Protein concentration was determined, using the Bradford technique, in tears from cats with normal corneas and from cats with corneal sequestrum. Tears from the former group contained 5.81 +/- 2.29 mg of protein/ml; those from cornmeal sequestrum-affected cats contained 6.21 +/- 2.21 mg/ml. Difference between the 2 values was not significant. Molecular weight determination was made, using 4 to 20% sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels. Molecular mass of proteins ranged from 263 to 14 kDa. There was no detectable difference in the band patterns for the 2 groups.

Four healthy calves were inoculated with Pasteurella haemolytica serotype 1 by instillation of a broth culture into the middle nasal meatus of the left nostril. Four weeks later, calves were exposed to infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus by aerosol into both nostrils. All calves became ill, from approximately day 3 through day 10 after virus exposure, and shed increased amounts of nasal mucus. Two calves were induced to shed P haemolytica by the virus infection, and 2 calves required reinoculation with P haemolytica for nasal passages to become actively colonized. Elastase activity in nasal mucus increased about 15-fold within 3 days and peaked about 60-fold over baseline by 7 days after virus exposure. Activity of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase, a measure of cell damage and serum leakage, increased slightly by day 3 and reached plateau on day 5, almost threefold over baseline activity. Protein and carbohydrate content increased at a rate similar to that of N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminidase activity with about 12-fold and sixfold increases, respectively. None of the variables returned to baseline by 19 days after virus exposure, Increased elastase activity preceded colonization by P haemolytica and decreasing elastase activity preceded decreasing P haemolytica concentration in the nasal secretions. A causal relation between elastase activity and P haemolytica colonization could be mediated by cleavage of epithelial cell surface fibronectin and exposure of receptors.

Hexosamine concentration, DNA concentration, and [35S]sulfate incorporation for articular cartilage obtained from various sites in the metacarpophalangeal and carpal joints of horses were measured. The same measurements were made on the repair tissue filling full-thickness articular defects in the intermediate carpal bone and on cartilage surrounding partial-thickness defects 6 weeks after the defects were created arthroscopically. Cellularity (measured as DNA concentration), proteoglycan content (measured as hexosamine concentration), and proteoglycan synthesis (measured as [35S]sulfate incorporation) varied according to the site sampled. Cartilage from the transverse ridge of the head of the third metacarpal bone and the radial facet of the third carpal bone had the lowest hexosamine concentration, whereas rate of proteoglycan synthesis was lowest in cartilage from the transverse ridge of the head of the third metacarpal bone and the distal articular surface of the radial carpal bone. Repair tissue filling a full-thickness cartilage defect at 6 weeks was highly cellular. It was low in proteoglycan content, but was actively synthesizing these macromolecules. In contrast, the cartilage surrounding a partial-thickness defect was unchanged 6 weeks after the original defect was made.

Twenty mature Holstein cows were randomized into 5 treatment groups. Cows of groups 2 to 5 were given 2 mg of elemental Pb/kg of body weight for 28 days. Clinical signs of plumbism were scored, and blood for Pb, progesterone, and hematologic analyses was collected weekly. Cows also were examined weekly for anomalous ovarian cycles. Starting on study day 28, cows in group 3 were treated once daily with 2 mg of thiamine HCl/kg (IM) for 13 days, cows in group 4 were treated twice daily with 62 mg of Na2,Ca-EDTA/kg (IV) for 4 days, and cows in group 5 were given thiamine (dosage regimen the same as for group 3) plus Na2,Ca-EDTA (dosage regimen the same as for group 4). On study days 96 through 139, cows were slaughtered in a commercial abattoir and samples of blood, skeletal muscles, bones, liver, and kidneys were collected and assayed for Pb concentration. Thiamine was not effective in reducing blood Pb concentration, and treatment with Na2,Ca-EDTA and thiamine plus Na2,Ca-EDTA was effective in reducing the concentration of Pb in blood. However, treatment with thiamine was more effective than treatment with Na2,Ca-EDTA or thiamine plus Na2,Ca-EDTA in inducing remission of clinical signs of plumbism. The concentration of Pb in blood was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated to the concentration of Pb in liver, kidneys, skeletal muscles, and bones. Significant (P < 0.05) relationship existed between number of days from Pb exposure to slaughter and concentration of Pb in blood, liver, and skeletal muscles. Exposure to Pb did not significantly alter CBC values. On the basis of progesterone analysis and ovarian examination, exposure to Pb and treatment for plumbism did not induce changes in the ovarian cycle.

