MyMedR

Displaying all 7 publications

Abstract:

Sort:

Fulltext Ferret: The Animal Of Choice In Dental Experiments

Alani, A.H., Abdul Aziz Abdul Razak

Ann Dent, 1996;3(1):-.
MyJurnal

The canine teeth of the mature ferret have closed apices. They are easily accessible for operating purposes and are sufficiently large, allowing conventional cavity preparation techniques to be prepared using ordinary dental instruments. Handling of the ferret is relatively easy since it becomes quite tame after a period of time. The body weight in male is greater and the teeth larger than those of the female. The cost of purchase and maintenance of the ferret is also inexpensive. For all these reasons, the ferret male is animal of choice in dental experiments.

Matched MeSH terms: Ferrets
Fulltext The first draft reference genome of the American mink (Neovison vison)

Cai Z, Petersen B, Sahana G, Madsen LB, Larsen K, Thomsen B, et al.

Sci Rep, 2017 Nov 06;7(1):14564.
PMID: 29109430 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15169-z

The American mink (Neovison vison) is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America. It's an important animal for the fur industry. Many efforts have been made to locate genes influencing fur quality and color, but this search has been impeded by the lack of a reference genome. Here we present the first draft genome of mink. In our study, two mink individuals were sequenced by Illumina sequencing with 797 Gb sequence generated. Assembly yielded 7,175 scaffolds with an N50 of 6.3 Mb and length of 2.4 Gb including gaps. Repeat sequences constitute around 31% of the genome, which is lower than for dog and cat genomes. The alignments of mink, ferret and dog genomes help to illustrate the chromosomes rearrangement. Gene annotation identified 21,053 protein-coding sequences present in mink genome. The reference genome's structure is consistent with the microsatellite-based genetic map. Mapping of well-studied genes known to be involved in coat quality and coat color, and previously located fur quality QTL provide new knowledge about putative candidate genes for fur traits. The draft genome shows great potential to facilitate genomic research towards improved breeding for high fur quality animals and strengthen our understanding on evolution of Carnivora.

Matched MeSH terms: Ferrets/genetics
Fulltext Host gene expression profiles in ferrets infected with genetically distinct henipavirus strains

Leon AJ, Borisevich V, Boroumand N, Seymour R, Nusbaum R, Escaffre O, et al.

PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2018 03;12(3):e0006343.
PMID: 29538374 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0006343

Henipavirus infection causes severe respiratory and neurological disease in humans that can be fatal. To characterize the pathogenic mechanisms of henipavirus infection in vivo, we performed experimental infections in ferrets followed by genome-wide gene expression analysis of lung and brain tissues. The Hendra, Nipah-Bangladesh, and Nipah-Malaysia strains caused severe respiratory and neurological disease with animals succumbing around 7 days post infection. Despite the presence of abundant viral shedding, animal-to-animal transmission did not occur. The host gene expression profiles of the lung tissue showed early activation of interferon responses and subsequent expression of inflammation-related genes that coincided with the clinical deterioration. Additionally, the lung tissue showed unchanged levels of lymphocyte markers and progressive downregulation of cell cycle genes and extracellular matrix components. Infection in the brain resulted in a limited breadth of the host responses, which is in accordance with the immunoprivileged status of this organ. Finally, we propose a model of the pathogenic mechanisms of henipavirus infection that integrates multiple components of the host responses.

Matched MeSH terms: Ferrets/virology
Fulltext Transmission routes for nipah virus from Malaysia and Bangladesh

Clayton BA, Middleton D, Bergfeld J, Haining J, Arkinstall R, Wang L, et al.

Emerg Infect Dis, 2012 Dec;18(12):1983-93.
PMID: 23171621 DOI: 10.3201/eid1812.120875

Human infections with Nipah virus in Malaysia and Bangladesh are associated with markedly different patterns of transmission and pathogenicity. To compare the 2 strains, we conducted an in vivo study in which 2 groups of ferrets were oronasally exposed to either the Malaysia or Bangladesh strain of Nipah virus. Viral shedding and tissue tropism were compared between the 2 groups. Over the course of infection, significantly higher levels of viral RNA were recovered from oral secretions of ferrets infected with the Bangladesh strain. Higher levels of oral shedding of the Bangladesh strain of Nipah virus might be a key factor in onward transmission in outbreaks among humans.

