Metal element alteration in the lung by cisplatin and CV247 administration.

Despite significant nephrotoxicity, cisplatin is still used in the therapy of various tumors. We were interested in how metal ion composition is altered by cisplatin and whether platinum accumulates in the non-tumorous lung. We also aimed to study metal ion changes after treatment with a veterinary medicament CV247 with antioxidant property (containing Cu and Mn gluconate, ascorbic acid, Na salicylate), and whether CV247 alters pulmonary platinum accumulation in the healthy lung.

Cisplatin administration influences on toxic and non-essential element metabolism in rats.

Nowadays several papers deal with the effectiveness and side effects of metal complexes, especially cisplatin, in cancer therapy. The excretion of essential metal elements from the body is a serious problem in the treatment, but there are no data concerning the distribution and metabolism of toxic and nonessential elements. Therefore our aim was to study the concentration of some of these elements after treatment with cisplatin.

Protective effect of CV247 against cisplatin nephrotoxicity in rats.

CV247 (CV), an aqueous mixture of copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) gluconates, vitamin C and sodium salicylate increased the antitumour effects of cisplatin (CDPP; cis-diamminedichloroplatinum) in vitro. We hypothesized that the antioxidant and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2; prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2) inhibitory components of CV can protect the kidneys from CDPP nephrotoxicity in rats. CDPP (6.

T cell receptor-alpha beta-deficient mice fail to develop colitis in the absence of a microbial environment.

Mice with null mutations in cytokine or T cell receptor (TCR) genes develop intestinal inflammation. In the case of interleukin-2-/- and interleukin-10-/- mice it has been demonstrated that normal intestinal bacterial flora can cause gut pathology. TCR-alpha-/- mice not only develop colitis but also produce a strong antibody response to self-antigens, such as double-stranded DNA.

Experimental dermatophilosis in murine models of immunodeficiency.

Gnotobiotic mice with congenital immune deficiencies were infected with the skin pathogen Dermatophilus congolensis. Athymic (nude) mice with T cell deficiency were less susceptible than nude mice which also carried the beige mutation (beige-nude) with NK cell and granulocyte defects, as part of the murine equivalent of Chediak-Higashi syndrome. The additional presence of the x-linked immunodeficiency gene in other beige mutant mice, giving reduced B cell responsiveness, did not increase their susceptibility.

Microbiologically monitored fumigation of a newly built SPF laboratory rodent facility.

The initial sanitization and sterilization of a newly built animal facility for the breeding and holding of specific pathogen free (SPF) rats and mice is described. The fumigation programme was started with methyl bromide treatment directed primarily against arthropods, followed by ammonia spray to kill coccidial oocysts and concluded by three formaldehyde treatments with fog and spray against bacteria and viruses. The practicalities and problems involved are described in detail and the rationale and purpose of the programme and its monitoring are discussed.

Necessity of a more standardized microbiological characterization of rodents for aging studies.

The establishment of germ-free, gnotobiotic, and SPF animal colonies is a major component of any effort to develop suitable animal models for aging research. Epidemic and endemic disease in laboratory animals can lead to unacceptable losses, contamination of research results, and exposure of staff and investigators to unnecessary health risks. Monitoring the health status and microbiological burden of the animals is particularly important.

Lipid keratopathy and atheromatosis in an SPF laboratory rabbit colony attributable to diet.

Sporadic cases of corneal opacity occurred in an SPF rabbit colony fed on a diet containing 10% white fish-meal. Routine histological monitoring also revealed atheromatous lesions involving the intima of the aorta, coronary arteries and the arteries of other organs in 29 rabbits examined. Serum cholesterol levels above 10 mmol/l were found in 7 rabbits, including 4 affected with corneal lesions, which proved to be lipid keratopathy on histochemical and electron microscopical examination.

A paralytic disease in nude mice associated with polyoma virus infection.

Nude mice (nu/nu), heterotransplanted with human tumours and kept in isolators, were found to suffer from wasting and posterior paralysis. Electron microscopy of spinal cord tissue revealed virus particles in the oligodendrocytes consistent in size (35 to 40 nm), morphology and distribution with those of the polyoma--SV40 sub-group of papovaviruses. Serology and restriction enzyme analysis of the virus genome showed that the virus was the murine polyoma A2 strain.

Demyelination and wasting associated with polyomavirus infection in nude (nu/nu) mice.

Nude (nu/nu) mice bearing human tumour heterografts were affected with posterior paralysis and wasting. There was demyelination and infection of the oligodendrocytes of the spinal cord with a papovavirus. Similar virus particles and inclusion bodies were found in the bronchial epithelium, which showed histopathological changes.

Primary human breast carcinomas transplantable in the nude mouse.

Of 19 primary human breast carcinomas implanted into noninbred female nude mice, 3 produced transplantable tumors. Membrane components specific for human mammary epithelial cells were demonstrated in the cells from heterotransplants even after four or five passages in nude mice.

Transmission of Spironucleus and Giardia spp. and some nonpathogenic intestinal protozoa from infested hamsters to mice.

Intestinal protoza belonging to the genera Spironucleus (Hexamita), Giardia, Trichomonas and Entamoeba, carried by conventional hamsters, were successfully transmitted to and established in protozoa-free sucking or newly-weaned specified-pathogen-free inbred mice by exposure of the mice to hamster intestinal contents.

The isolation of carbon dioxide-requiring (carboxyphillic) type 19 pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae) from diseased guinea-pigs.

Type 19 pneumococcus was isolated only in anaerobic cultures from tissue fluids of guinea-pigs suffering from exudative pericarditis and pleuropneumonia. The organism was pathogenic to mice even after 40 subcultures. Further study showed it to be carboxyphilic rather than anaerobic.

Diseases of guinea-pigs.

Information on diseases of guinea-pigs is generally available in research institutes and breeding establishments. When dealing with an individual patient it is tempting to extrapolate from this pool of information, without realising that a number of factors can affect the disease situation in a colony which need not apply to the individual animal kept as a pet--or vice versa. Thus diseases may appear as an explosive outbreak in a group of cavies kept under uniform conditions while a single animal may be exposed to amateur management (Townsend 1975) and suffer in consequence.