Bacterial Genotype, Carrier Risk Factors, and an Antimicrobial Stewardship Approach Relevant To Methicillin-resistant Prevalence in a Population of Macaques Housed in a Research Facility.

Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) remains a significant problem for human and animal health and can negatively affect the health status of macaques and other nonhuman primates (NHP) in research colonies. However, few publications provide guidance on the prevalence, genotype, or risk factors for macaques with MRSA and even fewer on how to effectively respond to MRSA once identified in a population. After having a clinical case of MRSA in a rhesus macaque, we sought to determine the MRSA carrier prevalence, risk factors, and genotypes of MRSA in a population of research NHPs.

Preferential Small Intestine Homing and Persistence of CD8 T Cells in Rhesus Macaques Achieved by Molecularly Engineered Expression of CCR9 and Reduced Manipulation.

doptive ell ransfer (ACT) is a powerful experimental approach to directly study T-cell-mediated immunity In the rhesus macaque AIDS virus model, infusing simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected animals with CD8 T cells engineered to express anti-SIV T-cell receptor specificities enables direct experimentation to better understand antiviral T-cell immunity Limiting factors in ACT experiments include suboptimal trafficking to, and poor persistence in, the secondary lymphoid tissues targeted by AIDS viruses. Previously, we redirected CD8 T cells to B-cell follicles by ectopic expression of the CXCR5 homing protein. Here, we modify peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-derived CD8 T cells to express the CCR9 chemokine receptor, which induces preferential homing of the engineered cells to the small intestine, a site of intense early AIDS virus replication and pathology in rhesus macaques.

Unexpected Cartilage Phenotype in CD4-Cre-Conditional SOS-Deficient Mice.

RAS signaling is central to many cellular processes and SOS proteins promote RAS activation. To investigate the role of SOS proteins in T cell biology, we crossed mice to CD4-Cre transgenic mice. We previously reported an effect of these mutations on T cell signaling and T cell migration.

CXCR5-Dependent Entry of CD8 T Cells into Rhesus Macaque B-Cell Follicles Achieved through T-Cell Engineering.

Follicular helper CD4 T cells, T, residing in B-cell follicles within secondary lymphoid tissues, are readily infected by AIDS viruses and are a major source of persistent virus despite relative control of viral replication. This persistence is due at least in part to a relative exclusion of effective antiviral CD8 T cells from B-cell follicles. To determine whether CD8 T cells could be engineered to enter B-cell follicles, we genetically modified unselected CD8 T cells to express CXC chemokine receptor 5 (CXCR5), the chemokine receptor implicated in cellular entry into B-cell follicles.

Geminin Is Essential for Pluripotent Cell Viability During Teratoma Formation, but Not for Differentiated Cell Viability During Teratoma Expansion.

Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are unusual in that geminin has been reported to be essential either to prevent differentiation by maintaining expression of pluripotency genes or to prevent DNA rereplication-dependent apoptosis. To distinguish between these two incompatible hypotheses, immune-compromised mice were inoculated subcutaneously with ESCs harboring conditional Gmnn alleles alone or together with a tamoxifen-dependent Cre recombinase gene. Mice were then injected with tamoxifen at various times during which the ESCs proliferated and differentiated into a teratoma.

Acute Liver Damage Associated with Innate Immune Activation in a Small Nonhuman Primate Model of Hepacivirus Infection.

Unlabelled: Despite its importance in shaping adaptive immune responses, viral clearance, and immune-based inflammation, tissue-specific innate immunity remains poorly characterized for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection due to the lack of access to acutely infected tissues. In this study, we evaluated the impact of natural killer (NK) cells and myeloid (mDCs) and plasmacytoid (pDCs) dendritic cells on control of virus replication and virus-induced pathology caused by another, more rapidly resolving hepacivirus, GB virus B (GBV-B), in infections of common marmosets. High plasma and liver viral loads and robust hepatitis characterized acute GBV-B infection, and while viremia was generally cleared by 2 to 3 months postinfection, hepatitis and liver fibrosis persisted after clearance.

Polymer multilayer tattooing for enhanced DNA vaccination.

DNA vaccines have many potential benefits but have failed to generate robust immune responses in humans. Recently, methods such as in vivo electroporation have demonstrated improved performance, but an optimal strategy for safe, reproducible, and pain-free DNA vaccination remains elusive. Here we report an approach for rapid implantation of vaccine-loaded polymer films carrying DNA, immune-stimulatory RNA, and biodegradable polycations into the immune-cell-rich epidermis, using microneedles coated with releasable polyelectrolyte multilayers.

Psychogenic alopecia in rhesus macaques presenting as focally extensive alopecia of the distal limb.

Focally extensive alopecia affecting the distal limbs is a common clinical finding in rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) colonies and is both a regulatory and colony-health concern. We performed diagnostic examinations including physical exams, bloodwork, skin scrapes, surface cytology, and surface bacterial-fungal cultures on 17 rhesus macaques with this presentation of alopecia. Skin biopsies from alopecic skin obtained from each macaque were compared with those of normal skin from the same animal.

Hypergammaglobulinemia in an SIV-infected rhesus macaque with a B-cell neoplasm with plasma cell differentiation.

An SIV-infected rhesus macaque presented with anemia, hypercalcemia, and hyperglobulinemia. Neoplastic round cells with plasma cell morphology infiltrated multiple organs and stained immunohistochemically positive for CD45, MUM1/IRF4, CD138, VS38C, and Kappa light chain and variably positive for CD20 and CD79a, consistent with a B-cell neoplasm with plasma cell differentiation.

Differential contribution of dietary fat and monosaccharide to metabolic syndrome in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

There is a critical need for animal models to study aspects type 2 diabetes (T2D) pathogenesis and prevention. While the rhesus macaque is such an established model, the common marmoset has added benefits including reduced zoonotic risks, shorter life span, and a predisposition to birth twins demonstrating chimerism. The marmoset as a model organism for the study of metabolic syndrome has not been fully evaluated.

Treatment of giardiasis in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) with tinidazole.

Giardia intestinalis is a common protozoan parasite that can infect many laboratory animal primates, although its role as a contributor to the induction of gastrointestinal disease remains unclear. This study sought to investigate the prevalence of Giardia in a colony of common marmosets by using a Giardia antigen-capture assay and to address the possible eradication of this infection by using tinidazole, an antiprotozoal similar to metronidazole but requiring fewer doses. Among 31 colony marmosets, 13 (42%) were positive for Giardia.