ABSTRACT Using protein AG in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), we tried to detect antibodies against parapoxvirus in 9 species of wild animals in Japan: the Japanese badger ( Meles meles anakuma ), Japanese black bear ( Ursus thibetanus japonicus ), Japanese deer ( Cervus nippon centralis ), Japanese monkey ( Macaca fuscata ), Japanese raccoon dog ( Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus ), Japanese serow ( Capricornis crispus ), Japanese wild boar ( Sus scrofa leucomystax ), masked palm civet ( Paguma larvata ), and nutria ( Myocastor coypus ). A total of 272 serum samples were collected over the period from 1984 to 1995 and were tested by the protein AG-ELISA, the agar gel immunodiffusion test, and an indirect immunofluorescence assay. The protein AG-ELISA was effective in a serological survey for parapoxvirus in wild animals, and antibodies were detected only in Japanese serows. A total of 24 of 66 (36.4%) Japanese serows reacted positively, and they were found in almost all prefectures in all years tested. These results suggest that epizootic cycles of parapoxvirus exist widely in Japanese serows and that they could be reservoirs for the virus in the field in Japan. Moreover, it is probable that they might carry the virus to domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats.
ABSTRACT We have developed a system in which a foreign antigen is delivered and expressed on the surface of an attenuated strain of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae YS-1 and have examined the ability of a such recombinant E. rhusiopathiae strain to function as a mucosal vaccine vector. The C-terminal portion, including two repeat regions, R1 and R2, of the P97 adhesin of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae strain E-1 was successfully translocated and expressed on the E. rhusiopathiae YS-1 cell surface after it was fused to SpaA.1, a cell surface protective antigen of E. rhusiopathiae. BALB/c mice subcutaneously immunized with the E. rhusiopathiae recombinant strains developed specific antibodies against SpaA.1 protein and were protected from lethal challenge with the highly virulent homologous E. rhusiopathiae Fujisawa-SmR strain, showing the efficacy of this heterologous-antigen expression system as a vaccine against E. rhusiopathiae infection. To determine whether protective immune responses are induced in target species, newborn, specific-pathogen-free piglets were immunized intranasally with a recombinant strain designated YS-19. The immunized piglets developed specific anti-SpaA.1 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in their serum and were protected from death by erysipelas, showing that mucosal vaccination of piglets with YS-19 induces systemic immune responses. Furthermore, YS-19-immunized piglets showed higher levels of P97-specific IgA antibodies in the respiratory tract than did YS-1-immunized piglets. Thus, E. rhusiopathiae YS-1 appears to be a promising vaccine vector for mucosal delivery that can induce local and systemic immune responses.
We investigated the effect of overexpression of protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) on insulin signaling in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Overexpression of a wild-type PTP1B in L1 adipocytes as well as in L6 myocytes, led to a profound decrease in insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of MAPK. Even though the decrease in insulin receptor substrate protein-1 (IRS-1) phosphorylation was identical with that seen in L6 myocytes, overexpression of wild-type PTP1B in L1 adipocytes was associated with modest impairment of insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation in addition to a small, but significant, attenuation in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake, when compared with a phosphatase-negative mutant. Regarding the relatively small effect on Akt phosphorylation, we obtained identical results in rat 1 fibroblasts overexpressing human insulin receptor, suggesting that the higher expression levels of insulin receptor and IRS-1 might be responsible. With regard to the large effect on MAPK phosphorylation, we found that PTP1B overexpression led to the impaired phosphorylation of both IRS-1 and Shc, resulting in a decrease in their association with Grb2. Furthermore, phosphorylation of Shc stimulated by platelet-derived growth factor was also attenuated, without any change in its receptors, suggesting that PTP1B directly regulates Shc phosphorylation. These data demonstrate that PTP1B negatively regulates insulin signaling in the MAPK cascade to a much greater extent than the Akt pathway in some cell lines, especially in L1 adipocytes.
Abstract Stem cell factor (SCF), which is well known as a cytokine capable of amplifying development and functions of mast cells, is mainly released from fibroblasts in the peripheral tissue. To investigate whether SCF controlled chemotactic migration of mast cells induced by IgE-specific Ag, murine bone marrow-derived cultured mast cells (BMCMC) and human cord blood-derived cultured mast cells (HuCMC) were preincubated with SCF. Although BMCMC and HuCMC sensitized with IgE directly moved toward specific Ag, preincubation for even 1 h with an optimal dose of SCF suppressed the IgE-mediated chemotactic movement. No or little inhibitory effect of SCF was detected in BMCMC derived from c-kit receptor-defect WBB6F1-W/Wv mice. In contrast, preincubation of BMCMC and HuCMC with SCF enhanced β-hexosaminidase release and Ca2+ mobilization in response to Ag after sensitization with IgE. Using the real-time record of chemotactic migration, BMCMC preincubated with SCF manifested motionless without degranulation. These results suggest that locally produced SCF may have an inhibitory effect on chemotaxis of mast cells, contributing to their accumulation and enhancement of functions at the peripheral site in allergic and nonallergic conditions.
"Percoll-Conray" density gradient centrifugation was applied to separate Theileria sergenti-parasitized erythrocytes obtained from three T. sergenti-infected splenectomized calves. Administration of dexamethasone was effective in increasing the number of parasitized erythrocytes in T. sergenti infected calves, and the mean parasitemia reached 39.9% within 22 days after commencement of dexamethasone treatment. A significant increase in the number of parasitized cells was observed in the low dense fraction following the density gradient centrifugation and reached an average of 2.1 times (maximum percentage of parasitized cells: 64.8%) the pre-centrifuged number of the parasitized cells.
