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C R Helps

Publications and source records attributed to C R Helps.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Detection of antibodies to Borna disease virus in Turkish cats by using recombinant p40.

Recombinant p40 produced by baculovirus was used in an ELISA to screen samples of serum taken from 80 cats in Istanbul. The sera were also analysed for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV). Antibodies to Borna disease virus- (BDV) p40 were detected in 34 (42-5 per cent) of the 80 cats. Seventy-three per cent of the sera which were positive for FIV and 26 per cent of the sera which were negative for FIV had antibodies to BDV. There was no difference in the percentage of sera which were positive for BDV between the cats that were positive or negative for FeLV. Three of the cats had neurological disease and two of these had antibodies to BDV. Six sera with low, medium or high optical densities (ODS) by ELISA were analysed by Western blotting. Only the sera with medium and high ODS reacted specifically with p40 at a dilution of 1 in 1,000.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed2001

16S rDNA comparison demonstrates near identity between an United Kingdom Haemobartonella felis strain and the American California strain.

A handful of North American (USA) strains of the uncultured erythrocytotrophic pathogen of cats, Haemobartonella felis, have been differentiated by comparison of the 16S rRNA gene sequences. Using this approach, an UK strain was characterised, providing an identity for a non-USA H. felis for the first time. This strain shared close phylogenetic homology with the USA Californian strain.

Anaplasmataceae↗
PubMed2001

Jugular venous emboli of brain tissue induced in sheep by the use of captive bolt guns.

Emboli of central nervous tissue were detected in the jugular venous blood of two of 15 sheep stunned with a conventional cartridge-operated captive bolt gun and in two of 15 sheep stunned with a pneumatically activated gun. No emboli were detected in arterial blood from these sheep or in venous blood from sheep stunned electrically. Emboli from an animal with BSE could transmit the disease to people.

Abattoirs↗
PubMed2000

Molecular cloning and phylogenetic analysis of a cDNA encoding the cat (Felis domesticus) Ig epsilon constant region.

A feline splenic cDNA library was screened with a (32)P-labelled cDNA probe encoding the canine IgE epsilon heavy chain subunit. A cDNA sequence of 1614 nucleotides encoding the complete feline IgE heavy chain, as well as a portion of a variable region, was identified. A search of the GenBank database revealed an identity of 82% at the nucleotide level and 76% at the amino acid level between the feline epsilon heavy chain sequence and the canine homologue. In a separate study, feline genomic DNA, isolated from whole feline embryo cells, was subjected to PCR amplification using primers based on known partial genomic DNA sequences for the feline C epsilon gene. Following removal of an intron from the 683 bp PCR product, the coding sequence yielded an ORF of 506 bp. The DNA sequence of this PCR clone differed by a single nucleotide from the cDNA clone. This difference is silent, and therefore the proteins encoded by the two sequences are identical over the regions cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of the constant regions of nine immunoglobulin epsilon genes revealed that the feline cDNA is most similar to the canine homologue.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Methods for detection of haematogenous dissemination of brain tissue after stunning of cattle with captive bolt guns.

Because of concern that the stunning of cattle with captive bolt guns (CBGs) could, if used on an animal with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), cause embolism of infective brain tissue and carcass contamination, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries commissioned research to assess the risk of haematogenous dissemination of CNS material after stunning. We have devised two methods to investigate this risk. The first involves the concentration of embolic tissue in buffy coat Cytoblocks that can be embedded for sectioning, microscopy and immunocytochemistry. The second method is an ELISA for the presynaptic protein, syntaxin 1B. The methods were validated by analysis of several bovine tissues, including blood samples deliberately contaminated with brain. We then studied jugular venous blood obtained before and after the stunning of 60 cattle with CBGs. Samples obtained, after stunning, from five of the cattle contained CNS tissue within the Cytoblocks and yielded positive syntaxin assays. Syntaxin was also detected in samples from one other animal that had been stunned with a pneumatically operated CBG. The described methods should allow an assessment of the risk of neuroembolism associated with different types of CBG and may also be useful in other contexts.

Abattoirs↗
PubMed2000

Cytokine mRNA expression in mucosal biopsies from German shepherd dogs with small intestinal enteropathies.

German shepherd dogs (GSD) are predisposed to enteropathies such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). The present study examined the role of cytokines in the immunopathogenesis of both conditions. Duodenal mucosal biopsies were taken from GSDs with small intestinal enteropathies (group 1; N = 16) or control dogs (group 2, N = 12). IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12p40, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta1 mRNA expression was determined by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. IL-2, IL-5, IL-12p40, TNF-alpha, and TGF-beta1 mRNA expression in group 1 dogs was significantly greater than in group 2 dogs (all P<0.01), but there were no significant differences between dogs with IBD or SIBO. Further, antibiotic treatment in five dogs with SIBO, resulted in reduced TNF-alpha and TGF-beta1 mRNA expression (P<0.05). Such alterations in cytokine mRNA expression suggest heightened immune responses within the duodenal mucosa in GSDs with either SIBO or IBD.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

PCR-based 16S ribosomal DNA detection technique for Clostridium estertheticum causing spoilage in vacuum-packed chill-stored beef.

