Functional maturation during bovine granulopoiesis

Granulocytic precursor cells undergo morphologic changes in the nucleus and the cytoplasm during the process of granulopoiesis, which takes place in the bone marrow. These changes are associated with the development of stage-specific proteins necessary for the highly specialized roles of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in phagocytosis, bacterial killing, and in mediating the inflammatory process. The objective of the current study was to sequence the various events that occur upon functional development of granulocytic bone marrow cells in the bovine species. Cells were obtained from the bone marrow of clinically healthy cows and separated into different stages of maturation using density gradient centrifugation. Three cellular fractions were obtained that were enriched for either early immature, late immature or mature granulocytic cells. Functions and receptor expressions assessed in the three maturation stages were: Fc-IgG(2) receptor and CD11b expression, phagocytosis of Escherichia coli, respiratory burst activity, and cellular myeloperoxidase activity. Immature cells expressed already Fc-IgG(2) receptor and CD11b on their cytoplasma membrane. Phagocytic ability was acquired in the myelocytic stage, but only the more mature forms were readily capable of phagocytosis. Promyelocytes, myelo-cytes and metamyelocytes showed no respiratory burst activity. Only band and segmented cells produced reactive oxygen species. Myeloperoxidase was present at all stages of maturity. Thus, each of the maturation stages was characterized by a selective expression of one or more functions and receptors. Therefore, sequential biochemical maturation is postulated during bovine granulopoiesis

Laplacian spectral characterization of some graph products

This paper studies the Laplacian spectral characterization of some graph products. We consider a class of connected graphs: $\mathscr{G}={G : |EG|\leq|VG|+1}$, and characterize all graphs $G\in\mathscr{G}$ such that the products $G\times K_m$ are $L$-DS graphs. The main result of this paper states that, if $G\in\mathscr{G}$, except for $C_{6}$ and $\Theta_{3,2,5}$, is $L$-DS graph, so is the product $G\times K_{m}$. In addition, the $L$-cospectral graphs with $C_{6}\times K_{m}$ and $\Theta_{3,2,5}\times K_{m}$ have been found.Comment: 19 pages, we showed that several types of graph product are determined by their Laplacian spectr

Differential effects of steroids and retinoids on bovine myelopoiesis in vitro

Pregnancy and parturition are associated with physiological changes caused by steroid hormones. Alterations in number, maturity, and function of polymorphonuclear leukocytes observed in dairy cows at parturition suggest a common causative relationship with steroid hormones. This study was designed to investigate the effects of progesterone, 17-beta-estradiol, and hydrocortisone on the proliferation of bovine progenitor cells. An in vitro culturing system was used, and colonies were scored after 7 d of incubation. At low concentrations, 17-beta-estradiol inhibited proliferation of granulocyte progenitor cells. Hydrocortisone reduced growth of granulocyte and monocyte colonies, whereas myelopoiesis was not altered by progesterone. Furthermore, we studied the effect of retinoids on colony formation of bovine bone marrow cells. All-trans- and 9-cis-retinoic acid stimulated growth of granulocyte colonies and inhibited proliferation of the monocyte lineage. The addition of the 13-cis-isomer also increased numbers of granulocyte colony-forming units. This study indicates that steroid hormones may be responsible for alterations in the bovine hematopoietic profiles observed in circulation during the postpartum period. White blood cells, especially polymorphonuclear leukocytes, which are derived from bone marrow, are an important first line defense against mastitis. Therefore, these effects of steroids might contribute to the increased susceptibility of dairy cows to Escherichia coli mastitis. We furthermore hypothesize that an important role might be attributed to retinoic acid in its regulation of bovine myelopoiesis. Modulation of myelopoiesis in favor of the granulocyte lineage during the acute-phase reaction may be an adaptive mechanism designed to increase the capacity of first-line defense to intramammary infections

All-trans retinoic acid is increased in the acute phase-related hyporetinemia during Escherichia coli mastitis

Blood vitamin A profiles, including concentrations of retinol and its active metabolite retinoic acid, were assessed during the peripartum period and during experimentally induced Escherichia coli mastitis in heifers. Serum retinol decreased in all animals in the immediate postpartum period and normalized within 1 wk after parturition. No significant changes were detectable in the concentrations of retinoic acid isomers during puerperium. Following intramammary E. coli infusion, all cows showed moderate symptoms of systemic disease besides the local signs of inflammation. The presence of a systemic acute-phase reaction was documented by fever, increase in serum amyloid A, and decrease in serum albumin. Retinol concentration in serum also decreased spectacularly during coliform mastitis, and the decline was clearly related to the timing of the acute-phase response. Moreover, a significant increase of all-trans retinoic acid, mirrored by a lowering of 13-cis retinoic acid, was detected during the same time period. The 9-cis isomer of retinoic acid was present in all samples, but it remained below the quantification limit. Results confirmed the decrease in serum retinol during the peripartum period of dairy cows. Furthermore, the study established that profound changes in vitamin A metabolism occur during the acute-phase reaction of coliform mastitis in heifers. The bovine infection model reproduced the acute phase-related hyporetinemia, as previously observed in humans and rats. In addition, all-trans retinoic acid was found to be the most abundant circulating acid isomer during mastitis, providing an indication for a possible key role of all-trans retinoic acid in the modulation of the immune response

