1,721,050 research outputs found
Humoral and cellular immunity in spontaneous feline infectious peritonitis
No full textHUMORAL AND CELLULAR IMMUNITY IN SPONTANEOUS FELINE INFECTIOUS PERITONITIS
Paltrinieri S.*, Cammarata Parodi M.**, Cammarata G.**, Comazzi S.*
* Istituto di Patologia Generale Veterinaria - Milano - Italy; ** Istituto di Anatomia Patologica Veterinaria e Patologia Aviare - Milano - Italy
Vascular lesions in Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) are thought to be caused by a type III hypersenstivty reaction, while histology of the granulomas suggest a type IV hypersensitivity. To further investigate the pathogenesis of the disease we analized some aspects of humoral and cellular immunity in FIP. Haematology, antibody titers and protein electrophoresis in serum and in effusions from 48 FIP affected cats were studied. The results were compared with those of 20 healthy cats. The distribution of the immune cell and of the virus in FIP lesions were also studied by immunohistochemistry using antibodes against myelomonocytic (MAC387), and lymphoid (CD3, CD4 and CD8 for T-cells and IgM and IgG for B-cells) antigens.
Seropositive animals (antibody titer>1:100) were present either among the FIP infected cats (73%) either among the healthy cats (72%). FIP infected cats had neutrophilic leukocytosis (P>0.05), lymphopenia (P<0.05) and hyperglobulinemia (P<0.01) with increased 2 (P<0.05) and globulins (P<0.001). Hypergammaglobulinemia was not related to the antibody titers, suggesting the presence of other proteins with motility (e.g. complement fractions such as C1q). These changes were found either in effusive or in non effusive FIP. The electrophoretic pattern of the effusions was always similar to those of the corresponding serum. Antibody titers higher than those of the corresponding serum were often detected in the effusions. Immunohistochemical findings were not related to the antibody titers, but they were related to the histology of the lesions. In cellular foci of FIP lesions many virus-infected macrophages and few lymphocytes, mainly CD4+ve, were found. Extracellular viral and myelomonocytic antigen were also detectable in the foci with intercellular necrosis. Only few FIPV-infected cells were present at the periphery of the larger necrotic foci: in these lesions MAC387+ve cells were mainly neutrophils, with many MAC387-ve macrophages, may be due to their activated state: a mild number of lymphocytes, with an increasing percentage of CD8+ve cells were present. Lymphocytes were more abundant when cellular foci and FIP infected macrophages were centered around neoformed vessels. IgM and IgG exposing B-cells were always few and scattered.
In conclusion the simoultaneous analysis of body fluids and of the cellular composition of the lesions showed a complex immune status, on which type III and type IV hypersenstivty could cohexist
Detection of Feline coronaviruses (FCoV) in circulating monocytes by direct immunofluorescence
No full textDETECTION OF FELINE CORONAVIRUSES (FCoV) IN CIRCULATING MONOCYTES BY DIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE
Paltrinieri S.*, Cammarata Parodi M.**, Cammarata G.**, Masotti A.***
*Istituto di Patologia Generale Veterinaria - Milano; **Istituto di Anatomia Patologica Veterinaria e Patologia Aviare - Milano; *** Private DVM - Milano
In the pathogenesis of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) spread of the coronaviruses (FIPV) through the body is ensured by circulating monocytes. Feline enteric coronaviruses (FeCV) seem to be unable to pass through epithelial cells. If Feline Coronaviruses (FCoV) are found in circulating monocytes this would differentiate the FIPV from the other coronaviruses of the cats. Therefore, we examined 62 cats without FIP-related symptoms, most of which were positive for circulating anti-FCoV antibodies, measured by an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA), from 3 different catteries (10, 31 and 21 cats), in which their first cases of FIP were recently diagnosed following exposure to the infection by contact with infected cats. In a small sample of blood from each cat, after the haematological analysis, red blood cells were lysed hypotonically. On the blood leukocytes obtained by cytocentrifugation direct immunofluorescence anti-FCoV (DIF) was performed, and the results were analyzed statistically to calculate the prevalences of the positivity for the catteries and to exclude the influence of pathophysiological and methodological variables. No haematological abnormalities were observed in cats from any of the 3 catteries. The prevalence of the FCoV positivity in blood monocytes was 22%. The age and the sex of the cats, the charachteristics of the blood sample (amount of blood, total and differential number of leukocytes, number of erythrocytes) and of the isolated cell populations (purity and recovery), and the presence of aspecific symptoms (moderate rhinitis, enteritis) were unrelated to positivity, while a risk factor such as contact with other infected catteries was highly significant (P<0.01). All the DIF+ve cats were also IFA+ve for circulating anti-FCoV antibodies: anti-FCoV titers were found also in some of the DIF -ve cats maybe due to a cross-reactivity with FeCV. The detection of FCoV on blood monocytes should be considered an useful tool to complete the clinico-serological diagnosis of FIP. Our results also seem to confirm the possibility of using the DIF test to detect the spread of the FCoV into the monocytes
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Specificity of Innate Immunity in Bivalves
No full textBivalves are a relevant ecological group, widespread in freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems, with many edible species, such as oysters, mussels, and clams. Bivalves are endowed with an effective and complex innate immune system (humoral and cellular defenses). Bivalve immunity displays a wide variety of sensitive receptors, selective effectors, and synergistic genetic regulatory networks that afford protection in a fluctuating environment.As filter feeders, bivalves accumulate large numbers of microorganisms, mainly bacteria, that can either establish a commensal relationship with the host or proliferate and invade soft tissues, resulting in a high mortality of bivalve juveniles and adults. In this framework, understanding the relationship between the bivalve immune system and bacteria has important implications not only for the protection of economically important species but also for human health concerns. Available data underlying the specificity of bivalve immune responses to bacterial challenges will be summarized. ©2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved
Developmental Biology of Teleost Lymphocytes
No full textThis book is presented as a series of short overviews that report on the current state of various relevant fields of immunobiology from an evolutionary perspective. The overviews are written by authors directly involved in the research, and most are members of the IADCI or have otherwise been involved in the related research for their respective overview. This publication offers scientists and teachers an easy and updated reference tool
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
F-type lectin from serum of Trematomus bernacchii (Boulenger, 1902): purification, characterization and bacterial agglutinating activity
No full textDispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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