Safety of recombinant VSV-Ebola virus vaccine vector in pigs.

The ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa has resulted in fast-track development of vaccine candidates. We tested a vesicular stomatitis virus vector expressing Ebola virus glycoprotein for safety in pigs. Inoculation did not cause disease and vaccine virus shedding was minimal, which indicated that the vaccine virus does not pose a risk of dissemination in pigs.

Treatment with interferon-α2b and ribavirin improves outcome in MERS-CoV-infected rhesus macaques.

The emergence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is of global concern: the virus has caused severe respiratory illness, with 111 confirmed cases and 52 deaths at the time of this article's publication. Therapeutic interventions have not been evaluated in vivo; thus, patient management relies exclusively on supportive care, which, given the high case-fatality rate, is not highly effective. The rhesus macaque is the only known model organism for MERS-CoV infection, developing an acute localized to widespread pneumonia with transient clinical disease that recapitulates mild to moderate human MERS-CoV cases.

A Hendra virus G glycoprotein subunit vaccine protects African green monkeys from Nipah virus challenge.

In the 1990s, Hendra virus and Nipah virus (NiV), two closely related and previously unrecognized paramyxoviruses that cause severe disease and death in humans and a variety of animals, were discovered in Australia and Malaysia, respectively. Outbreaks of disease have occurred nearly every year since NiV was first discovered, with case fatality ranging from 10 to 100%. In the African green monkey (AGM), NiV causes a severe lethal respiratory and/or neurological disease that essentially mirrors fatal human disease.

A neutralizing human monoclonal antibody protects african green monkeys from hendra virus challenge.

Hendra virus (HeV) is a recently emerged zoonotic paramyxovirus that can cause a severe and often fatal disease in horses and humans. HeV is categorized as a biosafety level 4 agent, which has made the development of animal models and testing of potential therapeutics and vaccines challenging. Infection of African green monkeys (AGMs) with HeV was recently demonstrated, and disease mirrored fatal HeV infection in humans, manifesting as a multisystemic vasculitis with widespread virus replication in vascular tissues and severe pathologic manifestations in the lung, spleen, and brain.

Inhibitory effects and mechanisms of intestinal electrical stimulation on gastric tone, antral contractions, pyloric tone, and gastric emptying in dogs.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of intestinal electrical stimulation (IES) on gastric tone, antral and pyloric contractions, and gastric emptying in dogs. Female hound dogs were equipped with a duodenal or gastric cannula, and one pair of serosal electrodes was implanted in the small intestine. The study consisted of five different experiments.

Rectal distension inhibits postprandial small intestinal motor activity partially via the adrenergic pathway in dogs.

Objective: Rectal distension is known to induce numerous upper gastrointestinal symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of rectal distension on small intestinal myoelectrical and motor activities in 8 dogs using a pair of intestinal electrodes and an intestinal fistula.

Material And Methods: Experiment 1 entailed a 30-min baseline recording and a 30-min recording during rectal balloon distension at various volumes (60, 80, 100 and 120 ml) randomly.

Effects of enhanced viscosity on canine gastric and intestinal motility.

Background And Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of enhanced viscosity on gastric emptying and gastrointestinal motor and myoelectrical activities in dogs.

Method: The study was performed in eight healthy female hound dogs chronically implanted with four pairs of gastric and two pairs of intestinal serosal electrodes and a duodenal fistula. Each dog was studied in three sessions and fed with three test meals with different viscosity.