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Poultry Science May 2024The H4 subtype of avian influenza virus (AIV) exhibits a wide host range and is commonly found in migratory waterfowl. Recent studies have revealed that the H4N6 AIV can... (Review)
Review
The H4 subtype of avian influenza virus (AIV) exhibits a wide host range and is commonly found in migratory waterfowl. Recent studies have revealed that the H4N6 AIV can infect guinea pigs via aerosol transmission without prior adaptation. Additionally, the Q226L/G228S substitutions in the receptor-binding site have led to structural changes in globular head of H4 AIV, resulting in a configuration similar to that of pandemic H2N2 and H3N2 human influenza viruses. This article provides an updated review of the historical evolution, global distribution, adaptive mutations, receptor-binding preferences, and host range of H4 AIV. The insights presented herein will help in assessing the potential risk of future H4 AIV epidemics.
PubMed: 38914042
DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.103913 -
Parasite (Paris, France) 2024Wild rodents are key carriers of various human pathogens, including Blastocystis spp. Our study aimed to assess the prevalence and genetic characteristics of...
Molecular investigation of Blastocystis sp. infections in wild rodents from the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and Liaoning province, China: High prevalence and dominance of ST4.
Wild rodents are key carriers of various human pathogens, including Blastocystis spp. Our study aimed to assess the prevalence and genetic characteristics of Blastocystis among wild rodents in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and Liaoning Province of China. From November 2023 to February 2024, 486 rodents were captured in these regions. Fresh feces were collected from the intestines of each rodent for the isolation of DNA and PCR amplification of the vertebrate cytochrome b (cytb) gene to identify rodent species. Subsequently, PCR analysis and sequencing of the partial small subunit of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene were utilized to detect Blastocystis in all fecal samples. Of the total samples, 27.4% (133/486) were found to be Blastocystis positive. The results revealed the presence of four species of rodents infected with Blastocystis, 32.3% (63/195) in Rattus norvegicus, 15.1% (16/106) in Mus musculus, 20.2% (18/89) in Apodemus agrarius, and 37.5% (36/96) in Cricetulus barabensis. Sequence analysis confirmed the existence of five Blastocystis subtypes: ST1 (n = 4), ST2 (n = 2), the ST4 (n = 125, the dominant subtype), ST10 (n = 1), and a novel ST (n = 1). The identified zoonotic subtypes (ST1, ST2, ST4, and ST10) highlight the possible role played by wild rodents in the transmission of Blastocystis to humans, thereby elevating the chances of human infection. Meanwhile, the discovery of novel sequences also provides new insights into the genetic diversity of this parasite.
Topics: Animals; Blastocystis; Blastocystis Infections; China; Prevalence; Feces; Rodent Diseases; Rats; Mice; Rodentia; Animals, Wild; Cytochromes b; Phylogeny; DNA, Protozoan; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Murinae
PubMed: 38912917
DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2024031 -
Microbiology Spectrum Jun 2024an emerging fungal pathogen, predominately colonizes human skin leading to serious invasive infections in humans. Though it is assumed that skin colonization can lead...
UNLABELLED
an emerging fungal pathogen, predominately colonizes human skin leading to serious invasive infections in humans. Though it is assumed that skin colonization can lead to invasive infection, dissemination potential of from skin to internal organs is still unknown. In this study, immunocompetent and immunocompromised mouse models of intradermal skin infection were used to compare the dissemination potential of to internal organs. Our results suggest that persists in the skin tissue of both immunocompetent and immunocompromised infected mice even at 30 days post-infection. Furthermore, can readily disseminate from skin tissue to internal organs such as the spleen and kidney as early as 24 h post-infection and was detected until 30 days post-infection. Taken together, our findings for the first time indicate that murine skin intradermally infected with can readily disseminate to internal organs and cause invasive infections.
IMPORTANCE
is a multi-drug-resistant emerging fungal pathogen colonizes the human skin and causes life-threatening infections. However, whether can disseminate from the skin to internal organs is unclear. Understanding the dissemination potential of in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts is necessary to monitor susceptible individuals and to develop novel approaches to prevent and treat this emerging fungal pathogen. Using mouse models of intradermal skin infection, our findings report a novel observation that mice skin intradermally infected with can readily disseminate to internal organs leading to systemic disease. These findings help explain the colonization, persistence, and dissemination potential of in immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts and reveal that skin infection is a potential source of invasive infection.
PubMed: 38912805
DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00127-24 -
Heliyon Jun 2024In this study, we investigated the effects of genotype and Phytolacca dodecandra (Endod) supplementation on the growth, carcass traits, blood profiles, and breast meat...
