Studies on immune responses to Bordetella avium in turkeys

Systemic and mucosal humoral immune responses to an experimental B. avium infection were evaluated by using an ELISA technique. The three isotypes of immunoglobulin, IgG, IgA and IgM, were detected in serum, tracheal washings and lacrimal secretions in response to an intra-nasal and intra-ocular bacterial challenge of 1 day-old turkeys. The IgM response was the earliest, starting at 2 weeks and reaching a peak at 4-5 weeks after infection. The IgA response was early, steady and lower in comparison. The IgG response was prominent and long lasting. The IgG response started at 3 weeks, reached a peak at 5-6 weeks and slowly declined by 8 weeks. The total immune response declined by 8 weeks as the clearance of B. avium approached completion. In this study, the cumulative antibody titers closely corresponded with decreasing numbers of bacteria;The transfer of parenterally administered IgG was assayed in turkeys using B. avium specific IgG and ELISA as a model. Purified IgG, specific to B. avium was injected and samples of serum and tracheal washings were collected and assayed by ELISA at various time intervals. The IgG intravenously injected was detected in tracheal washings as early as 5 minutes PI, with peak levels occurring 10 minutes post-injection (PI). A rapid decline in serum IgG from 10 to 60 minutes PI was followed by a more gradual decline to baseline levels by 24 hours PI. The levels of IgG in serum, tracheal washings and lacrimal secretions were closely corresponding after 10 minutes PI. These results indicate rapid transfer of IgG from the blood to mucosal secretions;The role of parenterally administered IgG in the colonization and clearance of B. avium from the tracheal surface was assayed. The IgG prevented colonization and also aided in the clearance of B. avium from the tracheal surface. This study showed that IgG, transferred from the bloodstream to mucosal surfaces, could inhibit colonization and promote clearance of infection;A monoclonal antibody based-latex bead agglutination test was developed to differentiate B. avium from B. bronchiseptica and B. avium-like bacteria. All 40 isolates of B. avium tested showed a positive reaction with this test. None of the 24 B. avium-like isolates showed a positive reaction. Out of 17 B. bronchiseptica isolates, two had minor cross reactions

Effects of aging and calorie restriction on the global gene expression profiles of mouse testis and ovary

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aging of reproductive organs is not only a major social issue, but of special interest in aging research. A long-standing view of 'immortal germ line versus mortal soma' poses an important question of whether the reproductive tissues age in similar ways to the somatic tissues. As a first step to understand this phenomenon, we examine global changes in gene expression patterns by DNA microarrays in ovaries and testes of C57BL/6 mice at 1, 6, 16, and 24 months of age. In addition, we compared a group of mice on <it>ad libitum </it>(AL) feeding with a group on lifespan-extending 40% calorie restriction (CR).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that gene expression changes occurred in aging gonads, but were generally different from those in somatic organs during aging. For example, only two functional categories of genes previously associated with aging in muscle, kidney, and brain were confirmed in ovary: genes associated with complement activation were upregulated, and genes associated with mitochondrial electron transport were downregulated. The bulk of the changes in gonads were mostly related to gonad-specific functions. Ovaries showed extensive gene expression changes with age, especially in the period when ovulation ceases (from 6 to 16 months), whereas testes showed only limited age-related changes. The same trend was seen for the effects of CR: CR-mediated reversal of age-associated gene expression changes, reported in somatic organs previously, was limited to a small number of genes in gonads. Instead, in both ovary and testis, CR caused small and mostly gonad-specific effects: suppression of ovulation in ovary and activation of testis-specific genes in testis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall, the results are consistent with unique modes of aging and its modification by CR in testis and ovary.</p

Gene expression atlas of the mouse central nervous system: impact and interactions of age, energy intake and gender

The transcriptional profiles of five regions of the central nervous system (CNS) of mice varying in age, gender and dietary intake were measured by microarray. The resulting data provide insights into the mechanisms of age-, diet- and gender-related CNS plasticity and vulnerability in mammals

