The Effects of Post-Operative Analgesics on Ovarian Surface Angiogenesis After Transplantation of Young Ovaries Into Aged Mice

The formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature, termed angiogenesis, is essential for tissue viability and continuous organ function after murine ovary allotransplantation. Interference with the process of angiogenesis can result in cellular injury and tissue necrosis in the transplanted ovarian tissue. Although recommended, the use of analgesics for post-operative pain management has been shown to alter angiogenesis and could negatively affect transplanted ovarian tissue viability. The present study evaluated the effects of two analgesics, the opiate buprenorphine and the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug meloxicam, on superficial ovarian vessel formation after the transplantation of young ovaries into aged mice. One-Way ANOVA evaluation indicated a significant increase in total surface vessel number (p= 0.001) and total number of vessel branches (p= 0.027) in meloxicam-treated mice when compared to the saline control or buprenorphine-treated mice. Additionally, the meloxicam-treated mice showed a significantly greater concentration of vessels at an ovary surface depth of approximately 90 μm (p\u3c 0.001) when compared to both saline control and buprenorphine-treated mice. These results suggest that meloxicam is a post-operative analgesic that could be used after ovary allotransplantation to limit disruptions in angiogenesis and to maximize vessel formation to establish successful ovary function

Diverse tick-borne microorganisms identified in free-living ungulates in Slovakia

Background: Free-living ungulates are hosts of ixodid ticks and reservoirs of tick-borne microorganisms in central Europe and many regions around the world. Tissue samples and engorged ticks were obtained from roe deer, red deer, fallow deer, mouflon, and wild boar hunted in deciduous forests of south-western Slovakia. DNA isolated from these samples was screened for the presence of tick-borne microorganisms by PCR-based methods. Results: Ticks were found to infest all examined ungulate species. The principal infesting tick was Ixodes ricinus, identified on 90.4% of wildlife, and included all developmental stages. Larvae and nymphs of Haemaphysalis concinna were feeding on 9.6% of wildlife. Two specimens of Dermacentor reticulatus were also identified. Ungulates were positive for A. phagocytophilum and Theileria spp. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was found to infect 96.1% of cervids, 88.9% of mouflon, and 28.2% of wild boar, whereas Theileria spp. was detected only in cervids (94.6%). Importantly, a high rate of cervids (89%) showed mixed infections with both these microorganisms. In addition to A. phagocytophilum and Theileria spp., Rickettsia helvetica, R. monacensis, unidentified Rickettsia sp., Coxiella burnetii, "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis", Borrelia burgdorferi (s.l.) and Babesia venatorum were identified in engorged I. ricinus. Furthermore, A. phagocytophilum, Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. were detected in engorged H. concinna. Analysis of 16S rRNA and groEL gene sequences revealed the presence of five and two A. phagocytophilum variants, respectively, among which sequences identified in wild boar showed identity to the sequence of the causative agent of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA). Phylogenetic analysis of Theileria 18S rRNA gene sequences amplified from cervids and engorged I. ricinus ticks segregated jointly with sequences of T. capreoli isolates into a moderately supported monophyletic clade. Conclusions: The findings indicate that free-living ungulates are reservoirs for A. phagocytophilum and Theileria spp. and engorged ixodid ticks attached to ungulates are good sentinels for the presence of agents of public and veterinary concern. Further analyses of the A. phagocytophilum genetic variants and Theileria species and their associations with vector ticks and free-living ungulates are required.Fil: Kazimírová, Mária. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Zoology; EslovaquiaFil: Hamšíková, Zuzana. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Zoology; EslovaquiaFil: Spitalská, Eva. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Virology. Biomedical Research Center,; EslovaquiaFil: Minichová, Lenka. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Virology. Biomedical Research Center,; EslovaquiaFil: Mahríková, Lenka. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Zoology; EslovaquiaFil: Caban, Radoslav. Široká ; EslovaquiaFil: Sprong, Hein. National Institute for Public Health and Environment.Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology; Países BajosFil: Fonville, Manoj. National Institute for Public Health and Environment.Laboratory for Zoonoses and Environmental Microbiology; Países BajosFil: Schnittger, Leonhard. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas. Instituto de Patobiología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Kocianová, Elena. Slovak Academy of Sciences. Institute of Virology. Biomedical Research Center,; Eslovaqui

Concomitant Tickborne Encephalitis and Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis

We report a patient with febrile illness and epidemiologic and clinical findings consistent with human granulocytic ehrlichiosis and tickborne encephalitis, in whom infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum was demonstrated by polymerase chain reaction and seroconversion. Tickborne encephalitis virus infection was established by serum immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG antibodies

SilE is an intrinsically disordered periplasmic ‘molecular sponge' involved in bacterial silver resistance

