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Biomedical subjects

R M Batt

Publications and source records attributed to R M Batt.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Pancreatic function following partial pancreatectomy and anastomosis of the pancreatic duct to the stomach or duodenum in dogs.

The effects of pancreatic duct anastomosis to stomach (stomach group) or duodenum (duodenal group) on pancreatic function were examined in dogs following two thirds pancreatectomy. Normal fasting blood glucose concentrations were maintained in both groups despite significant reductions in glucose tolerance in the stomach group, and reductions in fasting insulin and insulin peak response in both groups. Pancreatic exocrine function was significantly decreased in both groups, though plasma p-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) concentrations were generally higher in the duodenal group. A correlation was found between plasma trypsin-like immunoreactivity (TLI) and pancreatic weight. These results indicate that anastomosis of the pancreas to bowel can be undertaken with minimal postoperative complications and that the site of the anastomosis influences pancreatic function. They suggest that preservation of more than one third of the pancreas is required for optimal function. The complementary information provided by the PABA and TLI tests suggests their dual application will be clinically useful for the detection and characterisation of naturally occurring pancreatic diseases.

4-Aminobenzoic Acid↗
PubMed1992

Immune responses to dietary antigens in gluten-sensitive enteropathy of Irish setters.

This study examined whether increased intestinal permeability in Irish setters with gluten-sensitive enteropathy was associated with altered immune responses to ingested antigens, and whether a humoral immune response to gluten is involved in the pathogenesis of the condition. Affected setters reared on a wheat-containing diet were compared with littermates reared on a cereal-free diet and age-matched control setters. Measurement of serum immunoglobulins revealed increased serum IgA concentrations in affected dogs. Antibody responses to a variety of dietary antigens were measured by ELISA. Antibody levels to ovalbumin, collagen I and II and soya were not significantly different from normal dogs. Anti-gliadin antibody concentrations were lower in affected dogs than controls, and correlated with immune complex formation as assessed by C1q binding. The study suggested a modified immune response in dogs with increased intestinal permeability, although there was no major systemic antibody response to dietary antigens.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

The large plasmids found in enterohemorrhagic and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli constitute a related series of transfer-defective Inc F-IIA replicons.

Forty-six of 52 (88.5%) enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) strains screened carried a "common" plasmid of about 90 kb which encoded sequences homologous to the Inc F-IIA replicon. A similarly high incidence of Inc F-IIA plasmid-containing strains was observed in other groups of diarrheagenic E. coli, but not in random environmental coliform isolates. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) contain plasmids of similar properties and share a 23-kb DNA fragment with plasmids from EHEC. The common region encodes the F-IIA replication region and sequences homologous to the transfer operon of the Inc F-II plasmid R1. Sequence homology varied between plasmids isolated from different EHEC/EPEC strains with > 80% showing homology to the regions encoding the rep and par genes. Only 5% of plasmids from EHEC strains had intact sequences homologous to the DNA between these two regions, including the oriT site. Some plasmids with an apparently intact tra operon still failed to plaque F-pilus-specific phages. This is consistent with observations that the large plasmids of EHEC and EPEC are phenotypically nonconjugative. These results suggest that the large plasmids of EHEC/EPEC constitute a family of transfer-deficient Inc F-IIA plasmids with varying degrees of deletion in tra function. The evolutionary ramifications of this finding are considered.

DNA Probes↗
PubMed1992

Novel invasion determinant of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli plasmid pLV501 encodes the ability to invade intestinal epithelial cells and HEp-2 cells.

