Levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide in extracellular body fluids of pigs may be growth-limiting for Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Haemophilus parasuis.
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During infection, nutrient deprivation can alter bacterial phenotype. This, in turn, may have implications for pathogenesis and prophylaxis. Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (biotype 1) and Haemophilus parasuis, respiratory tract pathogens of swine, are both V-factor-dependent. The concentrations of V factor in the extracellular fluids of pigs are unknown and may limit the growth of these bacteria in vivo. The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in select porcine body fluids and to compare the availability of NAD in vivo with the affinities of the organisms for this compound. Levels in plasma, tissue fluids (peritoneal, pleural, synovial, and cerebrospinal), and laryngeal, tracheal, and lung washings were determined with an enzymatic cycling assay. We concluded that, although the NAD supply in the respiratory tract is probably not growth-limiting, it may become limiting if the organisms are disseminated. (+info)
Effect of vaccination with selective bacterins on conventional pigs infected with type 2 porcine circovirus.
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The objective of this study was to determine whether vaccination with bacterins commonly used in the USA, when administered at a time typical of US protocol, enhances porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) replication and the incidence and severity of clinical signs and lesions characteristic of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) in conventional pigs. Sixty-one pigs free of PCV2 were randomly assigned to four groups. Groups 1 (n = 15) and 2 (n = 15) pigs served as sham-inoculated negative controls. Groups 3 (n = 14) and 4 (n = 17) pigs were inoculated intralymphoid with PCV2 field isolate ISU-40895. Pigs in groups 2 and 4 were vaccinated with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae) bacterins 21 days before and again 1 day before inoculation with PCV2. Mild transient respiratory disease and diarrhea were observed from 13 to 34 days postinoculation (DPI) in pigs in groups 3 and 4. Half the pigs from each group were necropsied at 22 and 34 DPI, respectively. Moderately enlarged, tan-colored lymph nodes were observed in the majority of pigs in groups 3 and 4. There was a significantly (P < 0.05) longer length of viremia (2.14 +/- 0.26 versus 4.44 +/- 0.23 weeks), a higher copy number of the PCV2 genome in serum, a wider range of tissue distribution of PCV2 antigen, and an increased severity of lymphoid depletion in pigs vaccinated with commercial APP and M. hyopneumoniae vaccines and inoculated with PCV2 compared with PCV2-inoculated unvaccinated pigs. Swine producers and veterinarians may need to consider changes in vaccination protocols in herds with recurrent PCV2-associated PMWS. (+info)
Evaluation of a multiplex PCR test for simultaneous identification and serotyping of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 2, 5, and 6.
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Serotype-specific DNA regions involved in the biosynthesis of capsular polysaccharides (cps region) were used to develop a multiplex PCR test for the simultaneous species identification and serotyping of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 2, 5, and 6. Primers specific for serotypes 2, 5, and 6 were combined with the already existing species-specific primers used in a PCR test based on the omlA gene. The PCR test was evaluated with serotype reference strains of A. pleuropneumoniae as well as 182 Danish field isolates previously serotyped by latex agglutination or immunodiffusion. For all serologically typeable strains, a complete correspondence was found between the results obtained by the multiplex PCR test and the results obtained by the traditional serotyping methods. Six of eight serologically nontypeable strains could be allocated to a serotype on the basis of the multiplex PCR results. The species specificity of the assay was evaluated with a collection of 93 strains representing 29 different species within the family Pasteurellaceae, as well as species normally found in the respiratory tracts of swine. All of these strains were negative by the multiplex PCR test, including 50 field isolates of the phylogenetically closely related species Actinobacillus lignieresii. When the multiplex PCR test was used to test Danish field strains, it was able to identify the serotypes of approximately 94% of all strains isolated from swine with clinical disease. More than 90% of the isolates that cross-reacted by the latex agglutination test were of serotype 2, 5, or 6. Determination of the serotype by PCR represents a convenient and specific method for the serotyping of A. pleuropneumoniae in diagnostic laboratories. (+info)
Association of the RTX proteins of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae with hemolytic, CAMP, and neutrophil-cytotoxic activities.
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The immunoglobulin G from a monospecific rabbit antiserum to the 110-kDa RTX hemolysin of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 1 was used to determine that the related RTX proteins in isolates from serotypes 2 to 12 were also responsible for the hemolytic, CAMP, and neutrophil-cytotoxic activities produced by this bacterium. These proteins share common neutralizing epitopes. (+info)
Comparison of the cytolysin II genetic determinants of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes.
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Cytolysins (Cly) I, II, and III are toxins secreted by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. These toxins are thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of porcine pleuropneumonia. ClyI and ClyII are RTX toxins and in general these toxins are encoded by operons consisting of four genes, C, A, B, and D. Our group recently cloned the C and A genes of the ClyII operon (clyIICA) of serotype 9. We found that this ClyII operon is truncated and lacked intact B and D genes (clyIIBD). B and D genes of the ClyI operon (clyIBD) were present however in serotype 9. In this study we analyzed the ClyII operons of the reference strains of the 12 A. pleuropneumoniae serotypes and compared them with the ClyII operon of serotype 9. We focused on (i) the presence, (ii) the sequence similarity, and (iii) the genomic environment of the clyIICA genes. The presence of the clyIICA sequences was studied by hybridization analysis of genomic DNA. The sequence similarity was studied by restriction fragment analysis on polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA. The genomic environment was compared by analysis of the sequences that are located 3' of the clyIICA genes. We demonstrated that the clyIICA genes (i) are present in the reference strains of all serotypes, except serotype 10, (ii) have a high degree of sequence similarity, and (iii) are not contiguous with intact clyIIBD genes. We conclude that the organization and nucleotide sequence of the ClyII operons of A. pleuropneumoniae are very similar. We also studied the presence of clyIBD sequences and found them to be present in the reference strains of all serotypes, except serotypes 3 and 6. Thus, in most serotypes the clyIBD genes may complement the absent clyIIBD genes. (+info)
Characterization of the lipopolysaccharide O antigens of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotypes 9 and 11: antigenic relationships among serotypes 9, 11, and 1.
