From intestine to beyond: entry factors display distinct transcription pattern upon infection in murine models.

The infectious process of bacteria of the genus requires the finely regulated use of various virulence factors. Among them, the type 3 secretion system-1 (T3SS-1) and the Rck and PagN invasins are involved in the internalization of the pathogen within eukaryotic cells, but their precise role in the host and in the pathogenic process is still poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to determine the kinetics of expression of these entry factors in a typhoid fever-like and a gastroenteritis model in mice by imaging using bioluminescent Typhimurium reporter strains carrying chromosomal transcriptional fusions.

Topical reinforcement of the cervical mucus barrier to sperm.

Close to half of the world's pregnancies are still unplanned, reflecting a clear unmet need in contraception. Ideally, a contraceptive would provide the high efficacy of hormonal treatments, without systemic side effects. Here, we studied topical reinforcement of the cervical mucus by chitosan mucoadhesive polymers as a form of female contraceptive.

In vivo imaging reveals novel replication sites of a highly oncogenic avian herpesvirus in chickens.

In vivo bioluminescence imaging facilitates the non-invasive visualization of biological processes in living animals. This system has been used to track virus infections mostly in mice and ferrets; however, until now this approach has not been applied to pathogens in avian species. To visualize the infection of an important avian pathogen, we generated Marek's disease virus (MDV) recombinants expressing firefly luciferase during lytic replication.

In Vivo Tracking of Bacterial Colonization in Different Murine Models Using Bioluminescence: The Example of Salmonella.

Applications of bioluminescence for the in vivo study of pathogenic microorganisms are numerous, ranging from the quantification of virulence gene expression to measuring the effect of antimicrobial molecules on the colonization of tissues and organs by the pathogen. Most studies are performed in mice, but recent works demonstrate that this technique is applicable to larger animals like fish, guinea pigs, ferrets, and chickens. Here, we describe the construction and the utilization of a constitutively luminescent strain of Salmonella Typhimurium to monitor in vivo and ex vivo the colonization of mice in the gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, and asymptomatic carriage models of Salmonella infection.

Effective Nanoparticle-Based Nasal Vaccine Against Latent and Congenital Toxoplasmosis in Sheep.

is a parasitic protozoan of worldwide distribution, able to infect all warm-blooded animals, but particularly sheep. Primary infection in pregnant sheep leads to millions of abortions and significant economic losses for the livestock industry. Moreover, infected animals constitute the main parasitic reservoir for humans.

Evidence of early increased sialylation of airway mucins and defective mucociliary clearance in CFTR-deficient piglets.

Background: Bacterial colonization in cystic fibrosis (CF) lungs has been directly associated to the loss of CFTR function, and/or secondarily linked to repetitive cycles of chronic inflammation/infection. We hypothesized that altered molecular properties of mucins could contribute to this process.

Methods: Newborn CFTR and CFTR were sacrificed before and 6 h after inoculation with luminescent Pseudomonas aeruginosa into the tracheal carina.

Four types of scrapie in goats differentiated from each other and bovine spongiform encephalopathy by biochemical methods.

Scrapie in goats has been known since 1942, the archetype of prion diseases in which only prion protein (PrP) in misfolded state (PrP) acts as infectious agent with fatal consequence. Emergence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) with its zoonotic behaviour and detection in goats enhanced fears that its source was located in small ruminants. However, in goats knowledge on prion strain typing is limited.

Protein delivery by porous cationic maltodextrin-based nanoparticles into nasal mucosal cells: Comparison with cationic or anionic nanoparticles.

Different types of biodegradable nanoparticles (NPs) have been studied as delivery systems for proteins into nasal mucosal cells, especially for vaccine applications. Such a nanocarrier must have the ability to be loaded with proteins and to transport this payload into mucosal cells. However, comparative data on nanoparticles' capacity for protein loading, efficiency of subsequent endocytosis and the quantity of nanocarriers used are either lacking or contradictory, making comparisons and the choice of a best candidate difficult.

Systemic Administration of Avian Defensin 7: Distribution, Cellular Target, and Antibacterial Potential in Mice.

Defensins are natural antimicrobial peptides. The avian beta-defensin AvBD7 isolated from the chicken bone marrow possess broad antibacterial spectrum and strong resistance to proteolysis. However, its ability to fight systemic infections of major concern for public health, such as salmonellosis, is unknown.

Residence time and uptake of porous and cationic maltodextrin-based nanoparticles in the nasal mucosa: Comparison with anionic and cationic nanoparticles.

Different types of biodegradable nanoparticles (NP) have been studied as nasal mucosa cell delivery systems. These nanoparticles need to strongly interact with mucosa cells to deliver their payload. However, only a few simultaneous comparisons have been made and it is therefore difficult to determine the best candidate.

Structural and functional diversity arising from intra- and inter-haplotype combinations of duplicated DQA and B loci within the ovine MHC.

In sheep, the A and B loci encoding the α and β chains of the classical class II MHC molecules are DRA and DRB and DQA and DQB. Previous analyses described the duplication of the DQA and DQB genes. The majority of haplotypes include DQA1 and DQA2 loci, however, in a number of haplotypes, DQA1 appears absent and these haplotypes have been described as DQA1 null.

Synthetic parasites: a successful mucosal nanoparticle vaccine against Toxoplasma congenital infection in mice.