Ag+ resistance was initially found on the Salmonella enetrica serovar Typhimurium multi-resistance plasmid pMG101 from burns patients in 1975. The putative model of Ag+ resistance, encoded by the sil operon from pMG101, involves export of Ag+ via an ATPase (SilP), an effluxer complex (SilCFBA) and a periplasmic chaperon of Ag+ (SilE). SilE is predicted to be intrinsically disordered. We tested this hypothesis using structural and biophysical studies and show that SilE is an intrinsically disordered protein in its free apo-form but folds to a compact structure upon optimal binding to six Ag+ ions in its holo-form. Sequence analyses and site-directed mutagenesis established the importance of histidine and methionine containing motifs for Ag+-binding, and identified a nucleation core that initiates Ag+-mediated folding of SilE. We conclude that SilE is a molecular sponge for absorbing metal ions

Okužba s citomegalovirusom v nosečnosti

Citomegalovirus (CMV) je najpogostejši virusni vzrok okužbe ploda v maternici. Virus je nevrotropen, zato povzroča predvsem nevrološke zaplete. Je najpogostejši negenetski vzrok senzorinevralne naglušnosti, nevroloških nepravilnosti in umske zaostalosti, hkrati je vzrok tudi za nedonošenost, smrt ploda v maternici in umrljivost novorojenčkov. Okužbo s CMV potrjujemo z dokazom za CMV specifičnih protiteles IgM in IgG. Prisotnost virusa dokazujemo s PCR. Za časovno opredelitev okužbe s CMV določamo avidnost protiteles IgG. Prirojena okužba je posledica viremije ob primarni ali sekundarni okužbi nosečnice. Ob znotrajmaternični okužbi so lahko prisotni značilni ultrazvočni znaki. Prenatalna diagnoza prirojene okužbe s CMV se postavi z amniocentezo. Simptome ob rojstvu ima do 15 % otrok mater s potrjeno okužbo v nosečnosti. Pri novorojenčkih s simptomi pride v 40–60 % do trajnih posledic, od katerih je najpogostejša senzorinevralna naglušnost. Svetovanje nosečnici s primarno okužbo s CMV je težavno, saj po doslej razpoložljivih podatkih in izsledkih raziskav izida za plod še ne znamo natančno napovedati. Ocene resnosti okužbe in možnih posledic temeljijo predvsem na časovni opredelitvi okužbe nosečnice, prisotnosti in vrsti nepravilnosti pri plodu in laboratorijskih parametrih. Rutinsko zdravljenje nosečnic s potrjeno okužbo s CMV z virostatikom valaciklovirjem ali s hiperimunimi globulini se zaradi pomanjkanja zadostnih dokazov o učinkovitosti ne priporoča. Vse nosečnice bi morale biti seznanjene o nevarnostih okužbe s CMV in preventivnih ukrepih za zaščito pred okužbo s CMV v nosečnosti. Pregledni članek povzema znana dejstva glede presejanja, diagnosticiranja in zdravljenja okužbe s CMV v nosečnosti z navajanjem najnovejših spoznanj in dokazov ter predstavlja prilagoditev tujih priporočil za dobro klinično prakso v Sloveniji

Viral Load as Predictor of Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever Outcome

We used quantitative real-time reverse transcription–PCR to measure viral load in serum from 24 patients in Kosovo who had acute Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever. Viral load correlated with clinical disease and antibodies and could be used as a predictor of disease outcome

The complete genome sequence of a Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus isolated from an endemic region in Kosovo

The Balkan region and Kosovo in particular, is a well-known Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) endemic region, with frequent epidemic outbreaks and sporadic cases occurring with a hospitalized case fatality of approximately 30%. Recent analysis of complete genome sequences of diverse CCHF virus strains showed that the genome plasticity of the virus is surprisingly high for an arthropod-borne virus. High levels of nucleotide and amino acid differences, frequent RNA segment reassortment and even RNA recombination have been recently described. This diversity illustrates the need to determine the complete genome sequence of CCHF virus representatives of all geographically distinct endemic areas, particularly in light of the high pathogenicity of the virus and its listing as a potential bioterrorism threat. Here we describe the first complete CCHF virus genome sequence of a virus (strain Kosova Hoti) isolated from a hemorrhagic fever case in the Balkans. This virus strain was isolated from a fatal CCHF case, and passaged only twice on Vero E6 cells prior to sequence analysis. The virus total genome was found to be 19.2 kb in length, consisting of a 1672 nucleotide (nt) S segment, a 5364 nt M segment and a 12150 nt L segment. Phylogenetic analysis of CCHF virus complete genomes placed the Kosova Hoti strain in the Europe/Turkey group, with highest similarity seen with Russian isolates. The virus M segments are the most diverse with up to 31 and 27% differences seen at the nt and amino acid levels, and even 1.9% amino acid difference found between the Kosova Hoti and another strain from Kosovo (9553-01). This suggests that distinct virus strains can coexist in highly endemic areas