In this study, we investigated the effects of genotype and Phytolacca dodecandra (Endod) supplementation on the growth, carcass traits, blood profiles, and breast meat quality of chickens. The study lasted for 18 weeks and involved 360 unsexed day-old chicks divided into nine groups with 40 chicks each, replicated four times with 10 chicks per replication. The genotypes studied were Naked-neck * Tetra H, Normal-feathered * Tetra H, crosses and Tetra H * Tetra H, while the diets included a standard commercial ration (C), Phytolacca dodecandra (Endod) at 1 g/kg (C+1), and Phytolacca dodecandra (Endod) at 2 g/kg (C+2). Results showed that both diet and genotype influenced growth performance indicators like final body weight, body weight change, average daily gain, and feed conversion ratio, particularly during the grower and entire phases. When compared to the control diet, the Phytolacca dodecandra (Endod) chicks supplemented at 1 g/kg showed better performances. The genotypes also affected dressing percentage, breast, thigh, keel bone, and gizzard components, with higher values found in the Naked-neck by Tetra H cross. The supplemented chicken group exhibited an improvement in the dressing percentage and breast muscle in comparison to the control. Blood parameters were also significantly influenced (P < 0.01) by genotype, diet, and their interaction. Supplementation significantly (P < 0.01) increased protein levels while reducing the cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood. Incorporating Phytolacca dodecandra (Endod) at a rate of 1 g/kg into the diet of chickens brought a significant improvement in the protein content, and a reduction in the fat content, of their breast muscles. In general, the study indicates that adding up to 2 g/kg of Phytolacca dodecandra (endod) to chicken feed enhances growth performance traits, carcass traits, blood profiles, and breast muscle protein levels, without any negative consequences.
PubMed: 38912453
DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32323 -
PeerJ 2024Polish Konik remains one of the most important horse breeds in Poland. The primitive, native horses with a stocky body and mouse-like coat color are protected by a...
Polish Konik remains one of the most important horse breeds in Poland. The primitive, native horses with a stocky body and mouse-like coat color are protected by a conservation program, while their Polish population consists of about 3,480 individuals, representing 16 dam and six sire lines. To define the population's genetic structure, mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome sequence variables were identified. The mtDNA whole hypervariable region analysis was carried out using the Sanger sequencing method on 233 Polish Koniks belonging to all dam lines, while the Y chromosome analysis was performed with the competitive allele-specific PCR genotyping method on 36 horses belonging to all sire lines. The analysis of the mtDNA hypervariable region detected 47 SNPs, which assigned all tested horses to 43 haplotypes. Most dam lines presented more than one haplotype; however, five dam lines were represented by only one haplotype. The haplotypes were classified into six (A, B, E, J, G, R) recognized mtDNA haplogroups, with most horses belonging to haplogroup A, common among Asian horse populations. Y chromosome analysis allocated Polish Koniks in the Crown group, condensing all modern horse breeds, and divided them into three haplotypes clustering with coldblood breeds (28 horses), warmblood breeds (two horses), and Duelmener Pony (six horses). The clustering of all Wicek sire line stallions with Duelmener horses may suggest a historical relationship between the breeds. Additionally, both mtDNA and Y chromosome sequence variability results indicate crossbreeding before the studbooks closure or irregularities in the pedigrees occurred before the DNA testing introduction.
Topics: Animals; Horses; DNA, Mitochondrial; Poland; Y Chromosome; Haplotypes; Male; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Female; Breeding
PubMed: 38912049
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17549 -
Food Chemistry: X Jun 2024Engineered bacterial magnetic nanoparticles (BMPs) fused with protein A (BMP-PA) can bind antibodies, creating immunomagnetic beads that offer an attractive tool for...
Engineered bacterial magnetic nanoparticles (BMPs) fused with protein A (BMP-PA) can bind antibodies, creating immunomagnetic beads that offer an attractive tool for targets screening. In the study, BMP-PA-IgG was formed by attaching broad-spectrum monoclonal antibodies against glucocorticoids (GCs) to BMP-PA. Immunomagnetic assay was developed for analysis of GCs, using the BMP-PA-IgG and hydrocortisone-horseradish peroxidase. The developed assay exhibited broad specificity for GCs, including hydrocortisone (HCS), betamethasone (BMS), dexamethasone (DMS), prednisolone (PNS), beclomethasone (BCMS), cortisone (CS), 6-α-methylprednisone (6-α-MPNS), and fludrocortisone acetate (HFCS), with half inhibitory concentrations (IC) ranging from 0.88 to 6.57 ng/mL. The proposed assay showed average recoveries of HCS and DMS ranging from 75.6% to 105.2% in chicken and pork samples, which were correlated well with those obtained by LC-MS/MS. This study indicated that the integration of engineered immunomagnetic beads into immunoassay systems offer possibilities for the sensitive and selective detection of GCs.
PubMed: 38911916
DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2024.101523 -
Frontiers in Immunology 2024Immune checkpoint blockades (ICBs) have revolutionized cancer therapy through unleashing anti-tumor adaptive immunity. Despite that, they are usually effective only in a... (Review)
Review
Immune checkpoint blockades (ICBs) have revolutionized cancer therapy through unleashing anti-tumor adaptive immunity. Despite that, they are usually effective only in a small subset of patients and relapse can occur in patients who initially respond to the treatment. Recent breakthroughs in this field have identified innate immune checkpoints harnessed by cancer cells to escape immunosurveillance from innate immunity. MHC1 appears to be such a molecule expressed on cancer cells which can transmit a negative signal to innate immune cells through interaction with leukocyte immunoglobulin like receptor B1 (LILRB1). The review aims to summarize the current understanding of MHC1/LILRB1 axis on mediating cancer immune evasion with an emphasis on the therapeutic potential to block this axis for cancer therapy. Nevertheless, one should note that this field is still in its infancy and more studies are warranted to further verify the effectiveness and safety in clinical as well as the potential to combine with existing immune checkpoints.