Chill stored vacuum-packaged meat is sometimes spoiled by psychrotrophic or psychrophilic clostridia. Clostridium estertheticum was first isolated from vacuum-packed beef from southern Africa, but has recently been found in beef originating from northern Europe. This organism is difficult to isolate using conventional methods, and two PCR-based methods have been devised for use in measures to control the bacterium in the abattoir and to study its ecology. In the first method, primers were designed having a high annealing temperature of 65 degrees C to increase specificity, producing a PCR product of 567 bp from the 16S rDNA. Two species of Enterobacteriaceae found in meat cross-reacted in this test, and so it was necessary to use a second step, digesting the PCR product with two restriction enzymes. Subsequently a further set of primers was designed, producing a PCR product of 641 bp, and using an annealing temperature of 60 degrees C. The second procedure was more specific and did not require subsequent restriction analysis of the PCR product. The two sets of primers appeared to have similar sensitivity, detecting 10-100 cells of C. estertheticum in broth, meat or meat purge (drip). A semiquantitative method is described for estimating numbers of the target bacterium.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Cytokine mRNA expression in lesions in cats with chronic gingivostomatitis.

Semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR assays were developed to measure feline interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12 (p35 & p40); gamma interferon (IFN-gamma); and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA concentrations in biopsies of feline oral mucosa. Biopsies were collected from 30 cats with chronic gingivostomatitis (diseased) prior to each cat receiving one of four treatments. In 23 cases replicate biopsies were collected 3 months after treatment commenced. Biopsies were also analyzed from 11 cats without clinical disease (nondiseased). Expression of IL-2, IL-10, IL-12 (p35 and p40), and IFN-gamma was detected in most nondiseased biopsies, while IL-6 was detected in a minority, and IL-4 and IL-5 were both undetectable. Compared to nondiseased cats, the diseased population showed a significant increase in the relative mRNA expression of IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 (p35 and p40), and IFN-gamma. In contrast, IL-5 mRNA expression was unchanged and was only detected in one case. No significant relationship was demonstrable between the change in relative expression of specific cytokine mRNA and the change in clinical severity of the local mucosal lesions over the treatment period. The results demonstrate that the normal feline oral mucosa is biased towards a predominantly (Th) type 1 profile of cytokine expression and that during the development of lesions seen in feline chronic gingivostomatitis there is a shift in the cytokine profile from a type 1 to a mixed type 1 and type 2 response.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Natural Borna disease virus infection in cats in the United Kingdom.

Borna disease virus (BDV) is a novel RNA virus that has only recently been characterised and classified in a new virus family, Bornaviridae. The virus was detected in buffy coat cells from four of five cats with neurological disease and in the brains of five of 15 cats with nervous signs and of one of three cats with non-neurological disease. In a serosurvey of 111 cats the incidence of antibody to BDV in cats with neurological disease was higher than in cats with other types of disease, suggesting that the virus may play a role in nervous diseases of cats in the UK.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Antibody and cytokine responses in kittens during the development of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).

Two recombinant FIPV spike proteins were assessed for their immunogenic properties in 8-week-old kittens, which were then challenged intranasally with FIPV 79-1146. Humoral responses were assessed by ELISA and serum neutralisation test. Changes in PBMC cytokine mRNA levels were detected by a reverse transcription, semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-sqPCR), assessing IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and IFNgamma. All of the kittens developed clinical signs typical of FIP, which were confirmed on gross post mortem examination. The recombinant proteins induced little or no specific antibody response prior to challenge, and failed to alter the course of disease compared to controls. One week after virus challenge, the stimulated PBMCs showed small increases in the expression of IL-6 and IFNgamma mRNA, which correlated with a transient pyrexia. After this time expression of IL-6 mRNA remained unaltered but, as FIP developed, mRNA levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12 and IFNgamma became markedly depressed.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Comparison of the complete sequence of feline spumavirus with those of the primate spumaviruses reveals a shorter gag gene.

The complete nucleotide sequence of the provirus of feline foamy virus (FeFV), strain F-17, was determined, and compared to the available data for human and simian spumaviruses. In addition to the usual retroviral gag, pol and env genes, two open reading frames are present between the env gene and the 3'-LTR, as in the simian spumaviruses, the first being the putative transactivator. The gag gene is predicted to encode a precursor protein of only 53 kDa compared to 70 kDa for simian spumaviruses and a doublet of 70/74 kDa for human spumavirus. The gag gene contains conserved splice acceptor and donor sites suggesting that, like human foamy virus, FeFV expresses its pol gene using a spliced mRNA. The poland envgenes showed greater sequence similarity to their counterparts in the primate spumaviruses than the gag gene and additional open reading frames.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Regulation of glycosylation of Lamp-1 in the bovine renal epithelial cell line NBL-1 by changes in the concentration of extracellular phosphate.

