Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydophila abortus induce the expression of secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor in cells of the human female reproductive tract

C. trachomatis and C. abortus are related Gram-negative intracellular bacteria that cause reproductive failure due to infertility (C. trachomatis) or abortion (C. abortus). These organisms target epithelial cells in the reproductive tract and/or placenta, but the innate immune mechanisms that lead to protection or pathology and disease are poorly understood. SLPI is an innate immune molecule which protects mucosal surfaces from infection and injury. C. trachomatis and C. abortus were found to induce SLPI mRNA and peptide expression in HeLa (cervical epithelium) and JEG-3 cells (trophoblast) respectively. Both cell lines constitutively expressed SLPI and, although infection enhanced this expression, killed organisms did not. These data demonstrate that Chlamydia/Chlamydophila grow in cells that express SLPI, suggesting that SLPI does not exert antimicrobial effects against these organisms. However, SLPI has multiple functions, and we speculate that it may play a role in controlling tissue inflammation and pathology

Applications of Platform Technologies in Veterinary Vaccinology and the benefits for One Health

The animal-human interface has played a central role in advances made in vaccinology for the past two centuries. Many traditional veterinary vaccines were developed by growing, attenuating, inactivating and fractioning the pathogen of interest. While such approaches have been very successful, we have reached a point where they have largely been exhausted and alternative approaches are required. Furthermore, although subunit vaccines have enhanced safety profiles and created opportunities for combined discrimination between vaccinated and infected animal (DIVA) approaches, their functionality has largely been limited to diseases that can be controlled by humoral immunity until very recently. We now have a new generation of adjuvants and delivery systems that can elicit CD4 + T cells and/or CD8 + T cell responses in addition to high-titre antibody responses. We review the current vaccine platform technologies, describe their roles in veterinary vaccinology and discuss how knowledge of their mode of action allows informed decisions on their deployment with wider benefits for One Health

An investigation of factors involved in the development of eosinophilic responses in rodents

Elevated numbers of blood and tissue eosinophils were induced in mice and rats by parasitic and non-parasitic means. Mice infected with the nematode Trichinella spiralis developed a peripheral blood eosinophilia which peaked approximately 21 days post infection. Histological examination of various tissues showed that the blood does not always reflect total body changes in eosinophil distribution. The numbers of eosinophils in skeletal muscle continued to increase at a time when the numbers of eosinophils in the blood were decreasing. The involvement of T. spiralis antigens in eliciting this eosinophilia was investigated using an artificial method to localize parasitic material in tissue. A homogenate of T. spiralis larvae was shown to be antigenic by precipitation with serum from a T. spiralis- infected rabbit. This antigenic preparation, designated TSAG, was also capable of eliciting a humoral response when injected into a rabbit. Although not a pure antigenic preparation, the TSAG did contain antigenic components which could bind to inert latex particles. This was demonstrated in vitro by agglutination and fluorescent techniques. When these TSAG-coated particles were injected into mice in such a manner as to result in their embolization in the pulmonary vasculature, they elicited a greater peripheral blood eosinophilic response than mcoated particles. However, similar studies on mice injected with latex particles coated with a non-parasite antigen (BGG) induced a comparable eosinophilia to that induced by parasite antigen- coated particles. The eosinophilia could not, therefore, be directly related to TSAG. Histological measurements of pulmonary cellular accumulations around the embolized particles also showed that TSAG was not more effective than BGG at inducing pulmonary cell accumulations, and furthermore, that uncoated particles also induced cell accumulations. The response to uncoated particles suggested a non-specific mechanism for the induction of eosinophilic responses. This latex model was used to investigate the ability of athymic (Rnu/Rnu) nude rats to develop an eosinophilia following pulmonary embolization of BGG-coated or uncoated latex particles. The number of circulating eosinophils increased in both cases, with the greater response occurring in rats injected with latex-BGG. A similar response was observed in euthymic (Rnu/+) littermates. Pretreatment of both Rnu/Rnu and Rnu/+ rats with antithymocyte serum altered the magnitude of the response but did not totally abrogate it. Studies on interleukin-1 activity in lung lavages recovered from these rats showed that injection of latex particles did not enhance alveolar macrophage activity 48 hours after their pulmonary embolization. The level of activity was similar in both Rnu/Rnu and Rnu/+ rats suggesting that macrophages were not involved in the response in Rnu/Rnu rats which are T cell deficient. The results show that the possibility of a residual T cell population in these rats cannot be excluded. In addition to these responses to physical manipulations, evidence is provided for inherent fluctuations in the number of circulating eosinophils, emphasizing the importance of careful experimental design when investigating haematological phenomena

Microborings from the deep Atlantic (Bermuda Pedestal ; Blake Plateau) and Gulf of Mexico (Florida Escarpment) : borers and the ecological and diagenetic fate of the microborings

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Boston University, 1991.Interest in deep sea microbiota was stimulated by recent discoveries of productive redox communities associated with hydrothermal vents and brine seeps, and based on bacterial chemolithotrophy. This study investigates microbial destruction of mussel shells from a redox community at the base of the Florida Escarpment (3360 m), in comparison with microbial boring in shells of typical, low productivity areas of the ocean floor. An assemblage of eukaryotic and prokaryotic periostracum borers and their boring traces were discovered in shells of Bathymodiolus mussels from the base of the Florida Escarpment, and characterized. Microbial destruction of this protective layer results in colonization of secondary microbial inhabitants inside boreholes, and exposes the underlying mineralized shell to colonization and destruction by microbial endoliths. Microbial consumption of periostracum often proceeds in successive waves. These organisms show different "foraging" behaviors and leave accordingly varied boring patterns. These activities create a labyrinth of pits, holes and tunnels which, in tum, provide sheltered microenvironments for secondary microbial settlers, including primary producers, which all constitute an abundant food source for numerous ciliates and gastropods observed on the shells. This concerted attack on the periostracum eventually leads to the exposure of the mineralized shell. Such exposed areas are characterized by [TRUNCATED

Immunophenotyping of sheep paraffin-embedded peripheral lymph nodes

Sheep are not only a major livestock species globally, they are also an important large animal model for biomedical research and have contributed to our understanding of the ontogeny and architecture of the mammalian immune system. In this study, we applied immunohistochemistry and multicolor immunofluorescence in fixed and paraffin-embedded lymph nodes to phenotype the key populations of antigen presenting cells, lymphocytes and stromal cells that orchestrate the host adaptive immune response. We used an extensive panel of antibodies directed against markers associated with dendritic cells (MHC class II, CD83 and CD208), macrophages (CD11b, CD163 and CD169), stromal cells (CNA.42, S100 and CD83), and lymphocytes (CD3, Pax5, CD4, CD8). Using different methods of tissue fixation and antigen retrieval, we provide a detailed immunophenotyping of sheep lymph nodes including the identification of potential subpopulations of antigen presenting cells and stromal cells. By characterizing cells expressing combinations of these markers in the context of their morphology and location within the lymph node architecture, we provide valuable new tools to investigate the structure, activation and regulation of the sheep immune system in health and disease