Use of a glucomannan polymer to reduce the effects of mycotoxin-contaminated diets in finishing pigs

The use of feed additives with mycotoxin adsorption capacity is a common strategy for controlling negative effects of mycotoxins in swine production systems. However, adsorbents that may results very effective under experimental conditions, i.e. when feed contamination level is rather high, do not necessarily retain their efficacy when tested under field conditions feed with generally low mycotoxin contamination. In this study, the effects of diets artificially contaminated with aflatoxin B1 or ochratoxin A on fattening performance and serum chemistry of fattening pigs are investigated. Moreover, the ability of a commercial glucomannan polymer (Gm polimer) to reduce or eliminate the effects of the contaminated feeds is tested. Thirty heavy pigs (BW = 110±10.6 kg) were fed 6 diets (n = 5 pigs/diet) for 4 weeks until slaughtering. Diets were: control without toxin added (C); added with 0.02 ppm of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1); added with 0.05 ppm of ochratoxin A (OTA); other three diets as the previous but the addition of 2.0 g/kg of Gm polymer (C-GM, AFB1-GM, OTA-GM). Daily weight gain (ADG) and Feed efficiency ratio (FE) were measured every two weeks. Data were analyzed with a two-way ANOVA that included the fixed effect of diet, time and their interaction. After the first 2 weeks the ADG did not differ significantly between the diets, even if the ADG of AFB1 diet was about 20% lower than AFB1-Gm or C. In the last 2 weeks the ADG of AFB1 diet was significantly lover than the other diets (P<0.01) and was about one-half of the values reported for the same group in the first period. The contamination with ochratoxin A did not affect fattening performance of pigs during the whole experimental period. No damages were found in kidneys of all diets. Moreover, no evidence of association between observed liver damages and different diets was found. Finally, no differences between experimental diets were evidenced for the haematological parameters

Su un raro reperto di mesotelioma in un cinghiale

Il mesotelioma, neoplasia pleurica o addominale di variegata morfologia, è stato segnalato a più riprese nel cane e descritto anche nel cavallo, nel bovino e, sporadicamente nel maiale domestico. Sulla base della bibliografia consultata, la neoplasia risultava sconosciuta negli animali selvatici; abbiamo pertanto ritenuto interessante descrivere, in questa nota, un caso di mesotelioma addominale osservato su un cinghiale sardi vissuto allo stato selvatico

Testicular degeneration and infertility following arbovirus infection

Arboviruses can cause a variety of clinical signs including febrile illness, arthritis, encephalitis and hemorrhagic fever. The recent Zika epidemic highlighted the possibility that arboviruses may also negatively affect the male reproductive tract. In this study, we focused on bluetongue virus (BTV), the causative agent of bluetongue and one of the major arboviruses of ruminants. We show that rams that recovered from bluetongue displayed signs of testicular degeneration and azoospermia up to 100 days after the initial infection. Importantly, testicular degeneration was induced in rams experimentally infected with either a high (BTV-1IT2006) or low (BTV-1IT2013) virulence strain of BTV. Rams infected with the low virulent BTV strain displayed testicular lesions in the absence of other major clinical signs. Testicular lesions in BTV-infected rams were due to viral replication in the endothelial cells of the peritubular areas of the testes, resulting in stimulation of a type-I IFN response, reduction of testosterone biosynthesis by Leydig cells, and destruction of Sertoli cells and the blood-testis barrier in more severe cases. Hence, BTV induces testicular degeneration and disruption of spermatogenesis by replicating solely in the endothelial cells of the peritubular areas unlike other gonadotropic viruses. This study shows that a naturally occurring arboviral disease can cause testicular degeneration and affect male fertility at least temporarily

Functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes as ultrasound contrast agents

