In an attempt to establish if cross protection can be induced by different strains of Haemophilus parasuis, three groups of 12 gnotobiotic pigs were immunized each with an aluminum hydroxide adsorbed whole cell bacterin of one of three H. parasuis strains. Two weeks later, four pigs within each vaccinated group were challenged with aerosols of live cultures of each of the three test strains and observed for response. Two virulent strains V1 and V2 protected all the vaccinated pigs, while all non-vaccinated controls succumbed to Glasser's disease when challenged with these strains. Vaccination with strain LV (of low virulence) protected the pigs against challenge with strain V2, but not against strain V1. Strain LV did not cause disease in the immunized animals and only in one of ten nonimmunized pigs upon second challenge. The results suggest that strains may differ in antigenicity and that virulence and immunoprotection are positively related. Strains to be used in commercial vaccines should therefore be selected carefully. Antibodies detected in the sera of vaccinated pigs were to outer membrane proteins of the bacteria, but not to lipopolysaccharides or capsular polysaccharides. This would suggest that for gnotobiotic pigs outer membrane proteins are more immunogenic than lipopolysaccharide or capsular antigens. Further work is needed to determine if outer membrane proteins also contribute protective immunogens.

Thirty-seven local isolates of Actinobacillus suis-like organisms from diseased and clinically normal horses and 1 Ilama were compared with reference strains of A suis, A lignieresii, A equuli, A capsulatus, A hominis, A (Pasteurella) ureae, and equine A suis-like organisms (ASLO) previously described in literature. Comparison was by cultural characteristics, carbohydrate fermentation, enzyme profiles, and whole-cell protein polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Carbohydrate fermentation, determined by API-CH gallery, divided 36 equine ASLO isolates into 6 API-CH biotypes. The Ilama isolate was an additional distinct biotype. The biochemical comparisons between A suis and ASLO did not reveal remarkable and consistent differences. Enzyme analysis revealed 5 API-ZYM biotypes, one of which included the same strains as one of the API-CH biotypes and consisted in both instances of 4 esculin-negative ASLO cultures and the reference strain of A lignieresii. We conclude that the 4 strains were hemolytic variants of A lignieresii. Protein electrophoresis disclosed 15 banding patterns, 10 of which represented equine ASLO strains. The reference strains of A suis shared the pattern predominant among equine ASLO. Four of the remaining reference strains of Actinobacillus species each had a unique profile, whereas the type strain of A capsulatus and the Ilama isolate had similar profiles. The groupings of cultures resulting from the different testing methods had little relation to each other and to the anatomic source of the strains except the strains comprising API-CH biotype III, which originated in the equine respiratory tract, and the A lignieressi cluster.

A double-blind randomized clinical trial was undertaken to determine the value of parenterally administered Streptococcus equi M-protein vaccine in foals during an epizootic of strangles. Weaned mixed-breed foals (n = 664) housed on 2 adjacent feed-lots (A and B) arrived over a 5-day period, 2 weeks before primary vaccination. Foals in lot B (n = 114) were randomly administered vaccine (n = 59) or saline solution (placebo; n = 55) on 3 occasions at biweekly intervals. Foals in lot A (n = 450) were given 1 dose of vaccine (n = 225) or placebo. The following clinical observations were scored blindly by a single observer for all foals in lot B and for 120 (randomly sampled) foals in lot A on a single day, 2 (lot B) and 6 (lot A) weeks after final vaccination: cervical lymphadenopathy, type of bilateral nasal discharge, and palpable swelling at injection site(s). Bacteriologic culture of nasal swab specimens or lymph node aspirates from selected foals with clinical disease yielded S equi. Cervical lymphadenopathy was observed in 17 of 59 (29%) vaccinates and 39 of 55 (71%) nonvaccinated controls in lot B and in 32 of 60 (53%) vaccinates and 29 of 60 (48%) controls in lot A. Contingency X2 analysis confirmed significantly lower cervical lymphadenopathy rate (X2 = 18.5; P < 0.001) and prevalence of mucopurulent nasal discharge (X2 = 11.4; P < 0.01) for vaccinates in lot B only. Swelling(s) at the vaccine injection site were palpated in 44% of lot B and 29% of lot A vaccinates vs < 2% of placebo controls. In the face of intense natural exposure, foals inoculated 3 times with M-protein vaccine were less than half as likely to have clinical signs of strangles as were nonvaccinated horses.

