From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2009-02-09 04:20:26 UTC
Subject: [ferrethealth] latest ferret, or ferrets as animal model abstracts
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>
(BTW, in relation to the bad avian influenza early in the 20th century=20
a new epidemiological study suggests that the timing of severe illness=20
(10 or more days after onset) suggests that the deaths which resulted=20
were primarily from pneumonia so the authors said that perhaps it pays=20
to immunize and treat accordingly. That is hypothetical, I but=20
figured it might be of interest. I do not know of any pneumonia=20
vaccine for ferrets, though certainly there have been past discussions=20
of being careful to spot pneumonia fast with x-rays and treat=20
accordingly.)
BEGIN QUOTES
J Virol. 2009 Feb 4. [Epub ahead of print]
Intranasal Administration of Interferon-Alpha Reduces Seasonal=20
Influenza A Virus Morbidity in Ferrets.
Kugel D, Kochs G, Obojes K, Roth J, Kobinger GP, Kobasa D, Haller O,=20
Staeheli P, von Messling V.
Department of Virology, University of Freiburg, Germany; Institute for=20
Veterinary Physiology, University of Giessen, Germany; Special=20
Pathogens Program, Respiratory Viruses Program, National Microbiology=20
Laboratory, Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Canada;=20
Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg,=20
Canada; INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, University of Quebec, Montreal,=20
Canada.
The type I interferon (IFN) response represents one of the first lines=20
of defense against influenza virus infections. In this study we=20
assessed the protective potential of exogenous IFN-alpha against=20
seasonal and highly pathogenic influenza viruses in ferrets.=20
Intranasal treatment with IFN-alpha several hours before infection=20
with the H1N1 influenza A virus strain USSR/90/77 reduced viral titers=20
in nasal washes at least 100-fold compared to mock-treated controls.=20
IFN-treated animals developed only mild and transient respiratory=20
symptoms, and the characteristic fever peak seen in mock-treated=20
ferrets two days after infection was not observed. Repeated=20
application of IFN-alpha substantially increased the protective effect=20
of the cytokine treatment. IFN-alpha did not increase survival after=20
infection with the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus=20
strain Vietnam/1203/2004. However, viral titers in nasal washes were=20
significantly reduced at days one and three post infection. Our study=20
shows that intranasal application of IFN-alpha can protect ferrets=20
from seasonal influenza viruses, which replicate mainly in the upper=20
respiratory tract, but not from highly pathogenic influenza viruses,=20
which also disseminate to the lung. Based on these results, a more=20
intensive evaluation of IFN-alpha as an emergency drug against=20
pandemic influenza A is warranted.
PMID: 19193792
Pediatr Res. 2009 Jan 28. [Epub ahead of print]
Developmental changes in brainstem neurons regulating lower airway=20
caliber.
Kohn AZ, Hoxha Z, Balan KV, Martin RJ, Haxhiu MA, Wilson CG, Mayer CA,=20
Kc P.
Department of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Rainbow=20
Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH, 44106.
Premature infants are at risk for lower airway obstruction; however,=20
maturation of reflex pathways regulating lower airway patency is=20
inadequately studied. We hypothesized that postnatal maturation causes=20
developmental change in brainstem efferent airway-related vagal=20
preganglionic neurons (AVPNs) within the rostral nucleus ambiguus=20
(rNA) that project to the airways, and in pulmonary afferent fibers=20
that terminate in the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS). Ferrets aged=20
7, 14, 21 and 42 days received intrapulmonary injection of Cholera=20
toxin beta subunit (CT-b), a transganglionic retrograde tracer. Five=20
days later, their brainstem was processed for dual immunolabeling of=20
CT-b and the cholinergic marker, choline acetyl transferase (ChAT). CT-
b labeled AVPNs and CT-b labeled afferent fiber optical density were=20
analyzed. There was a significantly higher CT-b labeled cell number=20
within the rNA at the youngest compared to older ages. All efferent CT-
b labeled cells expressed ChAT. Optical density of CT-b labeled=20
afferent fibers was also higher at 7 compared to 14 days. We conclude=20
that the number of efferent AVPNs and afferent fiber optical density=20
both diminish over the second postnatal week. We speculate that=20
exposure to injurious agents in early postnatal life may inhibit=20
natural remodeling and thereby enhance later vulnerability to airway=20
hyperreactivity.