Pili from 11 distinct serotypes of Bacteroides nodosus were examined for diversity of pilin polypeptide subunits among serotypes and for purity of the pilin preparations. The pilin of all 11 samples was shown to be homogeneous. Mean +/- SD molecular weight of the pilin of 7 serotypes (A198, IV, V, VI, IX, XVII, and XVIII) was 18,500 +/- 100. The pilin of serotypes I, III, and VIII had molecular weight of 17,600, 19,400, and 19,000, respectively. Serotype XV differed greatly from the other 10 serotypes in that 2 distinct polypeptide bands with molecular weight of approximately 7,800 and 6,200 were detected. We suggest that these 2 low molecular weight bands resulted from proteolytic cleavage of the pilin protein.

Six calves with suppurative arthritis were given a single IM injection of sodium cephapirin at a dosage of 10 mg/kg of body weight. Cephapirin concentrations were serially measured in serum and in normal and suppurative synovial fluid over a 24-hour period. Mean peak serum concentration was 6.33 microliter/ml at 20 minutes after injection. The highest cephapirin concentrations in normal and suppurative synovial fluid were 1.68 and 1.96 microgram/ml, respectively, 30 minutes after injection. Overall mean cephapirin concentration in normal synovial fluid for the first 4 hours (1.04 +/- 0.612 microgram/ml) was not significantly different from that in suppurative synovial fluid (0.88 +/- 0.495 microgram/ml; P > 0.05). Elimination half-life was 0.60 hours and clearance was 1,593 ml/h/kg.

The DNA fragments representing the entire short unique region and part of the repeat sequences of the equine herpesvirus type-1 genome were cloned into plasmid vectors. The approximate positions of the junctions between the short unique region and the inverted repeats were then located by restriction endonuclease mapping. Two open reading frames coding for potential glycoproteins have been identified within the short unique region, using DNA sequence analysis. The predicted amino acid sequences of these open reading frames had extensive homology to the herpes simplex virus glycoproteins gE and gI and the related glycoproteins of pseudorabies virus and varicella-zoster virus.

Physical, biochemical, and cytologic properties of synovial fluid from digital flexor tendon sheaths of clinically normal horses were investigated. Tendon sheath fluid was pale yellow, clear, and did not clot. Volume of fluid within a tendon sheath varied minimally, with a mean of 2.11 ml. Total erythrocyte counts were higher than values observed in normal equine joint fluid, whereas values for total leukocyte count (770 +/- 73 cells/mm3), viscosity (6.05 +/- 0.58 cs), and protein concentration (7.87 +/- 0.03 mg/ml) were similar to those in joint fluid. Large mononuclear cells were the predominant synovial fluid cell type. Mean hyaluronic acid concentration (0.74 +/- 0.02 mg/ml) and mucinous precipitate quality were lower than values in joint fluid.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to determine whether Pasteurella haemolytica capsular extract (CE) damages bovine pulmonary endothelial cells (EC) directly or through neutrophil-mediated mechanisms. Chromium 51-labeled EC were treated with the following variables: CE (1, 10, and 100 ng of protein/ml), CE and bovine neutrophils (10(6) cells/well), and CE and polymyxin B (500 U/ml). Although only minimal damage to EC occurred by 5 hours after treatment, by 22 hours after treatment, the 10-ng and 100-ng CE dose produced severe damage to EC, as indicated by 51Cr release, cellular detachment, and loss of monolayer confluency. The component in the CE that was toxic to the EC was lipopolysaccharide, evidenced by effective neutralization of the toxic effect with polymyxin B. Neutrophils inhibited the CE-mediated EC toxicity and were activated, as indicated by shape change and adhesion to EC monolayers. We concluded that the lipopolysaccharide component of CE causes direct damage to EC, which can be attenuated by neutrophils and polymyxin B.

Ceruloplasmin (Cp) was isolated from fresh equine plasma by precipitation, cellulose chromatography, and improved ion-exchange chromatography. Purified equine Cp is a glycoprotein having a molecular weight of approximately 115,000. In electrophoresis, equine Cp migrated to the alpha 1-globulin region, its isoelectric point was about 4.15 and consisted of about 890 amino acid residues. Serum Cp concentration was measured by use of the single radial immunodiffusion method. In clinically normal horses, the mean (+/- SD) serum Cp concentration of newborn foals was 2.87 +/- 0.40 mg/ml and that of 3-month-old foals was 5.02 +/- 0.92 mg/ml, which was similar to the adult value. It reached a peak of 6.06 +/- 0.74 mg/ml in 2-year-old horses. The Cp concentration in mares was not statistically different for the perinatal period, but it decreased immediately before and after delivery. Concentration of Cp increased at 6 days after IM administration of turpentine oil, castration, or jejunojejunostomy in adult horses, and increased to peak values twice as high as baseline values at 7 to 14 days, returning to baseline values at 28 days after treatment. We concluded that equine serum Cp is an acute-phase reactive protein increased in the intermediary or later phase of acute inflammation.