Whole-cell lysates and proteinase K-extracted lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of 19 strains of the group eugonic fermenter-4 (EF-4) were analyzed by electrophoresis and protein immunoblotting. These strains were isolated from dog- and cat-bite abscesses in human beings, ferret and human gastric lesions, and cat-lung infections. These strains represent 2 biovar groupings; EF-4a biovars ferment glucose and possess arginine dihydrolase activity, whereas EF-4b biovars do not. Electrophoresis of whole-cell lysates could distinguish between these biovars groups. Electrophoresis of LPS extracts revealed that all strains of EF-4 possess smooth chemotypes. Two strains of EF-4a reacted weakly in protein immunoblots and revealed distinct LPS profiles. These studies suggests that subgroups of EF-4 biovars may exist.

Plasma concentrations of porcine growth hormone (PGH) were similar in healthy pigs and those with atrophic rhinitis (AR), therefore, observed reduced growth rates and feed efficiency in naturally infected pigs with AR were not attributed to low concentrations of plasma PGH. Also, pituitary glands in both groups of pigs were responsive to growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) challenge by increasing PGH secretion. Administration of clonidine hydrochloride to pigs naturally infected with AR failed to elicit any significant change (5.3 +/- 1.4 ng/ml) in the plasma concentration of PGH within a 45-minute bleeding interval. The pretreatment concentrations of PGH were similar in specific-pathogen-free toxin-treated and specific-pathogen-free control groups, but they increased significantly in toxin-treated pigs (20.7 +/- 8.2 ng/ml) within 15 minutes after GHRH injection. Porcine growth hormone release in toxin-treated pigs was variable; however, all pigs did not respond to GHRH administration: 3 responded with an increase in PGH release (35.6 +/- 10.6 ng/ml), 2 did not respond (6.7 +/- 0.5 ng/ml), and 1 had a decrease in PGH release (3.9 ng/ml). Therefore, the observed reduced growth rates reported in the literature may be attributed to factors at the target level of PGH action, such as insufficient or down-regulation of PGH receptors, changes or impaired ability in the PGH receptor-binding characteristics, and inability of PGH receptor complex to transduce signal. Toxins are known to modulate signal transduction pathways. It has been speculated that serotype-D Pasteurella multocida toxin may influence growth by its effect on signal transduction from PGH receptor complex on the cell membrane to the interior of the cell. This would account for the presence of high concentrations of PGH in the plasma and a functionally competent hypophysis cerebri, which responded to GHRH injection that have retarded growth in pigs affected with AR.

We determined that the protein profiles of 14 isolates from animals with hemorrhagic septicemia were relatively homogeneous and could be placed in 2 distinct groups on the basis of their country of origin. Such differences correlated with the serotypic properties of the individual isolates; hemorrhagic septicemia isolates of Asian and North American origin (Carter B) had a major protein band with an apparent molecular mass of 32 kDa, whereas those of African origins (Carter E) had a major protein band with an apparent molecular mass of 37 kDa. The possession of a major 32-kDa protein band appeared to be unique to Carter B isolates, suggesting that electrophoresis may be a useful nonserologic technique for the identification of organisms of this serotype. Other major bands with apparent molecular masses of 27, 45, and 47 kDa were shared by all strains, regardless of their serotype. The lipopolysaccharides were of low molecular mass and relatively uniform from 1 isolate to the next.