Monoclonal antibodies and microfluorimetry were used to determine the absolute number of B and T lymphocytes in the blood of bovine leukemia virus (BLV)-infected cows. The blood lymphocyte populations from BLV-infected cows were significantly higher than those from BLV-negative cows. The increase in the lymphocyte population in 3 BLV-infected nonlymphocytotic cows was attributed to a significant increase in the number of T lymphocytes; in 3 BLV-infected persistently lymphocytotic cows, the increase was attributed to a significant increase in the number of B and T lymphocytes. One persistently lymphocytotic cow had a high lymphocyte count, and lymphocytes from this cow contained cells that appeared to stain with markers specific for bovine B and T lymphocytes. We concluded that infection of cattle with the B-cell lymphotropic retrovirus, BLV, not only affected B cells, but also T cells.

Ground reaction forces were measured from the hind limbs of 9 dogs before and after stabilization of unilateral cranial cruciate ligament rupture. Before surgery, peak vertical force, associated impulses, and weight distribution were significantly less (multivariate analysis P less than 0.02) in the affected limb, compared with the clinically normal limb. Craniocaudal peak forces and impulses, divided into braking and propulsion, also were significantly less in the affected limb. At a minimum of 7 months after retinacular imbrication, all vertical and craniocaudal measurements in the affected limb were increased significantly. Significant changes were not found in the normal limb. Furthermore, at the postoperative evaluation, there was no significant difference in any measurement between the affected and normal hind limbs. The results indicated restoration of function in the cruciate-deficient limb when compared with the clinically normal hind limb at a walking gait during the study time period.

Serologic virus neutralization tests, indirect immunofluorescence tests, and ELISA, using tissue culture-adapted feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) or feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) were compared for their ability to distinguish specific virus exposure in cats. Sera of specific-pathogen-free cats inoculated with virulent or modified FIPV or FECV were used to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the homologous assays to a heterologous assay that measures antibody reactivity with transmissible gastroenteritis virus of swine. The geometric means of the serologic titers in FIPV and FECV assays were higher for FIPV- or FECV-infected specific-pathogen-free cats than the geometric means of the transmissible gastroente ritis virus assays for most groups. None of the assays was specific enough to discern the virus to which a cat had been exposed. However, the FIPV virus neutralization test appeared to be more sensitive for detection of an early response to FIPV infection than did the FIPV immunofluorescence test or FIPV-ELISA.

We attempted to determine whether weaning is required for induction of diarrhea in pigs with postweaning enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection. Three-week-old newly weaned pigs and their suckling littermates were inoculated with the K88+ enterotoxigenic E coli strain M1823B. Fourteen of 21 weaned and 12 of 20 suckling pigs were genetically resistant to intestinal adhesion by the K88+ strain of E coli; they remained healthy, and gained weight at similar rates. Both groups of K88-resistant pigs gained weight faster, and shed fewer bacteria of strain M1823B in their feces, than did their K88-susceptible counterparts. Diarrhea developed in K88-susceptible pigs in the weaned (6 of 7 pigs) and suckling (4 of 8 pigs) groups, and 1 of the 4 affected suckling pigs died from complications resulting from diarrhea. The incidences of diarrhea, weight gain rates, and the numbers of strain M1823B shed in feces of susceptible weaned and suckling pigs were not significantly (P > 0.05) different. Diarrhea scores of susceptible weaned pigs were significantly (P < 0.02) higher than those of susceptible suckling pigs on the second day after inoculation. In this experimental model, it was concluded that weaning is not required for induction of diarrhea, but may modestly increase its severity.

Tissue drug residue research often involves the killing of an animal every time tissue concentrations are determined. To decrease the number of animals required to perform tissue depletion studies and to circumvent the statistical problems associated with determining tissue depletion kinetic properties, using multiple animals, the renal depletion profile of gentamicin from individual sheep was studied, using a bilateral renal translocation technique. Seven ewes were surgically altered, allowed to stabilize, and then allocated into 2 groups; groups-1 sheep (n = 4) were given 3 mg of gentamicin/kg, IM, q 12 h for 10 days, and group-2 sheep (n = 3) were not given gentamicin. The kidneys from all ewes were biopsied 9 times over 74 days after the termination of gentamicin treatment. The renal concentrations of gentamicin were measured by use of a validated tissue digestion procedure coupled with a liquid-phase fluorescence polarization immunoassay. On days 75 and 77 after the end of gentamicin treatment, all ewes were euthanatized and necropsied. The concentrations of gentamicin in the biopsy specimens ranged from 71.9 to 183 microgram/g on days 1 and 2 after dosing, and decreased to concentrations ranging from 3.99 to 7.35 microgram/g on days 73 and 74 after the end of dosing. The decrease in renal gentamicin concentrations was best described by a biexponential equation, The early phase half-life was 2.8 days, whereas the terminal phase half-life was 59 days (harmonic means). There was no difference in the appearance or histologic features of the kidneys from groups 1 and 2. The only lesions noticed were linear fibroses that were attributed to the biopsy procedure.