We have identified the bovine renal homologue of Lamp-1 (lysosomal-associated membrane glycoprotein 1). It has very similar physical characteristics to other Lamp-1 proteins from a wide variety of tissues and species. Partial sequence analysis has shown it to be 61% identical with human Lamp-1 and about 50% identical with rat and mouse Lamp-1. The extent of glycosylation of bovine Lamp-1 alters in response to changes in the concentration of extracellular phosphate. Bovine renal epithelial cells (NBL-1) grown in normal or phosphate-starved medium contain Lamp-1 of 120 kDa. However, if cells are grown in medium containing 8-10 mM phosphate, they contain Lamp-1 of only 100 kDa. The core protein and mRNA levels have been shown to remain constant under both conditions. Therefore the only conclusion is that the extent of Lamp-1 glycosylation must be changing in response to the extracellular concentration of phosphate. Unlike Carlsson and Fukuda [(1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 20488-20495], who showed that the human Lamp-1 protein contained polylactosaminoglycan residues, we have been unable to demonstrate the partial deglycosylation of bovine Lamp-1 by endo-beta-galactosidase. This enzyme removes polylactosaminoglycan groups from glycoproteins, and therefore indicates that the carbohydrate structure of bovine Lamp-1 is probably different from that of other Lamp-1 proteins. At present the physiological importance of bovine renal Lamp-1 and the changes in its extent of glycosylation are unknown. In this paper we postulate that Lamp-1 may be involved in the cycling of plasma-membrane proteins to the lysosome. This is based on the finding that the only other known effect of high extracellular phosphate on NBL-1 cells is to cause a decrease in the Vmax. of plasma-membrane-associated Na(+)-dependent phosphate transport [Helps and McGivan (1991) Eur. J. Biochem. 200, 797-803].

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Adaptive regulation of Na(+)-dependent phosphate transport in the bovine renal epithelial cell line NBL-1. Identification of the phosphate transporter as a 55-kDa glycoprotein.

1. Na(+)-dependent phosphate transport activity from bovine brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV) was reconstituted into artificial phospholipid membranes. It was shown, using lectin affinity chromatography, that transport activity was mediated by a glycoprotein. 2. The bovine kidney epithelial cell line NBL-1 expresses a Na(+)-dependent phosphate transporter which shows adaptive regulation in response to various media phosphate concentrations. Cells incubated in low-phosphate medium and medium containing 10 mM phosphate have Vmax values of 6.34 +/- 0.18 and 2.95 +/- 0.1 nmol.mg-1.3 min-1 and Km values of 17.1 +/- 3.0 and 36.3 +/- 7.14 microM for phosphate transport, respectively. Thus there is a significant (P less than 0.001) decrease in the Km and increase in the Vmax of transport when cells are transferred from 10 mM phosphate medium to low-phosphate medium. 3. Adaptation of phosphate transport in NBL-1 cells to low-phosphate medium was abolished by tunicamycin, an inhibitor of protein glycosylation, indicating that the transporter in these cells, like that in bovine BBMV, is a glycoprotein. 4. Cells were adapted to low-phosphate medium in the presence of [3H]mannose. Under these conditions a single membrane protein of molecular mass 55 kDa was labelled in the absence but not the presence of tunicamycin. Little labelling occurred if the cells were maintained in high-phosphate medium. 5. On the basis of these observations, it is proposed that the phosphate transporter of NBL-1 cells is a 55-kDa glycoprotein. Phosphate is accumulated across the brush border membrane of renal proximal tubule cells via a Na+/phosphate cotransport system. Na(+)-dependent phosphate transport has been extensively studied in isolated brush border membrane vesicles from rabbit and rat kidney [1-3]. The symport of phosphate and Na+ is electroneutral with a stoichiometry of 2Na+/phosphate at physiological pH values.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Detection of chicken anemia virus DNA in the thymus of naturally infected chicks in turkey.

In this study, 94 clinically ill 11-28-day-old chicks belonging to eight broiler units from the Marmara region were investigated clinically for changes in hematocrit values and for the presence of chicken anemia virus (CAV) DNA. CAV DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction in the thymus of 8.5% of the chicks. These chicks showed clinical signs of diarrhea, anorexia, depression, and growth retardation. The hematocrit values of these chicks were between 24% and 38%. At necropsy, hemorrhages were observed in the leg and pectoral muscles. Atrophy was noted in the thymus and in the bursa of Fabricius of positive chicks, and hemorrhages in the proventriculus of one positive chick were observed. This report describes the first detection of CAV DNA in chicks in Turkey.

Animals↗