Canine parvovirus (CPV) is a major diarrhea-causing agent in puppies. Since CPV type 2 (CPV-2) emerged in 1978, new antigenic variants including CPV-2a, CPV-2b, and CPV-2c have been identified in many countries. Two puppies died suddenly at a veterinary clinic in Gyeonggi province, South Korea. Two viruses were isolated in A72 cells, confirmed as CPV strains based on a CPV rapid kit and an indirect fluorescence test and designated QIACP1403 and QIACP1404. The nucleotide sequences of complete VP2 genes of QIACP1403 and QIACP1404 were determined, and the corresponding amino acid sequences were deduced. Molecular analyses revealed that the QIACP1403 and QIACP1404 isolates were type CPV-2b. Several mutated amino acids were detected on VP2 gene residues of the two isolates. Phylogenetic analyses showed that the two isolates were most closely related to strain CPV-BM11, which was isolated from Chinese dogs in 2011. Our results suggest that these isolates may be a candidate for a vaccine to prevent CPV infection in dogs after conducting passages of the isolates in an in vitro culture system.

Ciliary rootlet coiled coil protein (CROCC), the structural component that originates from the basal body at the proximal end of the ciliary rootlet, plays a crucial role in maintaining the cellular integrity of ciliated cells. In the current study, we cloned Xenopus CROCC and performed the expression analysis. The amino acid sequence of Xenopus laevis was related to those of Drosophila, cow, goat, horse, chicken, mouse and human. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that CROCC mRNA encoding a coiled coil protein was present maternally, as well as throughout early development. In situ hybridization indicated that CROCC mRNA occurred in the animal pole of embryo during gastrulation and subsequently in the presumptive neuroectoderm at the end of gastrulation. At tailbud stages, CROCC mRNA expression was localized in the anterior roof plate of the developing brain, pharyngeal epithelium connected to gills, esophagus, olfactory placode, intestine and nephrostomes of the pronephric kidney. Our study suggests that CROCC may be responsible for control of the development of various ciliated organs.

4 , 4 - diaminodiphenyl sulfone (dapsone) is a sulfone drug that has antibacterial effects on a variety of bacteria, especially Mycobacterium leprae ; thus, it has been used to treat leprosy. Previous studies demonstrated that dapsone inhibits integrin-mediated adherence of neutrophils and production of prostaglandin E2 by polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Hence, dapsone may act in immune cells and regulate cell-mediated inflammation processes. However, its antiinflammatory effects remain unclear. The present study demonstrated that dapsone modulates the production of inflammation-related cytokines in immune cells. We employed the spleen cells of mice, which are major immune cells, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a causative agent of inflammation for experiments. Dapsone induced a proportional change in splenocyte subsets and the apoptosis of spleen cells. Interestingly, dapsone decreased the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin (IL)-10, but not IL-6, in LPS-treated spleen cells. In other assays, we measured the dapsone-induced production of nitric oxide (NO) and the expression of activation markers of spleen cells. Dapsone decreased NO production in LPS-treated spleen cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate that dapsone has antiinflammatory effects in immune cells and provide new insight into the potential uses of this agent.

Ten dogs were enrolled in this study: two healthy dogs, two obese dogs without other medical issues and six obese dogs with underlying diseases including pemphigus, chronic active hepatitis, hyperadrenocorticism, narcolepsy, otitis media and heartworm infection. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to explore the gut bacterial diversity revealed that distal gut bacterial communities of samples from patients with pemphigus, otitis media and narcolepsy consisted primarily of Firmicutes, while the major phylum of the distal gut bacterial communities in patients with chronic active hepatitis and hyperadrenocorticism was Fusobacteria. Proteobacteria were the dominant phylum in heartworm infected obese patients.

This study evaluated the effects of alfaxalone (3 mg/kg, intravenously) on echocardiographic examination in healthy dogs using echocardiography. Six adult Beagle dogs were used for this study. Left ventricular dimensions with systolic indexes, trans - blood flow at all cardiac valvular annulus and trans - mitral tissue Doppler values were measured from routine transthoracic echocardiography. Although the changes were not statistically significant, heart rate, left ventricular end - systolic diameter, left ventricular end - diastolic diameter, peak velocities of tricuspid A - wave and transpulmonic flow were increased after alfaxalone induction, while systolic blood pressure, fractional shortening, left ventricular ejection fraction, peak velocities of mitral E - wave, mitral A wave, tricuspid E - wave, transaortic flow and medial e - , a - and s - peaks decreased after alfaxalone induction. No dogs showed hypoxemia during sedation, regardless of intubation and oxygen supply. Although alfaxalone showed mild cardiovascular depression, this protocol could be a good alternative sedative protocol for echocardiographic examination in healthy dogs because the cardiovascular depression was statistically and clinically insignificant. However, further studies in dogs with heart diseases should be conducted to confirm these findings after alfaxalone induction.