A study was undertaken to determine the pressor and toxic effects of etoposide, an antineoplastic agent, when administered IV in 0.9% sodium chloride solution (0.4 mg of etoposide/ml) over a 30-minute period to dogs at a dosage of 40 mg/m2 of body surface. On day 1, 6 adult German Shorthaired Pointers were anesthetized with halothane, and blood pressures were measured via a femoral artery catheter before, during, and after the etoposide was administered. Systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressures of each dog increased significantly (P less than 0.01) within 30 minutes after initiation of etoposide infusion. On day 3, when the dogs were not anesthetized, etoposide was again administered to each dog, using the same dosage. Each dog developed a moderate to severe cutaneous reaction characterized by moderate to severe pruritus, urticaria, and swelling of the head and extremities that began during the second infusion of etoposide. These same cutaneous reactions were seen on day 30, when etoposide was administered to 3 of the previously treated dogs and 2 previously untreated Beagles. We concluded that the administration of the commercial preparation of etoposide is likely to cause a significant reduction in blood pressure of anesthetized dogs, and that the drug is likely to induce a moderate to severe cutaneous reaction when administered to unanesthetized dogs.

In vitro effects of a mixture of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxins (STa and STb) on isolated jejunum of 3-week-old male pigs were studied, using everted intestinal sac techniques. Heat-stable enterotoxins increased chloride secretion and chloride absorption in everted intestinal sacs. The increase of secretory flux was greater than that for absorptive flux. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (6 x 10-9M) increased chloride secretion, but had no effect on chloride absorption. Neither vasoactive intestinal peptide nor pilocarpine (10-5M) had additive effect to ST. Secretory effects of ST were not blocked by atropine 2 x 10-5M), clonidine (10-6M), or morphine (4.2 X 10-6M).

The concentrations of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) in CSF obtained from the cisterna magna of 21 nonneurologically compromised dogs were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection. A rapid method of sample preparation, which involved single filtration through a deproteinizing membrane, was used. Canine CSF obtained in this manner contained 5.78 +/- 0.78 ng of DOPAC/ml, 72.19 +/- 4.09 ng of HVA/ml, and 29.95 +/- 1.67 ng of 5-HIAA/ml. Linear regression analysis between HVA and 5-HIAA yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.4804. The neurotransmitter index, HVA/5-HIAA, was found to be more indicative of the dopaminergic metabolite HVA than the acid metabolite of serotonin, 5-HIAA (correlation coefficient with HVA = 0.5529 vs a correlation coefficient with 5-HIAA = -0.4462). A poor relationship (correlation coefficient = -0.1715) was found to exist between the 2 dopaminergic metabolites DOPAC and HVA in the CSF.

Clinical signs of respiratory tract disease were observed in chickens that were inoculated intratracheally with 1 x 10(6) oocysts of Cryptosporidium baileyi at 2 or 14 days of age (10 chickens/group), but not in chickens inoculated at 28 or 42 days of age (10 chickens/group). Orally inoculated chickens in all age groups (10 chickens/group) did not develop clinical signs of disease. Orally and intratracheally inoculated chickens in all age groups were infected, as determined by the finding of cryptosporidia in tissue sections of the trachea, bursa of Fabricius, and cloaca, and by the recovery of oocysts from their feces. Chickens inoculated at 2 and 14 days of age excreted oocysts for a longer period and had greater numbers of cryptosporidia in their tissues, compared with chickens inoculated at 28 and 42 days of age.

First-litter commerical cross-bred gilts were treated with levamisole (1.5, 2.5, or 3.5 mg/kg of body weight) weekly during the last 4 weeks of gestation, because similar treatment of dairy heifers had improved postpartum maternal health and neonatal survival. In the gilts, differences in reproductive performance were not found on the basis of pig survival at birth, pig survival at weaning, birth weight, or weaning weight. Also differences between treated and control gilts were not found in response of circulating lymphocytes to mitogen stimulation (phytohemagglutinin A, concanavalin A, and pokeweed mitogen). In all gilts, the lymphocyte response to mitogen stimulation was decreased during the first week after farrowing.