Chronic disease in the Mojave desert tortoise: Host physiology and recrudescence obscure patterns of pathogen transmission.

A seminatural, factorial-design experiment was used to quantify dynamics of the pathogen and upper respiratory tract disease in the Mojave desert tortoise () over 2 years. Groups of initially healthy animals were separated into serologically positive (seropositive), seronegative, and artificially infected groups and paired into 23 pens. We found no evidence of long-term immune protection to or of immunological memory.

COMPARISON OF CURRENT METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF CHRONIC MYCOPLASMAL URTD IN WILD POPULATIONS OF THE MOJAVE DESERT TORTOISE (GOPHERUS AGASSIZII).

Pathogens that cause subclinical diseases or exhibit low infection intensities are difficult to quantify in wild populations. Mojave desert tortoises ( Gopherus agassizii ) have been the focus of much research aimed at measuring the presence of upper respiratory disease (URTD) and URTD-associated pathogens, and techniques used to quantify disease in Gopherus species have also been used for disease surveillance in other species of turtles and tortoises of conservation concern. Published surveys of G.

Microparticulate β-glucan vaccine conjugates phagocytized by dendritic cells activate both naïve CD4 and CD8 T cells in vitro.

Microparticulate β-glucan (MG) conjugated to vaccine antigen has been shown to serve as an effective adjuvant in vivo. To further study antigen presentation by MG:vaccine conjugates, bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDC) were treated with MG conjugated to ovalbumin (OVA), then interacted with splenocytes from DO11.10 transgenic mice expressing an OVA peptide-specific T cell receptor.

A polymer encapsulation approach to prepare zwitterion-like, biocompatible quantum dots with wide pH and ionic stability.

A surface modification approach adopting polymer encapsulation was developed to prepare zwitterion-like quantum dots (ZWL-QDs). The fundamental physical, chemical, and biological properties of the ZWL-QDs were characterized. It is found that the ZWL-QDs almost preserve the quantum yield (QY) of native hydrophobic QDs in organic solvents, and also are compact in size (7 ~ 10 nm hydrodynamic diameter) and stable over wide pHs or in high salinity solutions.

Mycoplasmal upper respiratory tract disease across the range of the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise: associations with thermal regime and natural antibodies.

Most research of upper respiratory tract disease (mycoplasmal URTD) in the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) has worked under the hypothesis that the pathogen, Mycoplasma agassizii, has a relatively consistent and predictable effect on tortoise populations across their natural range. In contrast, we hypothesized that multiple factors influence the prevalence of disease and analyzed biological and environmental variables that vary significantly across the Mojave Desert. We used multiple regression models to analyze associations between mycoplasmal URTD and the genetic structure of 24 tortoise populations, levels of natural antibody (NAb) to M.

A trade-off between natural and acquired antibody production in a reptile: implications for long-term resistance to disease.

Vertebrate immune systems are understood to be complex and dynamic, with trade-offs among different physiological components (e.g., innate and adaptive immunity) within individuals and among taxonomic lineages.

Microenvironment of the murine mammary carcinoma 4T1: endogenous IFN-gamma affects tumor phenotype, growth, and metastasis.

IFN-gamma has a profound influence on growth and metastasis of solid tumors. This is true for the murine mammary carcinoma 4T1 which grows faster and metastasizes much more readily when transplanted into the mammary fatpads of IFN-gamma(-/-) mice. We were interested in determining which infiltrating hematopoietic cells produce IFN-gamma within the 4T1 tumor microenvironment.

Western blot can distinguish natural and acquired antibodies to Mycoplasma agassizii in the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii).

Mycoplasma agassizi has been identified as a cause of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in the threatened Mojave population of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), and anti-M. agassizii antibodies have been found by ELISA in as many as 15% of these animals across their geographic range. Here we report that a cohort of 16 egg-reared desert tortoises never exposed to M.

The mouse mammary carcinoma 4T1: characterization of the cellular landscape of primary tumours and metastatic tumour foci.

The murine mammary carcinoma 4T1 causes a leukemoid reaction with profound granulocytosis coincident with the production of tumour-derived growth factors. Here, we study the evolving cellular landscape of primary tumours and metastatic tumour foci and correlate haematopoietic cell infiltration with the production of tumour-derived chemokines. Flow cytometric analysis of enzyme digested primary tumours at different times after transplantation revealed a progressively increasing CD45(+) haematopoietic cell infiltrate consisting predominantly of CD11b(+) myeloid cells.

Murine mammary carcinoma 4T1 induces a leukemoid reaction with splenomegaly: association with tumor-derived growth factors.

A leukemoid reaction with granulocytosis and splenomegaly has been observed in animals and humans with a variety of tumors. We have employed four color flow cytometry to characterize the leukemoid reaction induced by the transplantable mouse mammary carcinoma 4T1 in female BALB/c mice. Gr-1(+) myeloid cells with the morphology of granulocytes increased in peripheral blood from <15% pre-transplant to nearly 80% of total CD45(+) leukocytes at four weeks post-transplant.

Microparticulate beta-glucan upregulates the expression of B7.1, B7.2, B7-H1, but not B7-DC on cultured murine peritoneal macrophages.

Beta-1,3-(D)-glucan from a variety of biological sources has been shown to enhance both humoral and cellular immune responses to a variety of antigens, infectious agents, and tumors. Nevertheless, its mode of action has not been fully defined. We sought to determine whether a 1-2 microm diameter microparticulate form of beta-glucan (MG) from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae could regulate expression of B7 family glycoproteins on resident peritoneal macrophages from BALB/c mice.