Publications by authors named "Simona Macciocu"

Canine distemper virus (CDV) is the etiological agent of a highly prevalent viral infectious disease of carnivores, which could seriously lead to a threat to the conservation of the affected species worldwide [...

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Graphene-based materials (GBMs) are of considerable interest for biomedical applications, and the pilot study on the toxicological and immunological impact of pristine graphene (GR) and graphene oxide (GO) using swine as a close-to-human provides valuable insights. First, ex vivo experiments are conducted on swine blood cells, then GBMs are injected intraperitoneally (i.p.

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Article Synopsis
  • ORF virus (ORFV) causes contagious ecthyma in sheep and goats, leading to various skin lesions, prompting a study into the molecular factors behind these atypical tumor-like changes.
  • The research involved 15 lambs and 15 kids, revealing ORFV in their lesioned tissues and surprisingly in healthy goats from the same herd, indicating the virus's prevalence.
  • Key findings showed significant growth factor expression, particularly vVEGF and VEGFR2, associated with CD163+ macrophages, suggesting an inflammatory response potentially linked to oncogenic processes due to their interactions.
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Using a multidisciplinary approach, this report describes a clinical case of malignant catarrhal fever (MCF) occurring in a calf, which shared the pasture with sheep on a farm located in the island of Sardinia (Italy). We confirmed the conventional clinico-histopathological features of MCF, as well was the presence of Ovine herpesvirus type 2 (OvHV-2) DNA in several tissues, employing histological and virological investigations. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that this Sardinian OvHV-2 strain is genetically similar to all the other Italian strains.

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Background: Neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD) is a neurodegenerative condition affecting humans and animals characterized by the widespread presence of swollen axons (spheroids).

Case Presentation: Herein, we report the pathological findings in a case of neuroaxonal dystrophy in a Dachshund-cross puppy, which was euthanized because of a proprioceptive positioning deficits and irreversible ataxia of the hind limbs. Histologically, there was a bilaterally symmetric neuroaxonal dystrophy with eosinophilic axonal spheroids exclusively localized at the level of the ventral posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus, medial lemniscus, gracilis nucleus, medial cuneatus nucleus in the brain as well as the gracilis and cuneatus fasciculi throughout the spinal cord.

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Herein we describe a glioblastoma partially occupying the telencephalic portion of the left cerebral hemisphere of a Sardinian (syn. Sarda) breed ewe. Microscopically, the mass consisted of a pleomorphic spindle-shaped cell component organized as bundles and numerous small areas of round cells displaying an oligodendroglioma-like aspect.

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The placenta is important in the horizontal transmission of the aetiological agent in scrapie-affected sheep. It has been demonstrated that the placentas of fetuses carrying the dimorphism Q171R of the PRNP gene is resistant to pathological prion protein (PrP(Sc)) accumulation in the placenta. To test whether other PRNP polymorphisms are associated with a lack of placental PrP(Sc) deposition, we carried out a study on 26 naturally and 11 experimentally scrapie-affected ewes with or without clinical signs.

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