Ultrasonography is a fundamental diagnostic imaging tool in everyday clinical practice. Here, we are unique in describing the use of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as hyperechogenic material, suggesting their potential application as ultrasound contrast agents. Initially, we carried out a thorough investigation to assess the echogenic property of the nanotubes in vitro. We demonstrated their long-lasting ultrasound contrast properties. We also showed that ultrasound signal of functionalized MWCNTs is higher than graphene oxide, pristine MWCNTs, and functionalized single-walled CNTs. Qualitatively, the ultrasound signal of CNTs was equal to that of sulfur hexafluoride (SonoVue), a commercially available contrast agent. Then, we found that MWCNTs were highly echogenic in liver and heart through ex vivo experiments using pig as an animal model. In contrast to the majority of ultrasound contrast agents, we observed in a phantom bladder that the tubes can be visualized within a wide variety of frequencies (i.e., 5.5–10 MHz) and 12.5 MHz using tissue harmonic imaging modality. Finally, we demonstrated in vivo in the pig bladder that MWCNTs can be observed at low frequencies, which are appropriate for abdominal organs. Importantly, we did not report any toxicity of CNTs after 7 d from the injection by animal autopsy, organ histology and immunostaining, blood count, and chemical profile. Our results reveal the enormous potential of CNTs as ultrasound contrast agents, giving support for their future applications as theranostic nanoparticles, combining diagnostic and therapeutic modalities

1h nmr brain metabonomics of scrapie exposed sheep

While neurochemical metabolite modifications, determined by different techniques, have been diffusely reported in human and mice brains affected by transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), this aspect has been little studied in the natural animal hosts with the same pathological conditions so far

Indagini istologiche, immunoistochimiche e immunobiochimiche in capre clinicamente sane provenienti da un focolaio di scrapie

Nel corso del 2003, nell’ambito del piano di sorveglianza passiva sulle Encefalopatie Spongiformi Trasmissibili (TSEs), per la prima volta in Sardegna, è stata diagnosticata istologicamente ed immunoistochimicamente la scrapie in una capra. Il soggetto proveniva da un gregge nel quale da 2 anni si manifestava una patologia polimorfa caratterizzata talvolta da sintomi neurologici e da una mortalità intorno al 20%. Sulla base della legge attualmente in vigore in Italia si è proceduto all’abbattimento di tutte le capre presenti in allevamento (n = 93). Durante l’abbattimento venivano prelevati da ciascun capo obex, linfonodi retrofaringei e tonsille. L’esame istologico dell’obex non evidenziava quadri lesivi di tipo spongiforme mentre l’esame immunoistochimico del tessuto nervoso e linfatico evidenziava la presenza di cinque soggetti nello stato pre-clinico della malattia

Quali-quantitative evaluation of ileal peyer's patches innervation in scrapie-free or scrapie-affected sarda breed ovines

Although Peyer's patches (PPs) and the enteric nervous system (ENS) play a key role in early sheep scrapie pathogenesis, little is known on the kinetics of ENS plexuses colonization. This study was aimed at quali-quantitatively evaluating ileal PP innervation in 29 Sarda breed ovines (12 scrapie-free, 2 months-old lambs, 4 ARQ/ARQ, 4 ARR/ARQ and 4 ARR/ARR, respectively; 12 scrapie-free, 2-4 years-old sheep, 3 ARQ/ARQ, 7 ARR/ARQ and 2 ARR/ARR, respectively; 5 ARQ/ARQ scrapie-affected sheep)

Final results of project on feline spongiform encephalopathy

Feline spongiform encephalopathy (FSE) is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated with the accumulation of an abnormal isoform of the prion protein (PrPsc) in the Central Nervous System. This research allowed to identify other neurological diseases affecting the Italian cat population

LTalpha and LTbeta gene expression in organs of sheep showing different lymphoproliferative changes induced by maedi-visna virus

In lung and mammary gland of sheep, Maedi-Visna virus (MVV) causes lymphoproliferative inflammation often with follicular structures (lymphofollicular inflammation). The aim of this work was to define whether Limphotoxin α and β (LTα, LTβ) play a role in the formation of these peculiar lesions in sheep experimentally infected with MVV

Additional polymorphisms of the <i>PRNP</i> gene significantly decrease the susceptibility to scrapie of ARQ/ARQ sheep

The aim of this work was to investigate the risk of scrapie of the ARQ/ARQ genotype carrying at least one point mutation at codons 112, 137, 141, 142, 154 and 176 in comparison with the ARQ/ARQ without any point mutations