An Escherichia coli K-12 transformant carrying 96.5-kb plasmid pLV501 from enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strain K798 is able to produce the same characteristic attaching-effacing lesions in a rabbit ileal biopsy explant model as its parent strain. Cloned EcoRI-SalI DNA restriction fragments from this plasmid failed to reproduce the attaching-effacing lesions, but one recombinant plasmid, pLV527, containing 4.5 kb of pLV501 DNA, conferred on E. coli DH1 transformants the ability to invade enterocytes in the rabbit explant model. DH1(pLV527) was also able to adhere to and invade HEp-2 cells. The relative invasive ability of DH1(pLV527) was quantified by recovery of internalized bacteria following gentamicin treatment of infected HEp-2 monolayers. DH1(pLV527) was 1,000-fold more invasive than DH1 carrying pBR322 or a recombinant plasmid which had no physiological effect on ileal biopsy explants but was less invasive than an enteroinvasive E. coli strain or a transformant carrying the cloned invasion genes of Shigella flexneri. Invasion by DH1(pLV501) could also be detected but occurred at a level 30 times lower than that by DH1(pLV527). Colony-hybridization of the pLV527 insert against a panel of 49 EPEC and related strains revealed that only 11 contained pLV527-hybridizing sequences; thus, the invasion determinant is not an essential component of the attachment-effacement pathogenic mechanism. One pLV527-hybridizing strain displayed both attachment-effacement and invasiveness in the rabbit ileal biopsy explant model. No significant hybridization was observed to non-EPEC invasive pathogenic enteric bacteria, indicating that the invasion determinant encoded on pLV527 is distinct from those used by these organisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Dietary modulation of gluten sensitivity in a naturally occurring enteropathy of Irish setter dogs.

Gluten sensitivity in a naturally occurring enteropathy of Irish setter dogs, and the effects of excluding dietary cereal from birth on the subsequent response to gluten challenge were investigated. Peroral jejunal biopsy specimens were obtained at 1 year of age for morphometric and biochemical examinations, and intestinal permeability was assessed using 51Cr-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Affected setters, reared on a normal wheat containing diet, exhibited partial villus atrophy, intraepithelial lymphocyte infiltration, reduced brush border alkaline phosphatase activity, and increased intestinal permeability. Gluten sensitivity was shown by introduction of a gluten free diet, which resulted in resolution of morphological and biochemical abnormalities and decreased intestinal permeability, and subsequent gluten challenge, which resulted in relapse. In contrast, littermates reared exclusively on a cereal free diet showed minimal changes when challenged with gluten, apart from intraepithelial lymphocyte infiltration. These findings document a gluten sensitive enteropathy in Irish setters and indicate that exclusion of dietary cereal from birth may modify subsequent expression of the disease.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1992

Effects of enteropathogenic Escherichia coli on microvillar membrane proteins during organ culture of rabbit intestinal mucosa.

This study examines the effects of an enteropathogenic Escherichia coli on microvillar membrane proteins during organ culture of rabbit ileal explants. Explants maintained with enteropathogenic E coli showed brush border effacement affecting approximately 50% of enterocytes, and where enteropathogenic E coli were closely adherent to the enterocyte surface microvilli were apparently being shed as vesicles. The microvillar membrane enzymes alkaline phosphatase, aminopeptidase N and alpha-glucosidase were released into the culture medium during organ culture, and this process was significantly enhanced by enteropathogenic E coli. This increased loss of microvillar membrane enzymes into the culture medium was associated with decreased tissue activities of microvillar membrane enzymes in enteropathogenic E coli infected ileal explants compared with control. For aminopeptidase N in particular, however, total enzyme activities in the tissue plus culture medium were increased comparing enteropathogenic E coli with control, suggesting that there might be an increase in the rate of synthesis of certain microvillar membrane proteins. Reorientating sucrose density gradient centrifugation of culture medium showed that alkaline phosphatase, aminopeptidase N and alpha-glucosidase were predominantly associated with particles of peak modal density 1.19 g/ml in both groups, confirming that enteropathogenic E coli accelerate release of microvillar membrane enzymes as vesicles. Analytical fractionation of ileal explants showed that enteropathogenic E coli resulted in a loss of microvillar membrane enzyme activities from the main brush border peak of modal density 1.21 g/ml present in controls. The density of the remaining smaller and lighter peak increased from 1.19 g/ml to 1.23 g/ml after homogenisation in digitonin, confirming association of these proteins with cholesterol containing membranes and not endoplasmic reticulum. These findings suggest that enteropathogenic E. coli accelerate the normal shedding of microvillar membrane proteins as vesicles, and may stimulate a compensatory increase in microvillar membrane protein synthesis.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed1992

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and enhanced intestinal permeability in healthy beagles.

