Zebrafish as an alternative animal model in human and animal vaccination research

Much of medical research relies on animal models to deepen knowledge of the causes of animal and human diseases, as well as to enable the development of innovative therapies. Despite rodents being the most widely used research model worldwide, in recent decades, the use of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) model has exponentially been adopted among the scientific community. This is because such a small tropical freshwater teleost fish has crucial genetic, anatomical and physiological homology with mammals. Therefore, zebrafish constitutes an excellent experimental model for behavioral, genetic and toxicological studies which unravels the mechanism of various human diseases. Furthermore, it serves well to test new therapeutic agents, such as the safety of new vaccines. The aim of this review was to provide a systematic literature review on the most recent studies carried out on the topic. It presents numerous advantages of this type of animal model in tests of efficacy and safety of both animal and human vaccines, thus highlighting gains in time and cost reduction of research and analyzes

Estudio retrospectivo de casos de intoxicación por cobre en ovejas

A retrospective survey was conducted on 112 cases of chronic copper poisoning in sheep diagnosed at the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory over a six year period. Animals that died with signs and lesions of a hemolytic crisis had mean (+-SD) liver and kidney copper concentrations of 268.5+-100.4 ppm and 49.9+-36.2 ppm (wet weight), respectively. Kidney values were increased from normal values more consistently than liver values in animals that died with signs of a hemolytic crisis; thus, kidney is considered the tissue of choice when measurement of only one organ is requested. Analysis of 35 feed samples revealed ratios of copper:molybdenum greater than 10:1. This report also addresses recent findings on the pathogenesis and kinetics of chronic copper poisoning and the different treatment protocols recommended.En este trabajo se recopilan los valores de cobre en hígado y riñón de 112 casos de ovejas diagnosticadas con intoxicación crónica por cobre en el Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory de Iowa State University durante un período de 6 años. Los animales que murieron con signos clínicos y lesiones de una crisis hemolítica tenían unas concentraciones medias (+-DE) de cobre en hígado y riñón de 268.5+-100.4 ppm y 49.9+-36.2 ppm (peso húmedo), respectivamente. Los valores en riñón estaban aumentados con respecto a los valores normales del hígado, por lo que el riñón es el tejido de elección cuando el animal se sospecha haber muerto por intoxicación crónica de cobre. El análisis de 35 muestras de alimento procedentes de algunos de los casos diagnosticados revelaron relaciones de cobre:molibdeno superiores a 10:1. Se hace referencia a la patogénia y toxicocinética del cobre, así como al tratamiento recomendado