Topics: Humans; Leukocyte Immunoglobulin-like Receptor B1; Neoplasms; Immunity, Innate; Animals; Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors; Tumor Escape; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; Immunotherapy; Signal Transduction; Antigens, CD
PubMed: 38911856
DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1421092 -
Bioinformatics Advances 2024Genomic islands (GEIs) are clusters of genes in bacterial genomes that are typically acquired by horizontal gene transfer. GEIs play a crucial role in the evolution of...
MOTIVATION
Genomic islands (GEIs) are clusters of genes in bacterial genomes that are typically acquired by horizontal gene transfer. GEIs play a crucial role in the evolution of bacteria by rapidly introducing genetic diversity and thus helping them adapt to changing environments. Specifically of interest to human health, many GEIs contain pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance genes. Detecting GEIs is, therefore, an important problem in biomedical and environmental research. There have been many previous studies for computationally identifying GEIs. Still, most of these studies rely on detecting anomalies in the unannotated nucleotide sequences or on a fixed set of known features on annotated nucleotide sequences.
RESULTS
Here, we present TreasureIsland, which uses a new unsupervised representation of DNA sequences to predict GEIs. We developed a high-precision boundary detection method featuring an incremental fine-tuning of GEI borders, and we evaluated the accuracy of this framework using a new comprehensive reference dataset, Benbow. We show that TreasureIsland's accuracy rivals other GEI predictors, enabling efficient and faster identification of GEIs in unannotated bacterial genomes.
AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
TreasureIsland is available under an MIT license at: https://github.com/FriedbergLab/GenomicIslandPrediction.
PubMed: 38911822
DOI: 10.1093/bioadv/vbae089 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024The potential role of pathogens, particularly vector-transmitted infectious agents, as a cause of psychosis has not been intensively investigated. We have reported a...
INTRODUCTION
The potential role of pathogens, particularly vector-transmitted infectious agents, as a cause of psychosis has not been intensively investigated. We have reported a potential link between spp. bacteremia and neuropsychiatric symptoms, including pediatric acute onset neuropsychiatric syndrome and schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to further assess whether spp. exposure or infection are associated with psychosis.
METHODS
In a blinded manner, we assessed the presence of anti- antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence assays (IFA), and infection by amplification of bacterial DNA from blood by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), digital PCR (dPCR), and droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) in 116 participants. Participants were categorized into one of five groups: 1) controls unaffected by psychosis ( = 29); 2) prodromal participants ( = 16); 3) children or adolescents with psychosis ( = 7); 4) adults with psychosis ( = 44); and 5) relatives of a participant with psychosis ( = 20).
RESULTS
There was no significant difference in spp. IFA seroreactivity between adults with psychosis and adult controls unaffected by psychosis. There was a higher proportion of adults with psychosis who had spp. DNA in the bloodstream (43.2%) compared to adult controls unaffected by psychosis (14.3%, = 0.021). The species was determined for 18 of the 31 bacteremic participants, including infection or co-infection with (11/18), subsp. b (6/18), (2/18), (1/18), and (1/18).
DISCUSSION
In conjunction with other recent research, the results of this study provide justification for a large national or international multi-center study to determine if spp. bacteremia is more prevalent in adults with psychosis compared to adults unaffected by psychosis. Expanding the investigation to include a range of vector-borne and other microbial infections with potential CNS effects would enhance knowledge on the relationship between psychosis and infection.
PubMed: 38911703
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1388442 -
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2024ChatGPT, the most accessible generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, offers considerable potential for veterinary medicine, yet a dedicated review of its specific... (Review)
Review
ChatGPT, the most accessible generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool, offers considerable potential for veterinary medicine, yet a dedicated review of its specific applications is lacking. This review concisely synthesizes the latest research and practical applications of ChatGPT within the clinical, educational, and research domains of veterinary medicine. It intends to provide specific guidance and actionable examples of how generative AI can be directly utilized by veterinary professionals without a programming background. For practitioners, ChatGPT can extract patient data, generate progress notes, and potentially assist in diagnosing complex cases. Veterinary educators can create custom GPTs for student support, while students can utilize ChatGPT for exam preparation. ChatGPT can aid in academic writing tasks in research, but veterinary publishers have set specific requirements for authors to follow. Despite its transformative potential, careful use is essential to avoid pitfalls like hallucination. This review addresses ethical considerations, provides learning resources, and offers tangible examples to guide responsible implementation. A table of key takeaways was provided to summarize this review. By highlighting potential benefits and limitations, this review equips veterinarians, educators, and researchers to harness the power of ChatGPT effectively.
PubMed: 38911678
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1395934