Targeted-pig trial on safety and immunogenicity of serum-derived extracellular vesicles enriched fractions obtained from Porcine Respiratory and Reproductive virus infections

The Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus (PRRSV) is the etiological agent of one of the most important swine diseases with a significant economic burden worldwide. Unfortunately, available vaccines are partially effective highlighting the need of novel approaches. Previously, antigenic viral proteins were described in serum-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) from pigs previously infected with PRRSV. Here, a targeted-pig trial was designed to determine the safety and immunogenicity of such extracellular vesicles enriched fractions. Our results showed that immunizations with EV-enriched fractions from convalescence animals in combination with montanide is safe and free of virus as immunizations with up-to two milligrams of EV-enriched fractions did not induce clinical symptoms, adverse effects and detectable viral replication. In addition, this vaccine formulation was able to elicit specific humoral IgG immune response in vaccinated animals, albeit variably. Noticeably, sera from vaccinated animals was diagnosed negative when tested for PRRSV using a commercial ELISA test; thus, indicating that this new approach differentiates vaccinated from infected animals. Lastly, after priming animals with EV-enriched fractions from sera of convalescence animals and boosting them with synthetic viral peptides identified by mass spectrometry, a distinctive high and specific IFN-γ response was elicited. Altogether, our data strongly suggest the use of serum EV-enriched fractions as a novel vaccine strategy against PRRSV.Anti-CD9, Anti-CD63 and anti-CD81 antibodies were kindly donated by Francisco Sánchez-Madrid and Maria Yañez-Mo, Hospital de la Princesa, Madrid, Spain. The authors wish to particularly thank Glòria Abella for her collaboration in conducting the field study and to Marta Alcobé, Miriam Moron Font and Paula Crego Mendez for technical assistance. This study received support from Innovex Therapeutics S.L., Pinsos del Segre SA, Granja Casanyé, Grup de Sanejament Porci (GSP, Lleida, Spain) and the FEDER project (COMRDI16-1-0035-03). Sergio Montanter-Tarbes is an industrial doctorate awarded by the Government of Catalonia, Spain (No. 2014 DI 044). ISGlobal and IGTP are members of the CERCA Programme, Generalitat de Catalunya

Morphometric relations for body size and mouth dimensions for four fish species in the Strait of Gibraltar

Background. The deep-water longline fishery of the blackspot seabream, Pagellus bogaraveo, is an economically important fishery in the Strait of Gibraltar, which is a very complex transition ecosystem between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean with an extreme spatial and temporal variability. This paper presents a series of morphometric relations for the four most important species in this fishery. Some ecological considerations about the results are also discussed. Materials and methods. The data were collected during a gear selectivity study, using different sizes of hooks baited with sardine. Relations for weight–length, length–length, and mouth dimensions for blackspot seabream, Pagellus bogaraveo (Brünnich, 1768); Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama (Bonnaterre, 1788); blackbelly rosefish, Helicolenus dactylopterus (Delaroche, 1809); and Mediterranean horse mackerel, Trachurus mediterraneus (Steindachner, 1868) were estimated and compared with the ones reported for the same species from other areas. Results. The sample size varied from 89 for T. mediterraneus to 2180 for P. bogaraveo. The fitted L–W relations explained more than 81% of the variance. For P. bogaraveo and T. mediterraneus, the estimated allometric coefficient was higher than those reported for other areas, showing a faster increase in weight, in contrast to H. dactylopterus and B. brama that showed a slower increase in weight. Moreover, linear and highly significant relations between mouth size and fish length were found for P. bogaraveo, H. dactylopterus, and T. mediterraneus. Conclusion. In this study, the first record for total length–standard length relation for H. dactylopterus is reported based on real measurements. There has been no previous studies on the relation between the different mouth size dimensions for the studied species as well as for mouth size and body length relations for P. bogaraveo and H. dactylopterus. The difference between estimated and reported coefficients might be attributed to different environmental adaptations and to the size ranges used due to the gear-size selectivity

Exosome based vaccines: pros and cons in the world of animal health

Due to the emergence of antibiotic resistance and new and more complex diseases that affect livestock animal health and food security, the control of epidemics has become a top priority worldwide. Vaccination represents the most important and cost‐effective measure to control infectious diseases in animal health, but it represents only 23% of the total global animal health market, highlighting the need to develop new vaccines. A recent strategy in animal health vaccination is the use of extracellular vesicles (EVs), lipid bilayer nanovesicles produced by almost all living cells, including both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. EVs have been evaluated as a prominent source of viral antigens to elicit specific immune responses and to develop new vaccination platforms as viruses and EVs share biogenesis pathways. Preliminary trials with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection (LCMV), porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), and Marek's disease virus (MDV) have demonstrated that EVs have a role in the activation of cellular and antibody immune responses. Moreover, in parasitic diseases such as Eimeria (chickens) and Plasmodium yoelii (mice) protection has been achieved. Research into EVs is therefore opening an opportunity for new strategies to overcome old problems affecting food security, animal health, and emerging diseases. Here, we review different conventional approaches for vaccine design and compare them with examples of EV‐based vaccines that have already been tested in relation to animal health

Water use in bean and cowpea: efficiency or effective use of water?

