Rehoming and Other Refinements and Replacement in Procedures Using Golden Hamsters in SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Research.

Effective vaccines are needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Forty golden hamsters were inoculated with two promising vaccine candidates and eighteen animals were used in pilot trials with viral challenge. ELISA assays were performed to determine endpoint serum titres for specific antibodies and virus neutralisation tests were used to evaluate the efficacy of antibodies.

Extracellular Vesicles in Domestic Animals: Cellular Communication in Health and Disease.

Apoptotic and healthy cells of domestic animals release membrane-enclosed particles from their plasma membrane. These special structures, called extracellular vesicles, play an important role in intercellular communication. In the past, it was believed that their function was mainly to dispose unwanted cell contents and to help maintain cell homeostasis.

Articular Cartilage Regeneration in Veterinary Medicine.

Cartilage is an avascular tissue with a limited rate of oxygen and nutrient diffusion, resulting in its inability to heal spontaneously. Articular cartilage defects eventually lead to osteoarthritis (OA), the endpoint of progressive destruction of cartilage. In companion animals, OA is the most common joint disease, and many pain management and surgical attempts have been made to find an appropriate treatment.

Effect of intrabronchial administration of autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells on severe equine asthma.

Background: Severe equine asthma (SEA) is a common chronic respiratory disease and a significant health and well-being problem in horses. Current therapeutic strategies improve pulmonary function and clinical signs in some horses, but in the long-term, return to full athletic function appears to be rare. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and the effect of intrabronchial administration of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSC) on pulmonary inflammatory and clinical parameters in horses with SEA.

Treatment of canine cognitive dysfunction with novel butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor.

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is common in aged dogs and has many similarities with Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, like Alzheimer's disease, CCD cannot be cured. In the present study, we treated dogs with CCD with our newly developed and characterized butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor (BChEi).

In Vitro Culturing of Adult Stem Cells: The Importance of Serum and Atmospheric Oxygen.

Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells found in many different tissues in the adult human and animal body and are thought to be important for replacing damaged and dead cells during life. Due to their differentiation abilities, they have significant potential for regeneration and consequently therapeutic potential in various medical conditions. Studies on in vitro cultivation of different types of adult stem cells have shown that they have specific requirements for optimal proliferation and stemness maintenance as well as induced differentiation.

How early maternal deprivation changes the brain and behavior?

Early life stress can adversely influence brain development and reprogram brain function and consequently behavior in adult life. Adequate maternal care in early childhood is therefore particularly important for the normal brain development, and adverse early life experiences can lead to altered emotional, behavioral, and neuroendocrine stress responses in the adulthood. As a form of neonatal stress, maternal deprivation/separation is often used in behavioral studies to examine the effects of early life stress and for modeling the development of certain psychiatric disorders and brain pathologies in animal models.

Treatment of cranial cruciate ligament injuries in dogs using a combination of tibial tuberosity advancement procedure and autologous mesenchymal stem cells/multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells - A pilot study.

In the present pilot study, we evaluated different supplemental therapies using autologous multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MMSCs) for the treatment of cranial cruciate ligament defects in dogs. We used tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) and augmented it by supportive therapy with MMSCs in three patient groups. In the first patient group, the dogs were injected with MMSCs directly into the treated stifle one month after surgery.

Comparison of Canine and Feline Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells/Medicinal Signaling Cells With Regard to Cell Surface Marker Expression, Viability, Proliferation, and Differentiation Potential.

Remarkable immunomodulatory abilities of mesenchymal stem cells, also called multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells or medicinal signaling cells (MSCs), have entailed significant advances in veterinary regenerative medicine in recent years. Despite positive outcomes from MSC therapies in various diseases in dogs and cats, differences in MSC characteristics between small animal veterinary patients are not well-known. We performed a comparative study of cells' surface marker expression, viability, proliferation, and differentiation capacity of adipose-derived MSCs (ADMSCs) from dogs and domestic cats.

Sexual dimorphism of the extraorbital lacrimal glands in SF-1 knockout mice.

Sexual dimorphism (SD) represents all the differences between males and females of the same species. SD of the murine lacrimal gland and the major effect of testosterone on its formation are well documented. Steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1, NR5a1) is a nuclear receptor essential for the fetal development of steroid hormones producing organs and SF-1 knockout mice (Sf-1 KO) are therefore born without gonads and adrenal glands.

Nitrosative Stress in the Frontal Cortex From Dogs With Canine Cognitive Dysfunction.

Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is an age-related disorder similar to human Alzheimer's disease (AD) that occurs in elderly dogs. Nitrosative stress has been implicated as one of the causes leading to neurodegenerative diseases, particularly AD. Its involvement in the development of CCD has not been studied so far.

Calves' management conditions affect sperm count in adult bulls.

Background: Early maternal separation may have long-lasting physiological effects on different organ systems. Although long-lasting effects of early maternal separation are mostly studied in connection with the development and function of the central nervous system hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, animal health, behaviour and productivity, there is a lack of information about its impacts on the reproductive system. In the dairy industry, calves are often separated from mothers 1 or 2 days after birth and are not nursed.

Neural differentiation of canine mesenchymal stem cells/multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells.

