Resistance to pseudorabies virus with enhanced interferon production and natural killer cell activity in mice treated with serum thymic factor

The Relationship between Annual Airborne Pollen Levels and Occurrence of All Cancers, and Lung, Stomach, Colorectal, Pancreatic and Breast Cancers: A Retrospective Study from the National Registry Database of Cancer Incidence in Japan, 1975-2015

Suppression of risk factors including smoking, overdrinking and infections by human papilloma and hepatitis B and C viruses has been recommended for cancer prevention; however, identification of other environmental risk factors has not been enough. Besides the 2003 report that Kawasaki disease may be triggered by pollen exposure, 40 Japanese specific intractable diseases have recently been reported as "pollen diseases," also potentially triggered by pollen exposure．Various human organs are affected by pollen exposure, leading to systemic vasculitis; autoimmune connective tissue diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases and intractable neuromuscular and bone diseases, suggesting the common effects of pollen exposure on fundamental functions of vital metabolism. In this context, cancer and malignant tumors may be another group of intractable diseases triggered by epigenetic pollen exposure. Thus, this study compared the number of newly registered patients with 24 types of cancer and airborne pollen levels measured from 1975 to 2015. We searched for statistical correlations with Bonferroni correction between the annual number of newly registered patients for all cancers or for each of lung, stomach, colorectal, pancreatic and breast cancers in the patient-registry year "x", and annual airborne pollen levels measured in the same year as "x", or 1-7 years prior to the year "x". The number of newly registered patients for lung, and pancreatic cancers in the patient-registry year "x" was highly correlated with airborne pollen levels measured 2 years prior to "x". That for breast cancer was correlated with pollen levels measured 2 and 5 years prior to "x". To our knowledge, this is the first rapid communication of the association between pollen levels and cancer incidence.

Infection, immunity and the neuroendocrine response

The Central Nervous (CNS) and Immune Systems (IS) are the two major adaptive systems which respond rapidly to numerous challenges that are able to compromise health. The defensive response strictly linking innate to acquired immunity, works continuously to limit pathogen invasion and damage. The efficiency of the innate response is crucial for survival and for an optimum priming of acquired immunity. During infection, the immune response is modulated by an integrated neuro-immune network which potentiates innate immunity, controls potential harmful effects and also addresses metabolic and nutritional modifications supporting immune function. In the last decade much knowledge has been gained on the molecular signals that orchestrate this integrated adaptive response, with focus on the systemic mediators which have a crucial role in driving and controlling an efficient protective response. These mediators are also able to signal alterations and control pathway dysfunctions which may be involved in the persistence and/or overexpression of inflammation that may lead to tissue damage and to a negative metabolic impact, causing retarded growth. This review aims to describe some important signalling pathways which drive bidirectional communication between the Immune and Nervous Systems during infection. Particular emphasis is placed on pro-inflammatory cytokines, immunomodulator hormones such as Glucocorticoids (GCs), Growth hormone (GH), Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1), and Leptin, as well as nutritional factors such as Zinc (Zn). Finally, the review includes up-to-date information on this neuroimmune cross-talk in domestic animals. Data in domestic animal species are still limited, but there are several exciting areas of research, like the potential interaction pathways between mediators (i.e. cytokine-HPA regulation, IL-6-GCS-Zn, cytokines-GH/IGF-1, IL-6-GH-Leptin and thymus activity) that are or could be promising topics of future research in veterinary medicine.

New baculovirus recombinants expressing Pseudorabies virus (PRV) glycoproteins protect mice against lethal challenge infection

The present study demonstrates the protective potential of novel baculovirus recombinants, which express the glycoproteins gB, gC, or gD of Pseudorabies virus (PRV; Alphaherpesvirus of swine) and additionally contain the glycoprotein G of Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV-G) in the virion (Bac-G-PRV). To evaluate the protective capacity, mixtures of equal amounts of the PRV gB-, gC-, and gD-expressing baculoviruses were used for immunization. Three intramuscular immunizations with that Bac-G-PRV mixture could protect mice against a lethal PRV challenge infection. To achieve complete protection high titers of Bac-G-PRV and three immunizations were necessary. This immunization with Bac-G-PRV resulted in the induction of high titers of PRV-specific serum antibodies of the IgG2a subclass and of interferon (IFN)-gamma, indicating a Th1-type immune response. Moreover, splenocytes of immunized mice exhibited natural killer cell activity accompanied by the production of IFN-alpha and IFN-gamma. Collectively, the presented data demonstrate for the first time that co-expression of VSV-G in baculovirus recombinant vaccines can improve the induction of a protective immune response against foreign antigens.

