NHP BurkPx: A multiplex serodiagnostic bead assay to monitor Burkholderia pseudomallei exposures in non-human primates.

Background: Melioidosis is a disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, infecting humans and non-human primates (NHP) through contaminated soil or water. World-wide there are an estimated 165,000 human melioidosis cases each year, but recordings of NHP cases are sporadic. Clinical detection of melioidosis in humans is primarily by culturing B.

Pedigree reconstruction and distant pairwise relatedness estimation from genome sequence data: A demonstration in a population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

A primary challenge in the analysis of free-ranging animal populations is the accurate estimation of relatedness among individuals. Many aspects of population analysis rely on knowledge of relatedness patterns, including socioecology, demography, heritability and gene mapping analyses, wildlife conservation and the management of breeding colonies. Methods for determining relatedness using genome-wide data have improved our ability to determine kinship and reconstruct pedigrees in humans.

SNP-based genetic characterization of the Tulane National Primate Research Center's conventional and specific pathogen-free rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) populations.

Background: The rhesus macaque is an important biomedical model organism, and the Tulane National Primate Research Center (TNPRC) has one of the largest rhesus macaque breeding colonies in the United States.

Methods: SNP profiles from 3266 rhesus macaques were used to examine the TNPRC colony genetic composition over time and across conventional or SPF animals of Chinese and Indian ancestry.

Results: Chinese origin animals were the least genetically diverse and the most inbred; however, since their derivation from their conventional forebearers, neither the Chinese nor the Indian SPF animals exhibit any significant loss of genetic diversity or differentiation.

Correction: Persistence of in Rhesus Macaques following Antibiotic Treatment of Disseminated Infection.

[This corrects the article on p. e29914 in vol. 7.

Low prevalence of Chagas parasite infection in a nonhuman primate colony in Louisiana.

Chagas disease, an important cause of heart disease in Latin America, is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, which typically is transmitted to humans by triatomine insects. Although autochthonous transmission of the Chagas parasite to humans is rare in the United States, triatomines are common, and more than 20 species of mammals are infected with the Chagas parasite in the southern United States. Chagas disease has also been detected in colonies of nonhuman primates (NHP) in Georgia and Texas, and heart abnormalities consistent with Chagas disease have occurred at our NHP center in Louisiana.

Persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi in rhesus macaques following antibiotic treatment of disseminated infection.

The persistence of symptoms in Lyme disease patients following antibiotic therapy, and their causes, continue to be a matter of intense controversy. The studies presented here explore antibiotic efficacy using nonhuman primates. Rhesus macaques were infected with B.

Excision of femoral head and neck for treatment of coxofemoral degenerative joint disease in a rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta).

Nonhuman primates are a valuable model for osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis has been extensively studied in nonhuman primates in both naturally occurring and induced disease states. However, little published information describes naturally occurring osteoarthritis of the coxofemoral joints of nonhuman primates.

Retrospective analysis of wound characteristics and tetanus development in captive macaques.

Traumatic wounds and access to outdoor enclosures containing soil contribute to development of tetanus in nonhuman primates. A retrospective, matched case-control study was conducted at a primate center to evaluate these factors by analysis of medical records of animals sustaining traumatic injuries during a 3-yr study period. Thirty-one macaques with traumatic injuries and a clinical diagnosis of tetanus were selected as cases, and 62 macaques with traumatic injuries and no diagnosis of tetanus were selected as controls.

Modification of a common BAL technique to enhance sample diagnostic value.

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) by means of bronchoscopy is a diagnostic tool frequently used for clinical and research purposes in nonhuman primates. Although many institutions use this procedure, the technique is not standardized. One technical aspect that can vary is the method by which fluid is recovered.

A non-human primate model for gluten sensitivity.

Background And Aims: Gluten sensitivity is widespread among humans. For example, in celiac disease patients, an inflammatory response to dietary gluten leads to enteropathy, malabsorption, circulating antibodies against gluten and transglutaminase 2, and clinical symptoms such as diarrhea. There is a growing need in fundamental and translational research for animal models that exhibit aspects of human gluten sensitivity.

Clinical and immunopathologic alterations in rhesus macaques affected with globoid cell leukodystrophy.

Globoid cell leukodystrophy, or Krabbe's disease, is a severe disorder of the central and peripheral nervous system caused by the absence of galactocerebrosidase (GALC) activity. Herein, we describe the clinical, neuropathological, histochemical, and immunohistological features observed in rhesus macaques affected with Krabbe's disease. Clinical signs included pronounced muscle tremors of head and limbs, difficulty ambulating, ataxia, hypermetria, proprioceptive deficits, and respiratory abnormalities.