L-selectin and chemotaxis throughout bone marrow granulocyte maturation in the bovine

Polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocytes (PMNL) play a pivotal role during inflammation. Bone marrow ( BM) reserves are depleted as cells are released into circulation for recruitment to infection sites. Expression of L-selectin on the cell membrane allows neutrophils to roll along the activated endothelium. Whereas mechanisms leading to recruitment to infection sites are well established, expression of BM adhesion molecules in cows is limited. In this study, we assessed L-selectin expression and chemotactic response to zymosan-activated serum (ZAS) in bovine BM cells and in circulating neutrophils. Isolated blood PMNL and BM cells were used from 9 dairy cows, for quantifying L-selectin expression using flow cytometry, and from 12 dairy cows for chemotaxis studies. All granulocytic maturation stages expressed L-selectin. The percentage of cells fluorescing increased significantly in BM band and mature granulocytes and reached maximal expression on circulating neutrophils. Bone marrow band and segmented cells showed the highest L-selectin density. Chemotaxis through micropore filters in response to zymosan-activated fetal bovine serum was first observed in the myelocytic and metamyelocytic stages, and it increased with maturation and release into the blood stream. From these results, we conclude that L-selectin expression varies among stages of granulocytic maturation within the BM and differs from circulating PMNL. Further, BM cells are capable of migration starting at the metamyelocytic stage, and compared with BM cells, circulating neutrophils are more chemotactively active

Applications of Estrada Indices and Energy to a family of compound graphs

To track the gradual change of the adjacency matrix of a simple graph $\mathcal{G}$ into the signless Laplacian matrix, V. Nikiforov in \cite{NKF} suggested the study of the convex linear combination $A_{\alpha }$ (\textit{$\alpha$-adjacency matrix}), $$A_{\alpha }\left( \mathcal{G}\right)=\alpha D\left( \mathcal{G}\right) +\left( 1-\alpha \right) A\left( \mathcal{G}\right),$$ for $\alpha \in \left[ 0,1\right]$, where $A\left( \mathcal{G}\right)$ and $D\left( \mathcal{G}\right)$ are the adjacency and the diagonal vertex degrees matrices of $\mathcal{G}$, respectively. Taking this definition as an idea the next matrix was considered for $a,b \in \mathbb{R}$. The matrix $A_{a,b}$ defined by $$A_{a,b}\left( \mathcal{G}\right) =a D\left( \mathcal{G}\right) + b A\left(\mathcal{G}\right),$$ extends the previous $\alpha$-adjacency matrix. This matrix is designated the \textit{$(a,b)$-adjacency matrix of $\mathcal{G}$}. Both adjacency matrices are examples of universal matrices already studied by W. Haemers. In this paper, we study the $(a,b)$-adjacency spectra for a family of compound graphs formed by disjoint balanced trees whose roots are identified to the vertices of a given graph. In consequence, new families of cospectral (adjacency, Laplacian and signless Laplacian) graphs, new hypoenergetic graphs (graphs whose energy is less than its vertex number) and new explicit formulae for Estrada, signless Laplacian Estrada and Laplacian Estrada indices of graphs were obtained. Moreover, sharp upper bounds of the above indices for caterpillars, in terms of length of the path and of the maximum number of its pendant vertices, are given

Negative energy balance in dairy cows is associated with specific changes in IGF-binding protein expression in the oviduct

Negative energy balance (NEB) during early lactation in dairy cows leads to an altered metabolic state that has major effects on the production of IGF family members. Low IGF-I concentrations are associated with poor fertility and therefore we aimed to determine whether NEB exerts a direct effect on IGF expression in the postpartum oviduct. Multiparous Holstein cows were allocated to two treatments (each n=6) designed using differential feeding and milking regimes to produce either mild NEB (MNEB) or severe NEB (SNEB). Animals were slaughtered in week 2 of lactation when divergent metabolic profiles were evident. Oviducts were collected for RNA analysis by real-time RT-PCR and in situ hybridisation. Quantitative measures in oviduct gene expression were obtained for all members of the IGF family (IGF-I/II, IGF-binding proteins (IGFBP) 1–6 and receptors for IGF types 1 and 2), insulin A/B, GH, glucocorticoid and oestrogen α/β. Expression of IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-6 (both of which have a high affinity for IGF-II) was decreased in SNEB relative to MNEB (P<0.05). No other gene was altered by NEB, but IGF-II, IGFBP-3, IGFBP-5 and IGFBP-6 all showed differential expression in different regions of the oviduct. These results indicate that, in addition to low circulating IGF-I after calving, NEB may also influence IGF availability in the oviduct indirectly through changes in specific IGFBP expression. It is possible that the predicted increased signalling by IGF-II may perturb embryo development, contributing to the high rates of embryonic mortality in dairy cows