Inflammatory changes during canine pregnancy.

Pregnancy is considered a pro-inflammatory state that requires physiologic adaptation of the immune system of the mother. The aim of the present study was to study inflammatory and hormonal changes during canine pregnancy. Studies included analyses of peripheral concentrations of the acute phase proteins fibrinogen and C-reactive protein (CRP), the hormones progesterone and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), hemoglobin, and analyses of the total leukocyte numbers and expression of cell surface antigens.

Leucocyte phagocytosis during the luteal phase in bitches.

Pyometra is a disease that affects a large proportion of intact bitches, and typically is seen during the latter half of dioestrus. Several factors contribute to the development of pyometra, including genetic factors, an infectious component (most often Escherichia coli), and hormonal factors. Hormones may act directly on the endometrium, and also affect the immune system.

Markers of Borna disease virus infection in cats with staggering disease.

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a RNA-virus causing neurological disorders in a wide range of mammals. In cats, BDV infection may cause staggering disease. Presently, staggering disease is a tentative clinical diagnosis, only confirmed at necropsy.

Organic matter chlorination rates in different boreal soils: the role of soil organic matter content.

Transformation of chloride (Cl(-)) to organic chlorine (Cl(org)) occurs naturally in soil but it is poorly understood how and why transformation rates vary among environments. There are still few measurements of chlorination rates in soils, even though formation of Cl(org) has been known for two decades. In the present study, we compare organic matter (OM) chlorination rates, measured by (36)Cl tracer experiments, in soils from eleven different locations (coniferous forest soils, pasture soils and agricultural soils) and discuss how various environmental factors effect chlorination.

Expression of interferon gamma in the brain of cats with natural Borna disease virus infection.

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a neurotropic, negative-stranded RNA virus, which causes a non-suppurative meningoencephalomyelitis in a wide range of animals. In cats, BDV infection leads to staggering disease. In spite of a vigorous immune response the virus persists in the central nervous system (CNS) in both experimentally and naturally infected animals.

Maternal supplementation with a complex milk lipid mixture during pregnancy and lactation alters neonatal brain lipid composition but lacks effect on cognitive function in rats.

Complex milk lipids (CMLs) provide a critical nutritional source for generating both energy and essential nutrients for the growth of the newborn. The present study investigated nutritional supplementation with a CML containing gangliosides and phospholipids in pregnant and lactating rats on learning behavior and postnatal growth in male offspring. Wistar female rats were supplemented during pregnancy and lactation with either control or CML to provide gangliosides at a dose of 0.

Supplementation with a mixture of complex lipids derived from milk to growing rats results in improvements in parameters related to growth and cognition.

Alterations in nutritional factors during early development can exert long-term effects on growth, neural function, and associated behaviors. The lipid component of milk provides a critical nutritional source for generating both energy and essential nutrients for the growth of the newborn. The present study, therefore, investigated the hypothesis that nutritional supplementation with a complex milk lipid (CML) preparation, derived from the milk fat globule membrane rich in phospholipids and gangliosides from young rats, has beneficial effects on learning behavior and postnatal growth and development.

Growth hormone receptor immunoreactivity is increased in the subventricular zone of juvenile rat brain after focal ischemia: a potential role for growth hormone in injury-induced neurogenesis.

Background: During recovery from an ischemic brain injury, a cerebral growth hormone (GH) axis is activated. Whilst GH has been demonstrated to be neuroprotective both in vitro and in vivo, a role for GH in neuro-restorative processes after brain injury has yet to be studied.

Objective: To explore a role for GH in injury-induced neurogenesis by examining GH receptor (GH-R) immunoreactivity within the subventricular zone (SVZ) of juvenile rats after brain injury and by testing the proliferative capacity of GH on embryonic mouse neural stem cells.

Delayed peripheral administration of a GPE analogue induces astrogliosis and angiogenesis and reduces inflammation and brain injury following hypoxia-ischemia in the neonatal rat.

Glycine 2-methyl proline glutamate (G-2mPE) is a proline-modified analogue to the naturally existing N-terminal tripeptide glycine-proline-glutamate that is a cleaved product from insulin-like growth factor-1. G-2mPE is designed to be more enzymatically resistant than glycine-proline-glutamate and to increase its bioavailability. The current study has investigated the protective effects of G-2mPE following hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in the neonatal brain.

Global gene expression in the developing rat brain after hypoxic preconditioning: involvement of apoptotic mechanisms?

Exposure to hypoxia before hypoxia-ischemia (HI) confers substantial protection referred to as preconditioning (PC). We hypothesized that PC induces critical changes of genes related to apoptotic cell death to render the brain more resistant. PC hypoxia (8% O2, 36 degrees C, 3 h) was induced in rats on postnatal day (PND) 6, and the rats were killed at 0, 2, 8, and 24 h.

N-acetylcysteine reduces lipopolysaccharide-sensitized hypoxic-ischemic brain injury.

