A serological survey of ruminant livestock in Kazakhstan during post-Soviet transitions in farming and disease control

The results of a serological survey of livestock in Kazakhstan, carried out in 1997–1998, are reported. Serum samples from 958 animals (cattle, sheep and goats) were tested for antibodies to foot and mouth disease (FMD), bluetongue (BT), epizootic haemorrhagic disease (EHD), rinderpest (RP) and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) viruses, and to Brucella spp. We also investigated the vaccination status of livestock and related this to changes in veterinary provision since independence in 1991. For the 2 diseases under official surveillance (FMD and brucellosis) our results were similar to official data, although we found significantly higher brucellosis levels in 2 districts and widespread ignorance about FMD vaccination status. The seroprevalence for BT virus was 23%, and seropositive animals were widespread suggesting endemicity, despite the disease not having being previously reported. We found a few seropositives for EHDV and PPRV, which may suggest that these diseases are also present in Kazakhstan. An hierarchical model showed that seroprevalence to FMD and BT viruses were clustered at the farm/village level, rather than at a larger spatial scale. This was unexpected for FMD, which is subject to vaccination policies which vary at the raion (county) level

CD40/CD154 interactions are required for the optimal maturation of skin-derived APCs and the induction of Helminth-specific IFN-? but not IL-4

The mechanisms through which Schistosoma mansoni larvae induce Th1 rather than Th2 immune responses are not well understood. In this study, using CD154–/– mice exposed to radiation-attenuated S. mansoni larvae, we demonstrate roles for CD154/CD40 in the activation of skin-derived APCs and the development of Th1 cells in the skin-draining lymph nodes (sdLN). The presence of CD154 was important for optimal IL-12p40 and essential for Ag-specific IFN-, but CD154 expression by wild-type CD4– cells was insufficient to rescue recall responses of CD4+ cells from CD154–/– mice. This defect is probably due to impaired CD40-dependent IL-12 production in vivo, because administration of anti-CD40 Ab, or rIL-12, restored IFN- production by sdLN cells from CD154–/– mice. CD154 ligation of CD40 was not required for the migration of skin-derived APCs, but did have a limited role in their maturation (increased MHC II and CD86). Unexpectedly, although CD4 cells from CD154–/– mice were deficient in their ability to produce IFN-, they produced significant amounts of IL-4 and IL-5 in the presence of skin-derived APCs from wild-type and CD154–/– mice. Thus, in contrast to IFN-, the production of Th2-associated cytokines is (in this model) independent of CD154. We conclude that whereas the priming of Th1 responses soon after exposure to schistosome larvae is completely CD40/CD154 dependent, IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13 are independent of CD154, suggesting a dichotomy in the specific mechanisms that induce these cytokines by CD4+ cells in the sdLN

Differential expression of CD 180 and IgM by B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia cells using mutated and unmutated immunoglobulin VH genes

We have studied the surface expression of the Toll-like receptor family member CD180 on cells from 78 patients with B-chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL). B-CLL cells had variable levels of CD180 expression, but this was always less than that expressed by normal blood B cells and was stable for 24 months. Significantly higher levels of CD180 were expressed by B-CLL cells with mutated IGVH genes compared with those using unmutated IGVH genes. This was in contrast to the higher levels of expression of surface immunoglobulin M by B-CLL cells using unmutated, rather than mutated IGVH genes. CD180 was functional on B-CLL cells from some of the patients, as shown by the increased expression of CD86 following incubation in vitro with anti-CD180. The differential expression of CD180 amongst B-CLL patients is one more marker that may define more precisely the different biological properties of this heterogeneous disease