Active immunization with EPF suppresses the formation of immune ascites in BALB/c mice.
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The production of early pregnancy factor (EPF) is not confined to pregnancy--EPF has been detected as a product of tumour and transformed cells in vivo and in vitro. In this study, EPF (or an EPF-like substance) was detected also in the serum of BALB/c mice, 7 days after intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of the mineral oil pristane. Furthermore, EPF was present in serum from mineral oil-induced plasmacytoma-susceptible mice throughout the latent period potentially leading to tumour development, peaking around the time neoplastic cells were identified in ascites. Since mineral oil-induced granuloma is essential to development of immune ascites, involvement of EPF in this process was investigated. Active immunization of BALB/c mice with EPF was shown to suppress the production of immune ascites, induced by multiple i.p. injections of antigen in complete Freund's adjuvant. Of the mice immunized with EPF (n = 19), only 47% produced ascites, compared with 94% of mice receiving saline or human chorionic gonadotrophin and 100% of mice receiving keyhole limpet haemocyanin. Further investigations revealed that ascites was only produced in mice that maintained free-circulating EPF. These mice displayed the classic mineral oil-induced granuloma covering the tissues of the peritoneum. In contrast, the serum of mice that did not produce ascites tested negative for EPF and the peritonea of these mice were devoid of the oil granuloma. These studies suggest that EPF is involved in the initiation and maintenance of the inflammatory response of the peritoneum to mineral oil. (+info)
Vaccination-induced systemic autoimmunity in farmed Atlantic salmon.
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Over half of the salmon consumed globally are farm-raised. The introduction of oil-adjuvanted vaccines into salmon aquaculture made large-scale production feasible by preventing infections. The vaccines that are given i.p. contain oil adjuvant such as mineral oil. However, in rodents, a single i.p. injection of adjuvant hydrocarbon oil induces lupus-like systemic autoimmune syndrome, characterized by autoantibodies, immune complex glomerulonephritis, and arthritis. In the present study, whether the farmed salmon that received oil-adjuvanted vaccine have autoimmune syndrome similar to adjuvant oil-injected rodents was examined. Sera and tissues were collected from vaccinated or unvaccinated Atlantic salmon (experimental, seven farms) and wild salmon. Autoantibodies (immunofluorescence, ELISA, and immunoprecipitation) and IgM levels (ELISA) in sera were measured. Kidneys and livers were examined for pathology. Autoantibodies were common in vaccinated fish vs unvaccinated controls and they reacted with salmon cells/Ags in addition to their reactivity with mammalian Ags. Diffuse nuclear/cytoplasmic staining was common in immunofluorescence but some had more specific patterns. Serum total IgM levels were also increased in vaccinated fish; however, the fold increase of autoantibodies was much more than that of total IgM. Sera from vaccinated fish immunoprecipitated ferritin and approximately 50% also reacted with other unique proteins. Thrombosis and granulomatous inflammation in liver, and immune-complex glomerulonephritis were common in vaccinated fish. Autoimmunity similar to the mouse model of adjuvant oil-induced lupus is common in vaccinated farmed Atlantic salmon. This may have a significant impact on production loss, disease of previously unknown etiology, and future strategies of vaccines and salmon farming. (+info)
Ultrasonographic uterine changes and vaginal discharges following intrauterine infusion of liquid paraffin in cows.
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This study was conducted to examine uterine changes and uterocervical discharges following intrauterine infusion with liquid paraffin (LP) during the luteal phase by ultrasonic and vaginoscopic examinations in cows. Multiparous dairy cows (n=10) were infused with 50 ml physiological saline (PS group; n=5) or liquid paraffin (LP group; n=5) on day 10 or 11 after ovulation (day 0: ovulation). Vaginoscopic, rectal and ultrasonogaphic examinations were carried out at 0.25, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 24 h after the LP and PS infusion and then at daily intervals until subsequent ovulation after the infusions. The mean volumes of recovered discharges from the vagina within 6 h after infusion were significantly greater (P<0.05) in the LP group than in the PS group (33.0 +/- 9.9 vs.14.0 +/- 13.9 ml). Yellowish-white discharge was first observed at 3.2 +/- 0.5 and 3.6 +/- 0.6 h after infusion and lasted for 12.2 +/- 2.9 and 2.1 +/- 1.5 days for the LP and PS groups, respectively, showing a significant difference (P<0.05) in duration. Subsequently, transparent discharge appeared again 2-3 days before the subsequent ovulation after the treatments in both groups and disappeared on the day prior to or the day of ovulation. During the immediate examination after the infusion, the cavity of the uterine horn appeared anechoic and dilated in the images of both groups. The anechoic images changed to echoic images at 2.2 +/- 0.8 and 2.6 +/- 0.9 h after the infusion in the LP and PS groups, respectively, and the echoic images lasted for 12.2 +/- 2.9 and 2.1 +/- 1.5 days in the LP and PS groups, respectively. These results suggest that the appearance and disappearance of intrauterine anechoic and echoic images reflect the appearance and disappearance of the characteristics of the recovered LP/PS-like liquid and yellowish-white and transparent discharges from the vagina. (+info)
Determination of hydroperoxide content in complex hydrocarbon mixtures by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry.
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A known principle in which triphenylphosphine is allowed to be oxidized by hydroperoxides to triphenylphosphine oxide, was developed into an analytical method for determination of hydroperoxide content in light mineral oils using GCMS-detection and quantification. By suitable choice of reagent solution solvents and internal standard, the method proved to be simple to apply and very rugged. For a series of oven-aged oil samples the developed method gave results with a satisfactory correlation to an established iodometric method (which also gave a higher standard deviation). A mechanistic explanation for interference of high concentrations of added aldehydes on measurements was also suggested, but it was found that the interference is of no practical consequence for oxidized oil samples. (+info)
Bacterial communities from shoreline environments (costa da morte, northwestern Spain) affected by the prestige oil spill.
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Ammonium accumulation and use of mineral oil overlay do not alter imprinting establishment at three key imprinted genes in mouse oocytes grown and matured in a long-term follicle culture.
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