Towards Automated Manufacturing for Cell Therapies.

Purpose Of Review: Many cell therapy products are beginning to reach the commercial finish line and a rapidly escalating pipeline of products are in clinical development. The need to develop manufacturing capability that will support a successful commercial business model has become a top priority as many cell therapy developers look to secure long-term visions to enable both funding and treatment success.

Recent Findings: Manufacturing automation is both highly compelling and very challenging at the same time as a key tactic to address quality, cost of goods, scale, and sustainability that are fundamental drivers for commercially viable manufacturing.

A Novel Hepadnavirus Identified in an Immunocompromised Domestic Cat in Australia.

High-throughput transcriptome sequencing allows for the unbiased detection of viruses in host tissues. The application of this technique to immunosuppressed animals facilitates the detection of viruses that might otherwise be excluded or contained in immunocompetent individuals. To identify potential viral pathogens infecting domestic cats we performed high-throughput transcriptome sequencing of tissues from cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV).

Sustained, Low-Intensity Exercise Achieved by a Dynamic Feeding System Decreases Body Fat in Ponies.

Background: Obesity in horses is increasing in prevalence and can be associated with insulin insensitivity and laminitis. Current treatment strategies for obesity include dietary restriction and exercise. However, whether exercise alone is effective for decreasing body fat is uncertain.

Population dynamics of feral horses (Equus caballus) following above-average rainfall in a semi-arid environment of Australia.

Background: Recent record rainfall in much of semi-arid Central Australia is the most likely reason for a feral horse population increase in excess of normal. Uncontrolled numbers of feral horses have habitat degradation and animal welfare implications.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the social structure of feral horses and assess their population growth rate following unseasonably high rainfall.

The feral horse foot. Part B: radiographic, gross visual and histopathological parameters of foot health in 100 Australian feral horses.

Background: It has been proposed that the feral horse foot is a benchmark model for foot health in horses. However, the foot health of feral horses has not been formally investigated.

Objectives: To investigate the foot health of Australian feral horses and determine if foot health is affected by environmental factors, such as substrate properties and distance travelled.

The feral horse foot. Part A: observational study of the effect of environment on the morphometrics of the feet of 100 Australian feral horses.

Aim: To better understand the morphology of, and the effect of different travel patterns and varying substrate environments on, the feral horse foot to better manage the feet of domestic horses.

Methods: The left forefeet of 20 adult feral horses from each of five geographically separated populations in Australia (n = 100) were investigated. Populations were selected on the basis of substrate hardness under foot and the amount of travel typical for the population.

Adaption of horses to a novel dynamic feeding system: movement and behavioural responses.

Reasons For Performing Study: Many domestic horses and ponies are sedentary and obese due to confinement to small paddocks and stables and a diet of infrequent, high-energy rations. Severe health consequences can be associated with this altered lifestyle.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the ability of horses to learn to use a dynamic feeder system and determine the movement and behavioural responses of horses to the novel system.

Histopathological examination of chronic laminitis in Kaimanawa feral horses of New Zealand.

Aims: To investigate the prevalence, histopathological and histomorphometric presentation of chronic laminitis in a population of Kaimanawa feral horses.

Methods: Following the capture and euthanasia of feral horses from the Kaimanawa Ranges of New Zealand, the left forefoot of 28 stallions and 28 mares aged between 6 and 12 years were removed and processed for histology. Sections of lamellar samples from each horse were examined using light microscopy.

Effect of environmental conditions on degree of hoof wall hydration in horses.

Objective: To determine the effect of various environmental conditions on the degree of hydration in hoof wall horn tissue from feral horses and investigate the effect of short-term foot soaking on moisture content in hoof wall and sole tissue in domestic horses.

Animals: 40 feral horses from 3 environments (wet and boggy [n = 10], partially flooded [20], and constantly dry desert [10]) and 6 nonferal Quarter Horses.

Procedures: The percentage of moisture content of hoof wall samples from feral horses was measured in vitro.

Nutritional analysis of gastric contents and body condition score at a single time point in feral horses in Australia.

Objective: To determine the impact of a free-choice diet on nutritional intake and body condition of feral horses.

Animals: Cadavers of 41 feral horses from 5 Australian locations.

Procedures: Body condition score (BCS) was determined (scale of 1 to 9), and the stomach was removed from horses during postmortem examination.

Evaluation of primary epidermal lamellar density in the forefeet of near-term fetal Australian feral and domesticated horses.

Objective: To investigate the density of the primary epidermal lamellae (PEL) around the solar circumference of the forefeet of near-term fetal feral and nonferal (ie, domesticated) horses.

Sample: Left forefeet from near-term Australian feral (n = 14) and domesticated (4) horse fetuses.

Procedures: Near-term feral horse fetuses were obtained from culled mares within 10 minutes of death; fetuses that had died in utero 2 weeks prior to anticipated birth date and were delivered from live Thoroughbred mares were also obtained.

Sole depth and weight-bearing characteristics of the palmar surface of the feet of feral horses and domestic Thoroughbreds.

Objective: To determine solar load-bearing structures in the feet of feral horses and investigate morphological characteristics of the sole in feral horses and domestic Thoroughbreds.

Sample: Forelimbs from cadavers of 70 feral horses and 20 domestic Thoroughbreds in Australia.

Procedures: Left forefeet were obtained from 3 feral horse populations from habitats of soft substrate (SS [n = 10 horses]), hard substrate (HS [10]), and a combination of SS and HS (10) and loaded in vitro.

Distances travelled by feral horses in 'outback' Australia.

Reasons For Performing Study: The distance travelled by Australian feral horses in an unrestricted environment has not previously been determined. It is important to investigate horse movement in wilderness environments to establish baseline data against which the movement of domestically managed horses and wild equids can be compared.

Objectives: To determine the travel dynamics of 2 groups of feral horses in unrestricted but different wilderness environments.

Monitoring distances travelled by horses using GPS tracking collars.

Objective: The aims of this work were to (1) develop a low-cost equine movement tracking collar based on readily available components, (2) conduct preliminary studies assessing the effects of both paddock size and internal fence design on the movements of domestic horses, with and without foals at foot, and (3) describe distances moved by mares and their foals. Additional monitoring of free-ranging feral horses was conducted to allow preliminary comparisons with the movement of confined domestic horses.

Procedures: A lightweight global positioning system (GPS) data logger modified from a personal/vehicle tracker and mounted on a collar was used to monitor the movement of domestic horses in a range of paddock sizes and internal fence designs for 6.

Morphometry and abnormalities of the feet of Kaimanawa feral horses in New Zealand.

Objective: The present study investigated the foot health of the Kaimanawa feral horse population and tested the hypotheses that horses would have a large range of foot morphology and that the incidence of foot abnormality would be significantly high.

Procedures: Abnormality was defined as a variation from what the two veterinarian assessors considered as optimal morphology and which was considered to impact negatively on the structure and/or function of the foot. Fifteen morphometric variables were measured on four calibrated photographic views of all four feet of 20 adult Kaimanawa feral horses.

Single-pass, closed-system rapid expansion of lymphocyte cultures for adoptive cell therapy.

Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) for metastatic melanoma involves the ex vivo expansion and reinfusion of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) obtained from resected specimens. With an overall objective response rate of 56%, this T-cell immunotherapy provides an appealing alternative to other therapies, including conventional therapies with lower response rates. However, there are significant regulatory and logistical concerns associated with the ex vivo activation and large-scale expansion of these cells.