com 145 registros. Para a análise estatística se utilizou a prova exata de Fisher, que determinou a existência de uma associação estatística significativa (p < 0,05) entre a presença dos cinco tipos de tumores mais frequentes e o sexo, a raça e a idade dos pacientes no desenvolvimento de neoplasias. Não se observaram diferenças significativas ao avaliar o comportamento do tumor neoplásico com raça e sexo, mesmo havendo uma diferença significativa (p < 0,05) com a idade dos pacientes.En México, la investigación sobre oncología veterinaria es escasa. Este es el primer informe sobre las neoplasias más comunes en el perro doméstico en el noreste de México y establece las bases importantes para futuras investigaciones epidemiológicas. Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo de 2013 y prospectivo de enero a agosto de 2014, en el Departamento de Patología Animal de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia de la Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas y en un laboratorio particular. Se analizaron un total de 250 muestras de citopatología e histopatología de tumores o lesiones sugestivas a neoplasias. De estas 213 se diagnosticaron como neoplasias y 37 como procesos no neoplásicos. Las neoplasias malignas fueron más frecuentes que las benignas. Se clasificaron en epiteliales o mesenquimales. Los perros mestizos fueron los más afectados, seguidos por la raza labrador. Las hembras presentaron mayor frecuencia en el desarrollo de tumores, con 145 registros. Para el análisis estadístico se utilizó la prueba exacta de Fisher, que determinó la existencia de una asociación estadística significativa (p < 0,05) entre la presencia de los cinco tipos de tumores más frecuentes y el sexo, la raza y la edad de los pacientes en el desarrollo de neoplasias. No se observaron diferencias significativas al evaluar el comportamiento del tumor neoplásico con raza y sexo, aunque sí hubo diferencia significativa (p < 0,05) con la edad de los pacientes

Frecuencia y caracterización de las principales neoplasias presentes en el perro doméstico en Tamaulipas (México)

En México, la investigación sobre oncología veterinaria es escasa. Este es el primer informe sobre las neoplasias más comunes en el perro doméstico en el noreste de México y establece las bases importantes para futuras investigaciones epidemiológicas. Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo de 2013 y prospectivo de enero a agosto de 2014, en el Departamento de Patología Animal de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia de la Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas y en un laboratorio particular. Se analizaron un total de 250 muestras de citopatología e histopatología de tumores o lesiones sugestivas a neoplasias. De estas 213 se diagnosticaron como neoplasias y 37 como procesos no neoplásicos. Las neoplasias malignas fueron más frecuentes que las benignas. Se clasificaron en epiteliales o mesenquimales. Los perros mestizos fueron los más afectados, seguidos por la raza labrador. Las hembras presentaron mayor frecuencia en el desarrollo de tumores, con 145 registros. Para el análisis estadístico se utilizó la prueba exacta de Fisher, que determinó la existencia de una asociación estadística significativa (p \u3c 05) entre la presencia de los cinco tipos de tumores más frecuentes y el sexo, la raza y la edad de los pacientes en el desarrollo de neoplasias. No se observaron diferencias significativas al evaluar el comportamiento del tumor neoplásico con raza y sexo, aunque sí hubo diferencia significativa (p \u3c 05) con la edad de los pacientes