Complications of gastric catheters implanted in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

As part of a study addressing chronic alcohol consumption and simian immunodeficiency virus, 31 rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) were implanted with gastric catheters used to deliver alcohol or isocaloric sucrose (control). Once implanted, the animals wore jackets and were housed in specialized cages modified with swivels and tethers. During the course of the study, 3 animals developed clinical signs indicating possible instability of the implanted gastric catheter.

Age as a determinant of reproductive success among captive female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

A retrospective analysis was performed on fertility outcomes among a colony of captive Indian rhesus monkeys. The analysis covered over 30 years and was based on 1443 females with a total of 11,453 pregnancies. Various determinants of fertility were assessed including birth rates, pregnancy loss, infant survival, interbirth intervals, and interval from last birth to death.

Comparison of efficacy of moxidectin and ivermectin in the treatment of Strongyloides fulleborni infection in rhesus macaques.

Background: Strongyloides infection may result in clinical disease or confound experimental protocols that utilize non-human primates. There is presently a Strongyloides fulleborni infection rate of approximately 27% in the Tulane National Primate Research Center's breeding colonies despite the routine therapeutic and prophylactic use of ivermectin.

Methods: A study was conducted to determine if moxidectin treatment offers advantages to the intestinal parasite control program.

Infectivity of the highly transformable BBE02- lp56- mutant of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease spirochete, via ticks.

Infectious Borrelia burgdorferi strains that have increased transformability with the shuttle vector pBSV2 were recently constructed by inactivating the gene encoding BBE02, a putative restriction-modification gene product expressed by the linear plasmid lp25 (Kawabata et al., Infect. Immun.

Serial electrophysiologic studies in rhesus monkeys with Krabbe disease.

Krabbe disease is a progressive leukodystrophy that results in demyelination in the central and peripheral nervous systems in humans. It has been described in a number of mammalian species including the rhesus monkey. We performed serial nerve conduction studies beginning within the first 2 months of life in four homozygous, two heterozygous, and two normal rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) to characterize the peripheral neuropathy.

Birth of rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) infants after in vitro fertilization and gestation in female rhesus or pigtailed (Macaca nemestrina) macaques.

A study was conducted to assess the possibility of using pigtailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina) as recipients for rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) embryos. A total of 250 oocytes were collected from 11 rhesus monkeys during 12 follicular aspirations. We performed 15 embryo transfers with two embryos each into rhesus recipients, which resulted in eight pregnancies, of which two were lost during the second trimester.

Leptin, adiposity, and testosterone in captive male macaques.

Leptin is considered to act as a signal relating somatic energetic status to the reproductive system. However, the nature of that signal and its relationship with male reproductive function across nonhuman primate species are unclear. We suggest that species-specific differences in leptin physiology may be related to the degree of environmental variation and variation in the importance of energy stores for male reproduction.

Use of a recombinant envelope protein subunit antigen for specific serological diagnosis of West Nile virus infection.

Serological diagnosis of West Nile virus (WNV) infection is complicated by extensive antigenic cross-reactivity with other closely related flaviviruses, such as St. Louis encephalitis virus. Here we describe a recombinant, bacterially expressed antigen equivalent to structural domain III of the WNV envelope protein that has allowed clear discrimination of antibody responses to WNV from those against other related flaviviruses in indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using standardized control antisera and field-collected samples.

Dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate as a biomarker of senescence in male non-human primates.

Numerous studies have suggested important and varying roles for dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S) in primate physiological functions. Despite these numerous claims, specific actions and significance of DHEA and DHEA-S are still equivocal. A decline of these hormones in adult humans may have functional significance, yet there is no clear relationship between functional impairments of aging and the decline in DHEA or DHEA-S levels.

Four-year study of controlled timed breeding of rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

As part of the timed breeding colony at Tulane National Primate Research Center, exogenous progesterone administration (5 mg/day for 10 days) has been used to select conception dates by inducing artificial luteal phases in female rhesus monkeys. A retrospective analysis of data obtained during four breeding seasons (1998-2001) revealed that conceptions occurred an average of 18 days after the last administration of progesterone. The age of the female to be bred, previous pregnancy history, and timing of breeding during the breeding season were determined to be critical factors in the success of the procedure.