The small intestine of healthy adult Beagles was examined to determine whether subclinical abnormalities might exist that would be relevant to the use of Beagles in pharmacologic studies. Duodenal juice was obtained for qualitative and quantitative bacteriologic examinations; jejunal mucosa was taken for morphologic and biochemical investigation, and intestinal permeability was assessed by quantification of 24-hour urinary excretion of 51Cr-labeled EDTA after its oral administration. Comparisons were made with findings in healthy adult dogs of other breeds that served as controls. Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth was found in 14 of the 21 Beagles examined, and represented a mixed flora that included obligate anaerobic bacteria in 8 dogs and exclusively aerobic bacteria in 6 dogs. Intestinal permeability (percentage urinary recovery of 51Cr-labeled EDTA; mean +/- SEM) was considerably higher (P < 0.01) in Beagles with anaerobic overgrowth (37.6 +/- 3.2%) or aerobic overgrowth (30.5 +/- 4.8%), compared with Beagles with no overgrowth (17.3 +/- 1.6%) and with controls (11.1 +/- 1.0%). In Beagles, significant (r = 0.54, P = 0.03) correlation was observed between 24-hour urinary recovery of 51Cr-labeled EDTA and bacterial numbers in duodenal juice. Morphologic changes in jejunal mucosa were minimal, and specific activities of brush border enzymes were not significantly decreased, apart from aminopeptidase N, but activities of lysosomal and endoplasmic reticular marker enzymes were higher in the 3 groups of Beagles with anaerobic, aerobic, or no overgrowth, compared with controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Effect of pancreatectomy on plasma activities of amylase, isoamylase, lipase and trypsin-like immunoreactivity in dogs.

The contribution of the pancreas to the plasma activities of amylase, isoamylase, lipase and the concentration of trypsin-like immunoreactivity (TLI) in the dog was examined by measuring the activities of these enzymes before and after total pancreatectomy. Pancreatectomy was followed by a decrease in the concentration of TLI (from 6.2 +/- 0.3 micrograms litre-1 to 1.2 +/- 0.3 micrograms litre-1; P less than 0.001) and activity of isoamylase peak 4 (from 1257 +/- 105 iu litre-1 to 894 +/- 171 iu litre-1; P less than 0.05). Though significantly reduced, the activities of peak 4 isoamylase were still within the normal range for control dogs. Pancreatectomy did not significantly alter the activities of amylase, lipase or isoamylase peaks 1, 2 and 3. These findings provide strong evidence that the pancreas is not the sole source of circulating amylase, isoamylase and lipase activities. In contrast the marked reductions in TLI to values close to the limits of assay sensitivity suggest that TLI is derived from the pancreas alone. The results indicate that assay of circulating TLI provides a more sensitive and specific indicator of pancreatic exocrine mass than plasma amylase, lipase or isoamylase activities.

Amylases↗
PubMed1991

Differential sugar absorption for the assessment of canine intestinal permeability: the cellobiose/mannitol test in gluten-sensitive enteropathy of Irish setters.

Intestinal permeability was assessed in Irish setters with gluten-sensitive enteropathy by oral administration of an isotonic solution of cellobiose and mannitol, and measurement of their urinary excretion ratio. The cellobiose/mannitol ratio was increased in affected Irish setters fed a wheat-containing diet compared both with littermates reared on a cereal-free diet, with no evidence of jejunal damage, and clinically healthy Irish setters. The ratio fell following six weeks on a gluten-free diet to be comparable with control values, and subsequently increased after six weeks gluten challenge. The results indicate that the cellobiose/mannitol test may be useful for the detection of mucosal damage and for monitoring the response to therapy.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Relative IgA deficiency and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth in German shepherd dogs.

