RESULTS: Among the 253 cats included in this study, 12.3% of the whole blood samples tested positive for DCH. The detection rate was significantly higher in pet cats (16.6%, n = 24/145) compared to shelter cats (6.5%, n = 7/108). Liver tissues showed higher a DCH detection rate (14.9%, n = 13/87) compared to blood; 5 out of these 13 cats tested positive for DCH in their paired liver and blood samples. Serum alanine transaminase (ALT) was elevated (> 95 units/L) in 12 out of the 23 DCH-positive cats (52.2%, p = 0.012). Whole-genome sequence analysis revealed that the Malaysian DCH strain, with a genome size of 3184 bp, had 98.3% and 97.5% nucleotide identities to the Australian and Italian strains, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the Malaysian DCH genome was clustered closely to the Australian strain, suggesting that they belong to the same geographically-determined genetic pool (Australasia).
CONCLUSIONS: This study provided insights into a Malaysian DCH strain that was detected from a liver tissue. Interestingly, pet cats or cats with elevated ALT were significantly more likely to be DCH positive. Cats with positive DCH detection from liver tissues may not necessarily have viraemia. The impact of this virus on inducing liver diseases in felines warrants further investigation.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Demographic information, exposure determinants, and oral swabs were collected from swine personnel, including farmers, butchers, and veterinarians. Oral swabs were subjected to bacterial isolation and conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for S. suis detection.
RESULTS: The study included 40 participants working in the swine industry, with a predominant representation of males (62.5%) and Malaysian Chinese individuals (60.0%) who consumed pork (92.5%). Notably, none of the participants reported consuming raw or partially cooked pork. In spite of their occupational exposure risk, none of the oral swabs showed positive results for S. suis infection.
CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report and detection study of S. suis using oral swabs obtained from swine personnel in Peninsular Malaysia.
RESULTS: In this study, using real-time PCR and multiplex bead-based immunoassay, the expression profiles of several immune mediators were examined in Crandell-Reese feline kidney (CRFK) cells infected with the feline coronavirus (FCoV) strain FIPV 79-1146 and in samples obtained from FCoV-positive cats. CRFK cells infected with FIPV 79-1146 showed an increase in the expression of interferon-related genes and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as MX1, viperin, CXCL10, CCL8, RANTES, KC, MCP1, and IL8. In addition, an increase in the expression of the above cytokines as well as GM-CSF and IFNγ was also detected in the PBMC, serum, and peritoneal effusions of FCoV-positive cats. Although the expression of MX1 and viperin genes was variable between cats, the expression of these two genes was relatively higher in cats having peritoneal effusion compared to cats without clinically obvious effusion. Higher viral load was also detected in the supernatant of peritoneal effusions compared to in the plasma of FCoV-positive cats. As expected, the secretion of IL1β, IL6 and TNFα was readily detected in the supernatant of peritoneal effusions of the FCoV-positive cats.
CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified various pro-inflammatory cytokines and interferon-related genes such as MX1, viperin, CXCL10, CCL8, RANTES, KC, MCP1, IL8, GM-CSF and IFNγ in FCoV-positive cats. With the exception of MX1 and viperin, no distinct pattern of immune mediators was observed that distinguished between FCoV-positive cats with and without peritoneal effusion. Further studies based on definitive diagnosis of FIP need to be performed to confirm the clinical importance of this study.
METHODS: The internalization of type II FIPV WSU 79-1146 in Crandell-Rees Feline Kidney (CrFK) cells was visualized using a fluorescence microscope, and optimization prior to phenotype microarray (PM) study was performed. Then, four types of Biolog Phenotype MicroArray™ plates (PM-M1 to PM-M4) precoated with different carbon and nitrogen sources were used to determine the metabolic profiles in FIPV-infected cells.
RESULTS: The utilization of palatinose was significantly low in FIPV-infected cells; however, there were significant increases in utilizing melibionic acid, L-glutamine, L-glutamic acid and alanyl-glutamine (Ala-Gln) compared to non-infected cells.
CONCLUSION: This study has provided the first insights into the metabolic profiling of a feline coronavirus infection in vitro using PMs and deduced that glutamine metabolism is one of the essential metabolic pathways for FIPV infection and replication. Further studies are necessary to develop strategies to target the glutamine metabolic pathway in FIPV infection.
RESULTS: Tumors with a variety of clinical and pathological characteristics were selected. Gene expression stability and the optimal number of reference genes for gene expression normalization were calculated. RPS5 and HNRNPH were highly stable among OS cell lines, while RPS5 and RPS19 were the best combination for primary tumors. Pairwise variation analysis recommended four and two reference genes for optimal normalization of the expression data of canine OS tumors and cell lines, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS: Appropriate combinations of reference genes are recommended to normalize mRNA levels in canine OS tumors and cell lines to facilitate standardized and reliable quantification of target gene expression, which is essential for investigating key genes involved in canine OS metastasis and for comparative biomarker discovery.