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The antigenic lipopolysaccharide O polysaccharides of capsular serotypes 9 and 11 were examined by chemical, immunological, and nuclear magnetic resonance methods. Immunodiffusion tests carried out on these O antigens indicated that both contained common epitopes which were also shared by Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 1. Chemical analysis and high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that the O antigens of serotypes 9 and 11 were high-molecular-weight polymers consisting of a backbone of repeating trisaccharide units composed of alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl and alpha-D-glucopyranosyl residues (2:1). One of the alpha-L-rhamnose units forms a branch point and is stoichiometrically substituted with terminal 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucose residues in the serotype 11 O polysaccharide, but only to the extent of 25% in the serotype 9 O polysaccharide. Thus, the serotype 9 O polysaccharide contains two different repeating units: a tetrasaccharide unit with the same structure as that of the serotype 11 O polysaccharide and a trisaccharide unit: [formula: see text] where R = beta-D-GlcpNAc for serotype 1 and 11 O polysaccharides, and R = H (75%) and R = beta-D-GlcpNAc (25%) for serotype 9. The structure of the previously determined serotype 1 O polysaccharide (E. Altman, J.-R. Brisson, and M. B. Perry, Biochem. Cell. Biol. 64:17-25, 1986) is identical to that of the serotype 11 O polysaccharide. We propose a more complete serotyping scheme for A. pleuropneumoniae which includes designation of both the capsular (K) and O antigens. (+info)
Inhibition of bactericidal activity of anticapsular antibody by nonspecific antibodies reactive with surface-exposed antigenic determinants on Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae.
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In an attempt to understand the mechanism of serum resistance in Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, in the present study we examined various interactions among the bacterial surface constituents, serum antibodies, and complement. Analysis of swine sera revealed the presence of anticapsular antibodies in convalescent-phase sera but not in preimmune sera. Both types of sera contained antibodies which reacted with each of 14 polypeptides present in saline extracts of the bacteria. Absorption of the preimmune sera with intact bacteria depleted antibodies to two of the polypeptides (27 and 32 kDa) and high-molecular-weight (greater than 97.4,000) components which did not stain with Coomassie blue. Data derived from complement consumption and C3-binding experiments indicated that the organism was capable of initiating complement activation and binding C3 during incubation in preimmune and immune sera. Experiments designed to evaluate the bactericidal effectiveness of anticapsular antibody revealed that the purified antibody was bactericidal only when preimmune sera absorbed with intact bacteria were used as a source of complement. The bactericidal effects of anticapsular antibody and absorbed preimmune sera were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by heat-inactivated preimmune sera and immunoglobulin G derived from the sera. The inhibitory activity of the preimmune sera was neutralized by preincubating the sera with column fractions of the saline extract which contained either the 27- or the 32-kDa polypeptide. These results indicate that serum resistance in A. pleuropneumoniae 4074 could be related to inhibition of the bactericidal action of anticapsular antibody by nonspecific antibodies which recognize surface-exposed epitopes on the polypeptides. (+info)
Influence of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 2 and its cytolysins on porcine neutrophil chemiluminescence.
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The effects of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 2 and its metabolites on the oxidative activity of porcine neutrophils were studied by using a chemiluminescence technique. Viable A. pleuropneumoniae stimulated the production of oxygen radicals by neutrophils. After having reached a peak value, the oxidative activity decreased until a total inhibition of the oxidative activity of the neutrophils was achieved. All effects were neutralized with homologous convalescent-phase pig sera which had been adsorbed by heat-inactivated A. pleuropneumoniae. Inactivated bacteria and bacteria in the presence of chloramphenicol each had no influence on the oxidative activity of neutrophils. In contrast, a heat-labile factor in A. pleuropneumoniae culture supernatants stimulated and inhibited the oxidative activity of the neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner. Undiluted and low dilutions of culture supernatants were toxic for the phagocytes, while high dilutions stimulated the oxygen radical production of the neutrophils. These effects were neutralized with homologous convalescent-phase pig sera. In order to investigate whether the heat-labile factors in the culture supernatant could be cytolysins, we repeated the experiments with cytolysin II and cytolysin III produced by recombinant Escherichia coli. It was demonstrated that stimulation and inhibition could be reproduced by both cytolysins. In conclusion, the observations made in this study showed that A. pleuropneumoniae secretes heat-labile metabolites that stimulate neutrophil-oxidative metabolism at relatively low concentrations and kill the neutrophils at higher concentrations. Cytolysins may be responsible, at least in part, for these effects. (+info)