Background: The ability of adipose tissue-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells/mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) to differentiate in neural lineages promises progress in the field of regenerative medicine, especially for replacing neuronal tissue damaged by different neurological disorders. Reprogramming of ASCs can be induced by the growth medium with neurogenic inductors and specific growth factors. We investigated the neural differentiation potential of canine ASCs using several growth media (KEM, NIMa, NIMb, NIMc) containing various combinations of neurogenic inductors: B27 supplement, valproic acid, forskolin, N2-supplement, and retinoic acid.

Stem Cells in Veterinary Medicine-Current State and Treatment Options.

Regenerative medicine is a branch of medicine that develops methods to grow, repair, or replace damaged or diseased cells, organs or tissues. It has gained significant momentum in recent years. Stem cells are undifferentiated cells with the capability to self-renew and differentiate into tissue cells with specialized functions.

Could Sex/Gender Differences in ACE2 Expression in the Lungs Contribute to the Large Gender Disparity in the Morbidity and Mortality of Patients Infected With the SARS-CoV-2 Virus?

COVID-19 morbidity and mortality have significant gender disparities, with higher prevalence and mortality in men. SARS-CoV-2 enters the lungs through the ACE2 enzyme, a member of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Although there are no data for the lung, the expressions of RAS components in other tissues are modulated by sex hormones, androgens, and estrogens.

Canine Cognitive Dysfunction and Alzheimer's Disease - Two Facets of the Same Disease?

Neurodegenerative diseases present a major and increasing burden in the societies worldwide. With aging populations, the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases is increasing, yet there are no effective cures and very few treatment options are available. Alzheimer's disease is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative conditions and although the pathology is well studied, the pathogenesis of this debilitating illness is still poorly understood.

Silk fibroin induces chondrogenic differentiation of canine adipose-derived multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells/mesenchymal stem cells.

Under appropriate culture conditions, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), also called more properly multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MMSC), can be induced toward differentiation into different cell lineages. In order to guide stem cell fate within an environment resembling the stem cell niche, different biomaterials are being developed. In the present study, we used silk fibroin (SF) as a biomaterial supporting the growth of MMSC and studied its effect on chondrogenesis of canine adipose-derived MMSC (cADMMSC).

An antibiofilm coating of 5-aryl-2-aminoimidazole covalently attached to a titanium surface.

Biofilms, especially those formed by Staphylococcus aureus, play a key role in the development of orthopedic implant infections. Eradication of these infections is challenging due to the elevated tolerance of biofilm cells against antimicrobial agents. In this study, we developed an antibiofilm coating consisting of 5-(4-bromophenyl)-N-cyclopentyl-1-octyl-1H-imidazol-2-amine, designated as LC0024, covalently bound to a titanium implant surface (LC0024-Ti).

MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Estrogens in consumer milk: is there a risk to human reproductive health?

Possible effects of xenoestrogens on human health, in particular on male reproductive health, have attracted considerable attention in recent years. Cow's milk was suggested in numerous publications as one of possible sources of xenoestrogens that could affect human health. Although milk has undoubtedly many beneficial health effects and could even have a role in reducing incidence of some cancers, concerns were raised about presumably high levels of estrogens in cow's milk.

Peptide mimetic of N-terminal ghrelin enhances ghrelin-induced growth hormone secretion and c-Fos expression in mice.

Orexigenic peptide ghrelin and its receptor have been extensively investigated as potential therapeutic targets, primarily because of their role in feeding initiation and growth hormone (GH) release. However, no specific ghrelin targeting anti-obesity or cachexia therapeutics are available for clinical use thus far and further efforts in this direction are warranted. The present study aimed to find new peptide drug leads modulating ghrelin signal transduction.

Injections to pregnant mice produce prenatal stress that affects aggressive behavior in their adult male offspring.

Maternal stress could reprogram the developing fetal nervous system. A common target of maternal glucocorticoids is fetal neuro-endocrine axis. In the present study, pregnant mice were exposed to stress by injection and their male offspring were tested for sexual and aggressive behaviors in adult life.

Robust Sex Differences in Jigsaw Puzzle Solving-Are Boys Really Better in Most Visuospatial Tasks?

Sex differences are consistently reported in different visuospatial tasks with men usually performing better in mental rotation tests while women are better on tests for memory of object locations. In the present study, we investigated sex differences in solving jigsaw puzzles in children. In total 22 boys and 24 girls were tested using custom build tablet application representing a jigsaw puzzle consisting of 25 pieces and featuring three different pictures.

Short communication: Heat treatment and souring do not affect milk estrone and 17β-estradiol concentrations.

The aim of our study was to establish whether heat treatment and souring of milk affect its estrone (E1) and 17β-estradiol (E2) concentrations. Milk samples were collected from 10 Holstein cows in late pregnancy. Concentrations of E1 and E2 were measured in milk samples that were previously heated to 70 and 95°C for 5 min.

Fezf1 is a novel regulator of female sex behavior in mice.

Unlabelled: Female sexual behavior is a complex process regulated by multiple brain circuits and influenced by sex steroid hormones acting in the brain. Several regions in the hypothalamus have been implicated in the regulation of female sexual behavior although a complete circuitry involved in female sexual behavior is not understood. Fez family zinc finger 1 (Fezf1) gene is a brain specific gene that has been mostly studied in the context of olfactory development, although in a recent study, FEZF1 has been identified as one of the genes responsible for the development of Kallman syndrome.