The pharmacodynamics of ivermectin in sheep and cattle

The concentrations of ivermectin in the gastrointestinal tract of sheep and cattle were determined after subcutaneous administration of ivermectin. Ivermectin was not detected (limit of detection 1 ng/ml) in abomasal and ruminal fluids either after a normal therapeutic dose of 200 micrograms/kg or even at an increased dose of 2000 micrograms/kg. It was also not detected in abomasal and ruminal fluids of a sheep infected with the abomasal parasite Ostertagia circumcincta. However, ivermectin was detectable at similar concentrations in abomasal mucus and in small intestinal mucus. Excretion of ivermectin was high in bile but the concentrations in small intestinal mucus, distal and proximal to the bile duct opening, were similar. It is hypothesized that the low efficacy of ivermectin against small intestinal nematodes compared with abomasal nematodes is not due to differences in ivermectin concentrations in the predilection sites but is probably due to tachyphylaxis in the nematodes allowing the small intestinal nematodes to re-establish before they have left their predilection site. Ivermectin was excreted in the milk of ewes at concentrations similar to those in plasma. Lambs suckling ivermectin-treated ewes received about 4% of a normal therapeutic dose (200 micrograms/kg) via the milk.Peer reviewe

Recapitulation of erythropoiesis in congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia type I (CDA-I) identifies defects in differentiation and nucleolar abnormalities.

The investigation of inherited disorders of erythropoiesis has elucidated many of the principles underlying the production of normal red blood cells and how this is perturbed in human disease. Congenital Dyserythropoietic Anaemia type 1 (CDA-I) is a rare form of anaemia caused by mutations in two genes of unknown function: CDAN1 and CDIN1 (previously called C15orf41), whilst in some cases, the underlying genetic abnormality is completely unknown. Consequently, the pathways affected in CDA-I remain to be discovered. To enable detailed analysis of this rare disorder we have validated a culture system which recapitulates all of the cardinal haematological features of CDA-I, including the formation of the pathognomonic 'spongy' heterochromatin seen by electron microscopy. Using a variety of cell and molecular biological approaches we discovered that erythroid cells in this condition show a delay during terminal erythroid differentiation, associated with increased proliferation and widespread changes in chromatin accessibility. We also show that the proteins encoded by CDAN1 and CDIN1 are enriched in nucleoli which are structurally and functionally abnormal in CDA-I. Together these findings provide important pointers to the pathways affected in CDA-I which for the first time can now be pursued in the tractable culture system utilised here