Individuals exhibiting conspicuous nevi (lentigo simplex) are resistant to allergic rhinitis/conjunctivitis (pollinosis), but those who do not show increased susceptibility to pollinosis

We investigated 115 individuals in Tokyo from two groups of persons with conspicuous nevi on the head, neck, and arms, etc. (nevus-positive group) and persons who do not exhibit such nevi (nevi-negative group) interviewing them to determine whether they suffered from allergic rhinitis/conjunctivitis (pollinosis) and examining them for the presence and extent of nevi. There was a distinct correlation: only 5 persons among 85 individuals of the nevus-positive group suffered from pollinosis, and all 30 people in the nevus-negative group had pollinosis. Thus, individuals exhibiting conspicuous nevi are resistant to pollinosis, but those who do not show increased susceptibility to pollinosis.

In vivo thymulin treatments enhance avian lung natural killer cell cytotoxicity in response to infectious bronchitis virus

Previous work has shown that in vitro thymulin treatments have the ability to enhance natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity. The purpose of the experiments presented here was to examine the in vivo effects of thymulin on avian NK cell activity in response to a viral infection. Five and a half-week-old K-strain chickens infected with avian infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) served as the model for these experiments. Daily thymulin injections began at varying time points prior to or post-infection. The controls received daily injections of the ZnCl(2)-containing carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC) diluent. A 51Cr-cytolytic release assay was used to determine the activity of the NK cells harvested via lung lavage from the respiratory tracts of infected chickens. The results of these experiments showed that in vivo thymulin treatments enhance NK cytotoxicity. The greatest enhancement of NK cytotoxicity was observed at 10 days post-infection in those chickens that began receiving thymulin after infection. These results suggest that thymulin may not only have a role in enhancing immunosurveillance but also in enhancing the response of the innate immune system following infection. Dose-response experiments found that the 50 ng/100 g body weight (Bwt) dose significantly depressed the cytolytic activity of the NK cells in comparison to either the 10 ng/100 g Bwt dose or the control.

Resistance to pseudorabies virus infection in transgenic mice expressing the chimeric transgene that represses the immediate-early gene transcription

A chimeric gene encoding a fusion protein consisting of the DNA-binding domain of the immediate-early (IE) protein of pseudorabies virus (PRV) and a tail-truncated VP16 of herpes simplex virus 1, lacking the transcription activation domain, has been shown to repress transcription of the PRV IE gene, resulting in the inhibition of PRV growth in vitro. To assess the antiviral potential of the fusion protein in vivo, transgenic mice containing the chimeric gene under the control of the virus- and interferon-inducible Mx 1 promoter were generated. A transgenic mouse line showed marked resistance to PRV infection when the mice were challenged intranasally with PRV. Inhibition of PRV replication was also observed in monolayers of embryonic cells prepared from the transgenic mice. In the cells infected with PRV, transcription of the PRV IE gene was repressed. The present results indicate that the chimeric gene is able to exert a significant antiviral effect against PRV infection in vivo.

Differential regulation of Dk and Kk major histocompatibility complex class I proteins on the cell surface after infection of murine cells by pseudorabies virus

After pseudorabies virus (PRV) infection of murine L929 cells, the cell surface expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins changes such that the total amount of MHC class I molecules remains relatively constant but the levels of the individual alleles Dk and Kk vary. This is an active process involving at least three PRV gene products that act in an allele-specific manner such that cell surface expression of MHC class I Dk is decreased and that of Kk is increased. Our results indicate that an early gene product mediates the overall reduction in Dk protein and a late gene product which is mutant in the attenuated PRV strain Bartha mediates the increase in Kk protein. We provide additional evidence for a third gene product involved in the regulation of the synthesis of both the Dk and Kk proteins. In addition, we show that the early decrease in the Dk protein is not due to a block in synthesis or processing of the complex through the secretory system.