AGEMAP: A Gene Expression Database for Aging in Mice

We present the AGEMAP (Atlas of Gene Expression in Mouse Aging Project) gene expression database, which is a resource that catalogs changes in gene expression as a function of age in mice. The AGEMAP database includes expression changes for 8,932 genes in 16 tissues as a function of age. We found great heterogeneity in the amount of transcriptional changes with age in different tissues. Some tissues displayed large transcriptional differences in old mice, suggesting that these tissues may contribute strongly to organismal decline. Other tissues showed few or no changes in expression with age, indicating strong levels of homeostasis throughout life. Based on the pattern of age-related transcriptional changes, we found that tissues could be classified into one of three aging processes: (1) a pattern common to neural tissues, (2) a pattern for vascular tissues, and (3) a pattern for steroid-responsive tissues. We observed that different tissues age in a coordinated fashion in individual mice, such that certain mice exhibit rapid aging, whereas others exhibit slow aging for multiple tissues. Finally, we compared the transcriptional profiles for aging in mice to those from humans, flies, and worms. We found that genes involved in the electron transport chain show common age regulation in all four species, indicating that these genes may be exceptionally good markers of aging. However, we saw no overall correlation of age regulation between mice and humans, suggesting that aging processes in mice and humans may be fundamentally different

A Synthetic Uric Acid Analog Accelerates Cutaneous Wound Healing in Mice

Wound healing is a complex process involving intrinsic dermal and epidermal cells, and infiltrating macrophages and leukocytes. Excessive oxidative stress and associated inflammatory processes can impair wound healing, and antioxidants have been reported to improve wound healing in animal models and human subjects. Uric acid (UA) is an efficient free radical scavenger, but has a very low solubility and poor tissue penetrability. We recently developed novel UA analogs with increased solubility and excellent free radical-scavenging properties and demonstrated their ability to protect neural cells against oxidative damage. Here we show that the uric acid analog (6, 8 dithio-UA, but not equimolar concentrations of UA or 1, 7 dimethyl-UA) modified the behaviors of cultured vascular endothelial cells, keratinocytes and fibroblasts in ways consistent with enhancement of the wound healing functions of all three cell types. We further show that 6, 8 dithio-UA significantly accelerates the wound healing process when applied topically (once daily) to full-thickness wounds in mice. Levels of Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase were increased in wound tissue from mice treated with 6, 8 dithio-UA compared to vehicle-treated mice, suggesting that the UA analog enhances endogenous cellular antioxidant defenses. These results support an adverse role for oxidative stress in wound healing and tissue repair, and provide a rationale for the development of UA analogs in the treatment of wounds and for modulation of angiogenesis in other pathological conditions

Studies on immune responses to Bordetella avium in turkeys

Systemic and mucosal humoral immune responses to an experimental B. avium infection were evaluated by using an ELISA technique. The three isotypes of immunoglobulin, IgG, IgA and IgM, were detected in serum, tracheal washings and lacrimal secretions in response to an intra-nasal and intra-ocular bacterial challenge of 1 day-old turkeys. The IgM response was the earliest, starting at 2 weeks and reaching a peak at 4-5 weeks after infection. The IgA response was early, steady and lower in comparison. The IgG response was prominent and long lasting. The IgG response started at 3 weeks, reached a peak at 5-6 weeks and slowly declined by 8 weeks. The total immune response declined by 8 weeks as the clearance of B. avium approached completion. In this study, the cumulative antibody titers closely corresponded with decreasing numbers of bacteria;The transfer of parenterally administered IgG was assayed in turkeys using B. avium specific IgG and ELISA as a model. Purified IgG, specific to B. avium was injected and samples of serum and tracheal washings were collected and assayed by ELISA at various time intervals. The IgG intravenously injected was detected in tracheal washings as early as 5 minutes PI, with peak levels occurring 10 minutes post-injection (PI). A rapid decline in serum IgG from 10 to 60 minutes PI was followed by a more gradual decline to baseline levels by 24 hours PI. The levels of IgG in serum, tracheal washings and lacrimal secretions were closely corresponding after 10 minutes PI. These results indicate rapid transfer of IgG from the blood to mucosal secretions;The role of parenterally administered IgG in the colonization and clearance of B. avium from the tracheal surface was assayed. The IgG prevented colonization and also aided in the clearance of B. avium from the tracheal surface. This study showed that IgG, transferred from the bloodstream to mucosal surfaces, could inhibit colonization and promote clearance of infection;A monoclonal antibody based-latex bead agglutination test was developed to differentiate B. avium from B. bronchiseptica and B. avium-like bacteria. All 40 isolates of B. avium tested showed a positive reaction with this test. None of the 24 B. avium-like isolates showed a positive reaction. Out of 17 B. bronchiseptica isolates, two had minor cross reactions.</p