PMID: 19190536
Neuron. 2009 Jan 29;61(2):317-29.
Temporal coherence in the perceptual organization and cortical=20
representation of auditory scenes.
Elhilali M, Ma L, Micheyl C, Oxenham AJ, Shamma SA.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Johns Hopkins=20
University, Barton Hall 105, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD=20
21218, USA.
Just as the visual system parses complex scenes into identifiable=20
objects, the auditory system must organize sound elements scattered in=20
frequency and time into coherent "streams." Current neurocomputational=20
theories of auditory streaming rely on tonotopic organization of the=20
auditory system to explain the observation that sequential spectrally=20
distant sound elements tend to form separate perceptual streams. Here,=20
we show that spectral components that are well separated in frequency=20
are no longer heard as separate streams if presented synchronously=20
rather than consecutively. In contrast, responses from neurons in=20
primary auditory cortex of ferrets show that both synchronous and=20
asynchronous tone sequences produce comparably segregated responses=20
along the tonotopic axis. The results argue against tonotopic=20
separation per se as a neural correlate of stream segregation. Instead=20
we propose a computational model of stream segregation that can=20
account for the data by using temporal coherence as the primary=20
criterion for predicting stream formation.
PMID: 19186172
J Cereb Blood Flow Metab. 2009 Feb;29(2):224-9.Links
Expression of cadherin superfamily genes in brain vascular development.
Krishna-K, Redies C.
Institute of Anatomy I, University of Jena School of Medicine, Jena,=20
Germany.
Cadherins are Ca2+-dependent cell adhesion molecules that are=20
important in vertebrate nervous system development. We identified=20
seven members of the cadherin superfamily (cadherin-4, cadherin-5,=20
cadherin-6, cadherin-6, cadherin-11, protocadherin-1, and=20
protocadherin-17) and an intracellular binding partner of delta-
protocadherins, protein phosphatase 1alpha, as novel markers for=20
developing blood vessels in the ferret brain. Some of the cadherin=20
molecules are restricted to specific brain regions or a subset of=20
blood vessels. The expression levels show a peak during perinatal=20
vascular development. Our results suggest that multiple cadherins,=20
which are also involved in neurogenesis, are regulators of=20
angiogenesis in developing vertebrate brain.
PMID: 19189440
Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2009 Jan 14. [Epub ahead of print]
Fatty acid composition and development of hepatic lipidosis during=20
food deprivation - mustelids as a potential animal model for liver=20
steatosis.
Nieminen P, Mustonen AM, K=E4rj=E4 V, Asikainen J, Rouvinen-Watt K.
Univ of Joensuu.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation=20
of the metabolic syndrome characterized by asymptomatic hepatic=20
lipidosis. It is present in most cases of human obesity but also=20
caused e.g. by rapid weight loss. The patients have decreased n-3=20
polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) proportions with decreased=20
percentages of 18:3(n-3), 20:5(n-3) and 22:6(n-3) and an increased n-6/
n-3 PUFA ratio in liver and/or white adipose tissue (WAT). The present=20
study examined a new experimental model to study liver steatosis with=20
possible future applications to NAFLD. Ten European polecats (Mustela=20
putorius), the wild form of the domestic ferret, were food-deprived=20
for 5 d with 10 fed animals as controls. The food-deprived animals=20
showed micro- and macrovesicular hepatic lipidosis, decreased=20
proportions of 20:5(n-3), 22:6(n-3) and total n-3 PUFA and increased=20
n-6/n-3 PUFA ratios in liver and WAT. At the same time, the product/
precursor ratios decreased in liver. The observed effects can be due=20
to selective fatty acid mobilization preferring n-3 PUFA over n-6=20
PUFA, decreased Delta5 and Delta6 desaturase activities, oxidative=20
stress, decreased arginine availability and activation of the=20
endocannabinoid system. Hepatic lipidosis induced by food deprivation=20
was manifested in the fatty acid composition of the polecat with=20
similarities to human NAFLD despite of the different principal=20
etiologies.
PMID: 19144866
END QUOTES
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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