Water stress is one of the major abiotic stress limitations for grain legume production in smallholder agricultural systems. Phenotypic characterization of water consumption by different species of legumes and genotypes within them plays a key role in adaptation to drought. Dynamics of water use may differ depending on the origin and evolution of the species of legume and the agro-climatic conditions faced by the legumes. The supply of nitrogen from symbiotic fixation is also critical for filling seeds and is even more limiting than water in bean, but not in cowpea

Correlation between magnetic and transport properties in nanocrystalline Fe thin films: A grain-boundary magnetic disorder effect

We report on transport and magnetic measurements of islanded Fe(110) thin films. The electrical resistivity exhibits an anomalous increase at low temperatures, which disappears under the action of a magnetic field. Since such an anomaly completely disappears under the action of a magnetic field, it is inferred that it originates from spin-dependent scattering. We interpret the strong changes in the spin-dependent scattering in our films to be due to a low-temperature spin freezing of the island boundary magnetic regions that impedes ferromagnetic exchange between islands. A consequence of this magnetic behavior is the random arrangement of the individual magnetization, determined by the magnetocrystalline anisotropy of each island, resulting in an increase of the resistivity below the freezing temperature.Z.S. and J.L.M. acknowledge the Comunidad de Madrid for financial support. Work was performed under the financial support of the Comunidad de Madrid and the Spanish Commission of Science and Technology.Peer reviewe

Distribution of lesions in red and fallow deer naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis

Wild deer have an important role in the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). The aims of this study were (1) to compare the pattern of lesions present in wild red (Cervus elaphus) and fallow (Dama dama) deer that were naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis, and (2) to use this information to develop a sampling strategy for the isolation of M. bovis from the lymphoid tissues of the head of these animals. Culture of head lymphoid tissues demonstrated that 28 of 95 red deer and 22 of 100 fallow deer sampled were infected with M. bovis. Approx- imately 30% of each deer population had no gross lesions. Fallow deer were significantly more likely to have thoracic lesions than red deer. Lesions were observed in the retropharyngeal lymph nodes of 64% of the culture-positive red deer and 43% of the culture positive fallow deer. One third of the red deer, but none of the fallow deer, had well-encapsulated abscess lesions. There were no microscopical differences in the lesions in the lymph nodes of the red and fallow deer. Bacteriological culture from both the tonsil and retro- pharyngeal lymph nodes increased the rate of isolation of M. bovis by 22% over culture of the retropharyngeal lymph nodes alone in both species. These findings indicate that investigation of wild deer for bTB-compatible lesions should include examination of the medial retropharyngeal, left tracheobronchial, mediastinal, mesen- teric and ileocaecal lymph nodes. Sampling for bacteriological culture from head lymphoid tissues should be from the tonsil and the medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes. These protocols may prove useful in bTB surveil- lance and control in regions where wild deer contribute to the circulation of M. bovis.This study was funded by Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía. This is a contribution to CICYT – MEC research grant AGL2008-03875 and FEDER, and to EU grant TB-STEP 212414. Studies on diseases shared between domestic animals and wildlife are also supported by grants and contracts from INIA, Principado de Asturias, Castilla – La Mancha (GC-006), Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino (OAPN and SDGSPP), and Grupo Santander – Fundacion Marcelino Botin. MPM-H acknowledges a post doctoral contract from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.Peer reviewe

Distribution of lesions in red and fallow deer naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis

Wild deer have an important role in the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (bTB). The aims of this study were (1) to compare the pattern of lesions present in wild red (Cervus elaphus) and fallow (Dama dama) deer that were naturally infected with Mycobacterium bovis, and (2) to use this information to develop a sampling strategy for the isolation of M. bovis from the lymphoid tissues of the head of these animals. Culture of head lymphoid tissues demonstrated that 28 of 95 red deer and 22 of 100 fallow deer sampled were infected with M. bovis. Approx- imately 30% of each deer population had no gross lesions. Fallow deer were significantly more likely to have thoracic lesions than red deer. Lesions were observed in the retropharyngeal lymph nodes of 64% of the culture-positive red deer and 43% of the culture positive fallow deer. One third of the red deer, but none of the fallow deer, had well-encapsulated abscess lesions. There were no microscopical differences in the lesions in the lymph nodes of the red and fallow deer. Bacteriological culture from both the tonsil and retro- pharyngeal lymph nodes increased the rate of isolation of M. bovis by 22% over culture of the retropharyngeal lymph nodes alone in both species. These findings indicate that investigation of wild deer for bTB-compatible lesions should include examination of the medial retropharyngeal, left tracheobronchial, mediastinal, mesen- teric and ileocaecal lymph nodes. Sampling for bacteriological culture from head lymphoid tissues should be from the tonsil and the medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes. These protocols may prove useful in bTB surveil- lance and control in regions where wild deer contribute to the circulation of M. bovis.This study was funded by Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía. This is a contribution to CICYT – MEC research grant AGL2008-03875 and FEDER, and to EU grant TB-STEP 212414. Studies on diseases shared between domestic animals and wildlife are also supported by grants and contracts from INIA, Principado de Asturias, Castilla – La Mancha (GC-006), Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino (OAPN and SDGSPP), and Grupo Santander – Fundacion Marcelino Botin. MPM-H acknowledges a post doctoral contract from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.Peer reviewe