Although the effects of the rice bran have recently been investigated, there is no information regarding platelet physiology available. However, it is well known that fermented natural plants have a beneficial effect on cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate whether fermented rice bran extract (FRBE) with several plants (Artemisia princeps, Angelica Gigantis Radix, Cnidium officinale, and Camellia sinensis) affected agonist - induced platelet aggregation, and if so, what the underlying mechanism of its activity was. We performed several experiments, including in vitro platelet aggregation, intracellular calcium concentration and adenosine triphosphate release. In addition, the activation of integrin alpha IIb beta3 was determined using fibrinogen binding. Thrombus formation was also evaluated in vivo using an arterio-venous shunt model. The FRBE inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation in a concentrationdependent manner. FRBE significantly and dose dependently attenuated thrombus formation using rat arterio-venous shunt. FRBE suppressed the intracellular calcium mobilization in collagen-stimulated platelets. We also found that FRBE inhibited extracellular stimuli-responsive kinase 1/2, p38-mitogen - activated protein kinases and c-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation. These results suggested that FRBE inhibited collagen-induced platelet aggregation, which was mediated by modulation of downstream signaling molecules. In conclusion, FRBE could be developed as a functional food against aberrant platelet activation-related cardiovascular diseases.

A 13-year-old, spayed, female Chihuahua dog was referred for evaluation of fever, lethargy, and dyspnea. Hematologic evaluation revealed severe neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and mild anemia. The dog had been undergoing phenobarbital therapy for the past 7 weeks because of generalized seizures due to meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown etiology. After ruling out other possible causes of cytopenias, a tentative diagnosis was made of drug-induced blood cell dyscrasia. The neutropenia and thrombocytopenia resolved after discontinuation of phenobarbital (8 days and 15 days after discontinuation, respectively). This is the first case report in Korea to demonstrate blood dyscrasia associated with idiosyncratic adverse effects of phenobarbital.

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of propofol on the minimum alveolar concentration of sevoflurane needed to prevent motor movement (MACNM) in dogs subjected to a noxious stimulus using randomized crossover design. Six, healthy, adult beagles (9.2 ± 1.3 kg) were used. Dogs were anesthetized with sevoflurane on 3 occasions, at weekly intervals, and baseline MACNM (MACNM-B) was determined on each occasion. Propofol treatments were administered as loading dose (LD) and constant rate infusion (CRI) as follows: Treatment 1 (T1) was 2 mg/kg body weight (BW) and 4.5 mg/kg BW per hour; T2 was 4 mg/kg BW and 9 mg/kg BW per hour; T3 was 8 mg/kg BW and 18 mg/kg BW per hour, respectively. Treatment MACNM (MACNM-T) determination was initiated 60 min after the start of the CRI. Two venous blood samples were collected and combined at each MACNM-T determination for measurement of blood propofol concentration using high-performance liquid chromatography method (HPLC). Data were analyzed using a mixed-model ANOVA and are presented as least square means (LSM) ± standard error of means (SEM). Propofol infusions in the range of 4.5 to 18 mg/kg BW per hour resulted in mean blood concentrations between 1.3 and 4.4 μg/mL, and decreased (P < 0.05) sevoflurane MACNM in a concentration-dependent manner. The percentage decrease in MACNM was 20.5%, 43.0%, and 68.3%, with corresponding blood propofol concentrations of 1.3 ± 0.3 μg/mL, 2.5 ± 0.3 μg/mL, and 4.4 ± 0.3 μg/mL, for T1, T2, and T3, respectively. Venous blood propofol concentrations were strongly correlated (r = 0.855, P < 0.0001) with the decrease in MACNM. In dogs, propofol decreased the sevoflurane MACNM in a concentration-dependent manner.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) has tremendous impact on the pork industry in North America. The molecular diagnosis of infection with PRRS virus (PRRSV) is hampered by its considerable strain diversity. In this study, 43 previously published or newly developed primers for probe-free real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were evaluated on their sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, and repeatability, using a diverse panel of 36 PRRSV strains as well as other arteriviruses and unrelated porcine viruses. Three primer pairs had excellent diagnostic and analytical sensitivity on par with a probe-based reference assay, absolute specificity to virus genotype and species, as well as over 95% reproducibility and repeatability across a wide dynamic range.

Mannheimia haemolytica is an important cause of pneumonia in feedlot cattle. Nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a redox-sensitive transcription factor responsible for the induction of antioxidant enzymes, such as heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), within the lung. The expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 was immunohistochemically evaluated in 4 calves 24 h after experimental infection with M. haemolytica. Calves receiving normal saline served as controls. In the infected lungs, cytoplasmic Nrf2 expression was high in macrophages and bronchioles and low in alveolar epithelium, whereas nuclear expression was high in endothelial cells, macrophages, and bronchioles and lowest in alveolar epithelium. Normal lung samples displayed only faint Nrf2 cytoplasmic staining within bronchiolar epithelium. Expression of HO-1 was detected within the cytoplasm of macrophages and bronchiolar epithelial cells in all infected lung samples, whereas normal lungs displayed only weak cytoplasmic staining in bronchiolar epithelial cells. These findings suggest that bronchiolar epithelial cells and macrophages up-regulate Nrf2 expression early in the course of infection, which results in increased expression of HO-1 within these cells.