Objective: Maternal inflammation/infection alone or in combination with birth asphyxia increases the risk for perinatal brain injury. Free radicals are implicated as major mediators of inflammation and hypoxia-ischemia (HI)-induced perinatal brain injury. This study evaluated the neuroprotective efficacy of a scavenging agent, N-acetylcysteine (NAC), in a clinically relevant model.

Vascular response to hypoxic preconditioning in the immature brain.

We hypothesized that hypoxic preconditioning (PC) modifies the microvasculature in the immature brain and thereby affects the cerebral blood flow (CBF) during a subsequent hypoxic-ischemic (HI) insult. On postnatal day 6 rats were exposed to hypoxia (36 degrees C, 8.0% O2) or normoxia for 3 h.

Growth hormone-releasing peptide hexarelin reduces neonatal brain injury and alters Akt/glycogen synthase kinase-3beta phosphorylation.

Hexarelin (HEX) is a peptide GH secretagogue with a potent ability to stimulate GH secretion and recently reported cardioprotective actions. However, its effects in the brain are largely unknown, and the aim of the present study was to examine the potential protective effect of HEX on the central nervous system after injury, as well as on caspase-3, Akt, and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) signaling cascades in a rat model of neonatal hypoxia-ischemia. Hypoxic-ischemic insult was induced by unilateral carotid ligation and hypoxic exposure (7.

IGF-I neuroprotection in the immature brain after hypoxia-ischemia, involvement of Akt and GSK3beta?

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is a neurotrophic factor that promotes neuronal growth, differentiation and survival. Neuroprotective effects of IGF-I have previously been shown in adult and juvenile rat models of brain injury. We wanted to investigate the neuroprotective effect of IGF-I after hypoxia-ischemia (HI) in 7-day-old neonatal rats and the mechanisms of IGF-I actions in vivo.

Modification of cellulose fiber surfaces by use of a lipase and a xyloglucan endotransglycosylase.

A strategy for the modification of cellulose fiber surfaces was developed that used the ability of Candida antarctica lipase B (CALB) to acylate carbohydrates with high regioselectivity, combined with the transglycosylating activity of the Populus tremula x P. tremuloides xyloglucan endotransglycosylase 16A (PttXET16A). Xyloglucan oligosaccharides (XGOs) prepared from tamarind xyloglucan were acylated with CALB as a catalyst and vinyl stearate or gamma-thiobutyrolactone as acyl donors to produce carbohydrate molecules with hydrophobic alkyl chains or reactive sulfhydryl groups, respectively.

Hypoxic preconditioning confers long-term reduction of brain injury and improvement of neurological ability in immature rats.

Exposure to preconditioning (PC) hypoxia 24 h before a severe hypoxic-ischemic (HI) insult reduces development of injury in the immature brain. Several protective regimens have proved effective in the short-term but not in the long-term perspective. The aim of the present study, therefore, was to evaluate the PC effect on long-term morphologic and neurologic outcome in the developing brain.

PARP-1 gene disruption in mice preferentially protects males from perinatal brain injury.

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 is over-activated in the adult brain in response to ischemia and contributes to neuronal death, but its role in perinatal brain injury remains uncertain. To address this issue, 7-day-old wild-type (wt) and PARP-1 gene deficient (parp+/- and parp-/-) Sv129/CD-1 hybrid mice were subjected to unilateral hypoxia-ischemia and histologic damage was assessed 10 days later by two evaluators. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 knockout produced moderate but significant (p < 0.

Polyester coating of cellulose fiber surfaces catalyzed by a cellulose-binding module-Candida antarctica lipase B fusion protein.

A new approach to introduce polymers to cellulosic materials was developed by using the ability of a cellulose-binding module-Candida antarctica lipase B conjugate to catalyze ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone in close proximity to cellulose fiber surfaces. The epsilon-caprolactone was introduced to the cellulose surfaces either by simple addition of liquid monomer or through gas phase. The effects of water activity and temperature on the lipase-catalyzed polymerization process were investigated.

Analysis and control of proteolysis of a fusion protein in Pichia pastoris fed-batch processes.

A fusion protein composed of a cellulose-binding module (CBM) from Neocallimastix patriciarum cellulase 6A and lipase B from Candida antarctica (CALB), was produced by Pichia pastoris Mut(+) in high-cell density bioreactor cultures. The production was induced by switching from growth on glycerol to growth on methanol. The lipase activity in the culture supernatant increased at an almost constant rate up to a value corresponding to 1.

The binding specificity and affinity determinants of family 1 and family 3 cellulose binding modules.

Cellulose binding modules (CBMs) potentiate the action of cellulolytic enzymes on insoluble substrates. Numerous studies have established that three aromatic residues on a CBM surface are needed for binding onto cellulose crystals and that tryptophans contribute to higher binding affinity than tyrosines. However, studies addressing the nature of CBM-cellulose interactions have so far failed to establish the binding site on cellulose crystals targeted by CBMs.