Matched MeSH terms: Ferrets/virology
Fulltext The Nature of Exposure Drives Transmission of Nipah Viruses from Malaysia and Bangladesh in Ferrets

Clayton BA, Middleton D, Arkinstall R, Frazer L, Wang LF, Marsh GA

PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2016 06;10(6):e0004775.
PMID: 27341030 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004775

Person-to-person transmission is a key feature of human Nipah virus outbreaks in Bangladesh. In contrast, in an outbreak of Nipah virus in Malaysia, people acquired infections from pigs. It is not known whether this important epidemiological difference is driven primarily by differences between NiV Bangladesh (NiV-BD) and Malaysia (NiV-MY) at a virus level, or by environmental or host factors. In a time course study, ferrets were oronasally exposed to equivalent doses of NiV-BD or NiV-MY. More rapid onset of productive infection and higher levels of virus replication in respiratory tract tissues were seen for NiV-BD compared to NiV-MY, corroborating our previous report of increased oral shedding of NiV-BD in ferrets and suggesting a contributory mechanism for increased NiV-BD transmission between people compared to NiV-MY. However, we recognize that transmission occurs within a social and environmental framework that may have an important and differentiating role in NiV transmission rates. With this in mind, ferret-to-ferret transmission of NiV-BD and NiV-MY was assessed under differing viral exposure conditions. Transmission was not identified for either virus when naïve ferrets were cohoused with experimentally-infected animals. In contrast, all naïve ferrets developed acute infection following assisted and direct exposure to oronasal fluid from animals that were shedding either NiV-BD or NiV-MY. Our findings for ferrets indicate that, although NiV-BD may be shed at higher levels than NiV-MY, transmission risk may be equivalently low under exposure conditions provided by cohabitation alone. In contrast, active transfer of infected bodily fluids consistently results in transmission, regardless of the virus strain. These observations suggest that the risk of NiV transmission is underpinned by social and environmental factors, and will have practical implications for managing transmission risk during outbreaks of human disease.

Matched MeSH terms: Ferrets
Detection of influenza A and B neutralizing antibodies in vaccinated ferrets and macaques using specific biotin-streptavidin conjugated antibodies

Sirskyj D, Weltzin R, Golshani A, Anderson D, Bozic J, Diaz-Mitoma F, et al.

J Virol Methods, 2010 Feb;163(2):459-64.
PMID: 19913054 DOI: 10.1016/j.jviromet.2009.11.014

Several critical factors of an influenza microneutralization assay, utilizing a rapid biotin-streptavidin conjugated system for detecting influenza virus subtypes A and B, are addressed within this manuscript. Factors such as incubation times, amount of virus, cell seeding, sonication, and TPCK trypsin were evaluated for their ability to affect influenza virus neutralization in a microplate-based neutralization assay using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells. It is apparent that the amount of virus used in the assay is the most critical factor to be optimized in an influenza microneutralization assay. Results indicate that 100xTCID(50) of influenza A/Solomon Islands/03/2006 (H1N1) virus overloads the assay and results in no, to low, neutralization, in both ferret and macaque sera, respectively, whereas using 6xTCID(50) resulted in significantly improved neutralization. Conversely, strong neutralization was observed against 100xTCID(50) of B/Malaysia/2506/04 virus. In this manuscript the critical factors described above were optimized and the results indicate that the described biotin-streptavidin conjugated influenza microneutralization assay is a rapid and robust method for detecting the presence of functional, influenza virus-neutralizing antibodies.

Matched MeSH terms: Ferrets
Fulltext Single injection recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vaccines protect ferrets against lethal Nipah virus disease

Mire CE, Versteeg KM, Cross RW, Agans KN, Fenton KA, Whitt MA, et al.

Virol J, 2013 Dec 13;10:353.
PMID: 24330654 DOI: 10.1186/1743-422X-10-353

BACKGROUND: Nipah virus (NiV) is a highly pathogenic zoonotic agent in the family Paramyxoviridae that is maintained in nature by bats. Outbreaks have occurred in Malaysia, Singapore, India, and Bangladesh and have been associated with 40 to 75% case fatality rates. There are currently no vaccines or postexposure treatments licensed for combating human NiV infection.
METHODS AND RESULTS: Four groups of ferrets received a single vaccination with different recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus vectors expressing: Group 1, control with no glycoprotein; Group 2, the NiV fusion protein (F); Group 3, the NiV attachment protein (G); and Group 4, a combination of the NiV F and G proteins. Animals were challenged intranasally with NiV 28 days after vaccination. Control ferrets in Group 1 showed characteristic clinical signs of NiV disease including respiratory distress, neurological disorders, viral load in blood and tissues, and gross lesions and antigen in target tissues; all animals in this group succumbed to infection by day 8. Importantly, all specifically vaccinated ferrets in Groups 2-4 showed no evidence of clinical illness and survived challenged. All animals in these groups developed anti-NiV F and/or G IgG and neutralizing antibody titers. While NiV RNA was detected in blood at day 6 post challenge in animals from Groups 2-4, the levels were orders of magnitude lower than animals from control Group 1.
CONCLUSIONS: These data show protective efficacy against NiV in a relevant model of human infection. Further development of this technology has the potential to yield effective single injection vaccines for NiV infection.

Matched MeSH terms: Ferrets