Cytochrome P4501A induction caused by the imidazole derivative Prochloraz in a rainbow trout cell line

A variety of aquatic pollutants are able to induce cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) in fish by ligand binding to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). High-affinity AhR ligands are planar aromatic polycyclic molecules such as the prototypical ligand, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The present work investigates the ability of the imidazole derivative, Prochloraz (PRO), to induce CYP1A. Computational studies on the molecular structure of PRO indicated that it is highly unlikely for PRO to have both aromatic rings of the molecule, i.e. the imidazole and the benzene ring, in the same plane. Thus, the possible conformers do not take planar structures, in contrast to the typically planar AhR ligands. Experimentally, the capability of PRO to induce CYP1A was assessed using the rainbow trout liver cell line, RTL-W1, as in vitro model. PRO increased in a concentration-dependent way the catalytic activity of CYP1A (determined as 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, EROD, activity) in RTL-W1 cells. The potency of PRO was lower than that of a reference AhR-ligand, beta-naphthoflavone (betaNF). In addition to the catalytic level, PRO activated CYP1A also at the transcriptional level as determined by RT-PCR analysis of CYP1A mRNA. These results indicate that PRO, although its structure is not corresponding to the typical features of CYP1A-inducing AhR ligands, still is able to activate CYP1A expression.

Diversity among lactococci isolated from ewes' raw milk and cheese

The technological and genetic characteristics of lactococci present in ewes' raw milk and 1-d-old ewes' raw milk cheeses sampled over a 1-year period were investigated. The proportion of lactic acid bacteria isolates from milk samples able to decrease milk pH by more than 1.25 units after 6 h incubation at 30 degrees C reached 14.5% in spring vs 10.7% in summer, 8.3% in autumn and 3.0% in winter. In 1-d-old cheese samples, the proportion of lactic acid bacteria able to lower milk pH by more than 1.25 units increased up to 32.3% in spring vs 23.4% in summer, 8.0% in autumn and 10.3% in winter. Fast acid-producing lactic acid bacteria mainly belonged to the genus Lactococcus. Using polymerase chain reaction protocols, fast acid-producing lactococci were grouped as 61 Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis, 13 L. lactis subsp. cremoris and 14 L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting of fast acid-producing lactococci, using two primers, resulted in 21 different RAPD patterns for L. lactis subsp. lactis isolates, nine RAPD patterns for L. lactis subsp. cremoris isolates and three RAPD patterns for L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis isolates. Up to 19 different RAPD patterns were found for L. lactis isolates from cheeses made in a particular month.

Characterization of five monoclonal antibodies specific for swine class II major histocompatibility antigens and crossreactivity studies with leukocytes of domestic animals

A set of five monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against porcine major histocompatibility complex (MHC), or swine leukocyte antigens (SLA), class II molecules has been characterized. These mAbs appear to recognize monomorphic determinants on SLA-DR (2F4, 1F12 and 2E9/13) and SLA-DQ (BL2H5 and BL4H2) molecules, as assessed by flow cytometry and immunoprecipitation. By Western blot, the 2F4, 1F12, BL2H5 and BL4H2 epitopes were located on the beta-chains of these molecules. mAbs 2F4 and 1F12 crossreact with leucocytes of dog, cattle, horse and human; mAbs 2E9/13, BL2H5 and BL4H2 bind leucocytes of cattle but not those of human, dog and horse. These mAbs effectively blocked the mixed lymphocyte reaction and the proliferative response to viral antigens (African swine fever virus) and to staphylococcal enterotoxin B. Therefore, these mAbs can be useful reagents for studying MHC class II molecules of pig and crossreactive species, and the immunological processes where they are involved.

Inhibition of IL-2R and SLA class II expression on stimulated lymphocytes by a suppressor activity found in homogenates of African swine fever virus infected cultures

Virus free supernatants (VFS) obtained by ultracentrifugation of homogenates of African swine fever (ASF) virus infected cultures inhibited the proliferative response and the expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of two activation molecules, the IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) and the swine MHC class II antigens (SLA II), induced by several stimuli (lectins, PMA plus the calcium ionophore A23187 or specific antigen). This inhibition was time dependent: no effect was seen on IL-2R expression when VFS was added after 48 h, when the expression of this molecule reached its maximum. However at this time the proliferative response was still inhibited. The presence of VFS in the cultures was necessary to inhibit both the IL-2R expression and the proliferation of cells. In these conditions the addition of exogenous IL-2 to the cultures failed to restore the IL-2R expression and the proliferation shown by control stimulated cells. Furthermore, the IL-2 activity found in supernatants from cell cultures stimulated with Con A in the presence of VFS was even higher than in cultures stimulated without VFS. The inhibition observed suggests an important impairment of host immunocompetence in ASF infected swine.

Detection of African horsesickness virus in infected spleens by a sandwich ELISA using two monoclonal antibodies specific for VP7

A sandwich enzyme-linked immunsorbent assay (ELISA) for rapid detection of African horsesickness virus (AHSV) in infected spleens or cell culture supernatant was developed. This method uses two monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) which recognize two non-overlapping epitopes of the major core protein (VP7) to coat the solid phase, and one labeled with biotin as second antibody. This ELISA was evaluated for its ability to detect AHSV in infected spleens resulting in a sensitivity of 97.4% and a specificity of 100% compared with virus isolation in cell culture, and can be used for the detection of the nine different AHSV serotypes.

Rapid serotyping of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus by one-step enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using monoclonal antibodies

A one-step ELISA has been developed for detection and serotyping of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) in infected cell cultures using monoclonal antibodies (mAb) raised against strains representing the Sp, Ab and VR 299 serotypes of IPNV. This assay uses a serotype-specific mAb as capture and a mAb directed against a common epitope as detector antibody. Avidin-peroxidase was employed for amplification. The assay was performed in 90 min by simultaneous incubation of the samples, the biotin labelled mAb and the avidin-peroxidase, and detected 37 ng/ml of purified virus. Serotyping of 34 isolates from different areas of Europe, Asia and America showed a total concordance with the results obtained by the neutralization assay.