Aim: Development of protein vaccine to prevent congenital infection is a major public health priority. Our goal is the design of mucosal synthetic pathogen inducing protective immune responses against congenital toxoplasmosis.

Materials & Methods: Mice were immunized intranasally, establishing pregnancy and challenging orally.

EU-approved rapid tests might underestimate bovine spongiform encephalopathy infection in goats.

We report the diagnostic sensitivity of 3 EU-approved rapid tests (ELISAs; 1 from IDEXX and 2 from Bio-Rad) for the detection of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases in goats. Ninety-eight goat brainstem samples were tested. All the rapid tests had 100% specificity and ≥80% sensitivity, with the IDEXX test significantly more sensitive than the 2 Bio-Rad tests.

An ancient interlocus recombination increases class II MHC DQA diversity in sheep and other Bovidae.

Animals with fully characterised major histocompatibility complex (MHC) regions are often used to explore the molecular interactions that control the induction of adaptive immunity. The ovine MHC includes two DQA loci, termed DQA1 and DQA2. However, in a minority of haplotypes the DQA1 locus appears absent (DQA1 null) and is replaced by a second locus termed, DQA2-like.

Evidence for zoonotic potential of ovine scrapie prions.

Although Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is the cause of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (vCJD) in humans, the zoonotic potential of scrapie prions remains unknown. Mice genetically engineered to overexpress the human prion protein (tgHu) have emerged as highly relevant models for gauging the capacity of prions to transmit to humans. These models can propagate human prions without any apparent transmission barrier and have been used used to confirm the zoonotic ability of BSE.

Preclinical detection of variant CJD and BSE prions in blood.

The emergence of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD) is considered a likely consequence of human dietary exposure to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) agent. More recently, secondary vCJD cases were identified in patients transfused with blood products prepared from apparently healthy donors who later went on to develop the disease. As there is no validated assay for detection of vCJD/BSE infected individuals the prevalence of the disease in the population remains uncertain.

Copy number variation and differential expression of a protective endogenous retrovirus in sheep.

The Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus exJSRV and its endogenous counterpart enJSRV co-exist in sheep. exJSRV, a betaretrovirus, is the etiological agent of ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma, and it has been demonstrated in vitro that an enJSRV Gag variant bearing the R-to-W amino acid change at position 21 was able to block exJSRV budding from the cells, providing a potential protective role for the host. In this work, we developed a fast mutation detection assay based on the oligo ligation assay (OLA) that permits the quantification of the relative proportions of the R21 and W21 Gag variants present in individual genomes and in cDNA obtained from normal and exJSRV-induced lung tumors.

Neuroimmune connections in ovine pharyngeal tonsil: potential site for prion neuroinvasion.

Recent studies have established the involvement of nasal-associated lymphoid tissues, mainly the pharyngeal tonsil, in prion pathogenesis. However, the mechanisms of the associated neuroinvasion are still debated. To determine potential sites for prion neuroinvasion inside the ovine pharyngeal tonsil, the topography of heavy (200 kDa) and light (70 kDa) neurofilaments and of glial fibrillar acidic protein has been semi-quantitatively analysed inside the various compartments of the tonsil.

Prionemia and leukocyte-platelet-associated infectivity in sheep transmissible spongiform encephalopathy models.

The dynamics of the circulation and distribution of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agents in the blood of infected individuals remain largely unknown. This clearly limits the understanding of the role of blood in TSE pathogenesis and the development of a reliable TSE blood detection assay. Using two distinct sheep scrapie models and blood transfusion, this work demonstrates the occurrence of a very early and persistent prionemia.

Ultra-early weaning in piglets results in low serum IgA concentration and IL17 mRNA expression.

In pigs raised for meat production, weaning is a critical period because of related physiological perturbations and negative consequences on performance. Previous studies have shown that early weaning could either impair development of mucosal barrier function or boost intestinal immunologic parameters. In order to obtain further knowledge about the impact of ultra-early weaning on the porcine immune system development, three groups of piglets were weaned at different ages and compared to the unweaned control group.

Quantitative trait loci linked to PRNP gene controlling health and production traits in INRA 401 sheep.

In this study, the potential association of PrP genotypes with health and productive traits was investigated. Data were recorded on animals of the INRA 401 breed from the Bourges-La Sapinière INRA experimental farm. The population consisted of 30 rams and 852 ewes, which produced 1310 lambs.

Detection of new quantitative trait Loci for susceptibility to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in mice.

Susceptibility to scrapie is largely controlled by the PRNP gene in mice and in several other species. However, individuals with identical scrapie susceptibility Prnp alleles may have very different incubation periods, suggesting the influence of other environmental and genetic factors. To detect loci influencing susceptibility to TSE, two mouse lines carrying the same PRNP genotype (C57BL and RIII) were crossed to produce an F2 population inoculated intracerebrally with a mouse-adapted scrapie strain.

Genetic parameters for resistance to the Salmonella abortusovis vaccinal strain Rv6 in sheep.

An experimental population (1216 lambs from 30 sires) of the Inra401 sheep was created in an Inra flock to allow QTL detection for susceptibility to Salmonella infection, wool and carcass traits. The Inra401 is a sheep composite line developed from two breeds: Berrichon du Cher and Romanov. At 113 days of age on average, the lambs were inoculated intravenously with 10(8) Salmonella abortusovis Rv6 (vaccinal strain).