Mitochondrial function is altered in horse atypical myopathy.

Equine atypical myopathy in Europe is a fatal rhabdomyolysis syndrome that results from the ingestion of hypoglycin A contained in seeds and seedlings of Acer pseudoplatanus (sycamore maple). Acylcarnitine concentrations in serum and muscle OXPHOS capacity were determined in 15 atypical myopathy cases. All but one acylcarnitine were out of reference range and mitochondrial respiratory capacity was severely decreased up to 49% as compared to 10 healthy controls.

Tissues from equine cadaver ligaments up to 72 hours of post-mortem: a promising reservoir of stem cells.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) harvested from cadaveric tissues represent a promising approach for regenerative medicine. To date, no study has investigated whether viable MSCs could survive in cadaveric tissues from tendon or ligament up to 72 hours of post-mortem. The purpose of the present work was to find out if viable MSCs could survive in cadaveric tissues from adult equine ligaments up to 72 hours of post-mortem, and to assess their ability (i) to remain in an undifferentiated state and (ii) to divide and proliferate in the absence of any specific stimulus.

Quantification of hypoglycin A in serum using aTRAQ(®) assay.

Background: Hypoglycin A has been recently identified has the causal agent of atypical myopathy (AM) in horses. Its identification and quantification in equine's biological fluids is thus a major concern to confirm maple poisoning and to provide insight into the poorly understood mechanism of hypoglycin A intoxication.

Methods: Quantification of hypoglycin A has been achieved with the aTRAQ kit for amino acid analysis of physiological fluids (AB Sciex).

Flow cytometric probing of mitochondrial function in equine peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Background: The morphopathological picture of a subset of equine myopathies is compatible with a primary mitochondrial disease, but functional confirmation in vivo is still pending. The cationic dye JC-1 exhibits potential-dependent accumulation in mitochondria that is detectable by a fluorescence shift from green to orange. As a consequence, mitochondrial membrane potential can be optically measured by the orange/green fluorescence intensity ratio.

Contribution of MX dynamin, oligoadenylate synthetase, and protein kinase R to anti-paramyxovirus activity of type 1 interferons in vitro.

Objective: To determine the contribution of MX dynamin, oligoadenylate synthetase (OAS), and double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase R (PKR) to the antiviral effects of type 1 interferons (IFNs) against bovine parainfluenza-3 virus (PI-3V) infection of Vero cells.

Sample Population: Vero cell cultures.

Procedures: PI-3V yield was first compared between control and transfected type 1 IFNs-incompetent Vero cells expressing recombinant OAS or MX proteins.

Molecular characterisation of the caprine (Capra hircus) lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 alpha subunit-encoding cDNA.

Background: Lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1, CD11a/CD18, alpha L beta 2) is required for many cellular adhesive interactions during the immune response.

Methods: We used SMART RACE technology to obtain caprine CD11a 5'- and 3'-ends and RT-PCR to amplify the full-length CDS.

Results: The Capra hircus CD11a-encoding cDNA was sequenced and compared with its human, murine, rat, bovine and ovine counterparts.

Resistance of paramyxoviridae to type I interferon-induced Bos taurus Mx1 dynamin.

Typical targets of type I interferon (IFN)-induced antiviral Mx proteins known to date have been shown to share a common profile: single-stranded negative-sense RNA viruses. Among them, human MxA is known to interfere with the replication of measles, human, and bovine parainfluenza-3 viruses (BoPi3V), that is, three members of the Paramyxoviridae family. Recently, bovine Mx1 protein (BoMx1) was included in the group of Mx proteins with authenticated antiviral potential, as it dramatically represses the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV).

Conditional expression of type I interferon-induced bovine Mx1 GTPase in a stable transgenic vero cell line interferes with replication of vesicular stomatitis virus.

In some vertebrate species, type I interferon(IFN)-induced Mx gene expression has been shown to confer resistance to some single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses in vitro. Because the bovine species is subject to an exceptionally wide array of infections caused by such viruses, it is anticipated that an antiviral allele should have been retained by evolution at the bovine Mx locus. The identification of such allele may help in evaluating the real significance of the Mx genotype for disease resistance in vivo, in deciphering host-virus molecular interactions involved, or in improving innate disease resistance of livestock through marker-assisted selection.

Genomic structure, organisation, and promoter analysis of the bovine (Bos taurus) Mx1 gene.

Some MX proteins are known to confer a specific resistance against a panel of single-stranded RNA viruses. Many diseases due to such viruses are known to affect cattle worldwide, raising the possibility that the identification of an antiviral isoform of a bovine MX protein would allow the implementation of genetic selection programs aimed at improving innate resistance of cattle. With this potential application in mind, the present study was designed to isolate the bovine Mx1 gene including its promoter region and to investigate its genomic organisation and promoter reactivity.