Serum immunoglobulin concentrations and densities of IgA-producing immunocytes in intestinal mucosa were compared in a group of clinically healthy dogs of various breeds, a group of clinically healthy German shepherd dogs, and a group of German shepherds with bacterial overgrowth in the proximal small intestine. Serum concentrations of IgA, but not IgM or IgG, were significantly lower in the clinically healthy German shepherd dogs than in other purebreed and mixbreed dogs, indicating that production of IgA by gut-associated lymphoid tissue might be relatively low in this breed. However, densities of IgA-producing cells were not significantly different comparing these two groups, suggesting that any impairment of mucosal IgA production is more likely to be related to defective synthesis or secretion of IgA than to reduced numbers of IgA-producing immunocytes. Comparable findings in German shepherd dogs with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth provided further indirect evidence that local immunity might be defective in this breed, since these luminal bacteria would be expected to stimulate mucosal IgA production. However, it is not clear whether such a defect is directly responsible for the overgrowth, or whether there is an indirect relationship between defective local immunity and bacterial overgrowth in German shepherd dogs.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Incidence of common DNA sequences in bovine and porcine Escherichia coli strains causing diarrhoea.

Seventeen bovine and 56 porcine Escherichia coli isolates from cases of diarrhoea and from healthy animals were examined for DNA sequences homologous to the genes for verocytotoxins (VT), enterotoxins and human enterohaemorrhagic E coli/enteropathogenic E coli (EHEC EPEC) sequences. VT-1 was the most common toxin among the bovine isolates and VT-2 the most common in the porcine isolates. No isolates had homologous sequences to enteropathogenic adherence factor, but 71.2 per cent hybridised to the DNA probe encoding specific EHEC sequences, and 95.9 per cent showed homology with a 23 kb DNA fragment common to EHEC and EPEC plasmids.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

The prevalence of enteric pathogens in diarrhoeic thoroughbred foals in Britain and Ireland.

A survey of 77 normal and 326 diarrhoeic foals in Britain and Ireland from 1987 to 1989 revealed a significantly higher prevalence of Group A rotaviruses and Aeromonas hydrophila in diarrhoeic foals. The prevalence of cryptosporidia, potentially pathogenic Escherichia coli, Yersinia enterocolitica and Clostridium perfringens was similar in normal or diarrhoeic foals. Rotaviruses had a similar prevalence in all age groups of scouring foals up to three months of age, with an overall prevalence of 37 per cent among diarrhoeic foals. The number of cases of diarrhoea varied considerably from year to year, but in all three years of the survey rotavirus was a significant pathogen. A comparison of diagnostic tests for rotavirus in the faeces showed electron microscopy (EM) and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) to have similar sensitivity. The Rotazyme ELISA test kit was found to have the same sensitivity as a combination of EM and PAGE. A. hydrophila had an overall prevalence of 9 per cent among diarrhoeic foals, although its prevalence was higher in some age groups. A. hydrophila has not been established previously as a significant enteric pathogen in foals. Other putative pathogens found at very low prevalence were coronavirus, the putative picobirnavirus, Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. No evidence was found of synergistic effects between rotavirus, cryptosporidia and potentially pathogenic E. coli. Neither coccidia nor non-Group A rotaviruses were found in any of the samples examined.

Aeromonas↗
PubMed1991

Abnormal permeability precedes the development of a gluten sensitive enteropathy in Irish setter dogs.

Intestinal permeability to 51Cr-EDTA was examined during the development of gluten sensitive enteropathy in dogs bred from affected Irish setters and reared on a normal wheat containing diet. Comparisons were made with litter mates reared on a gluten free diet and with a control group of age matched, clinically healthy Irish setters reared on the normal diet. Studies at 4, 6, 8, and 12 months of age were correlated with morphometric and biochemical examinations of peroral jejunal biopsy specimens. Permeability was increased at all ages in the group fed gluten free diet compared with control dogs, although there were no differences in villus height, intraepithelial lymphocyte density, and alkaline phosphatase activity. At four months, permeability in the normal diet group was greater than in controls, although comparable with that in the gluten free diet group. Permeability in the normal diet group increased further in conjunction with the development of partial villus atrophy and reduced alkaline phosphatase activity, and by 12 months permeability was significantly greater than in their gluten free diet litter mates and the control dogs. The findings suggest that an underlying permeability abnormality may be involved in the pathogenesis of gluten sensitive enteropathy in Irish setter dogs.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