Altered Metabolic Phenotypes and Hypothalamic Neuronal Activity Triggered by Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibition

Background@#Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors are currently used to treat patients with diabetes. Previous studies have demonstrated that treatment with SGLT-2 inhibitors is accompanied by altered metabolic phenotypes. However, it has not been investigated whether the hypothalamic circuit participates in the development of the compensatory metabolic phenotypes triggered by the treatment with SGLT-2 inhibitors. @*Methods@#Mice were fed a standard diet or high-fat diet and treated with dapagliflozin, an SGLT-2 inhibitor. Food intake and energy expenditure were observed using indirect calorimetry system. The activity of hypothalamic neurons in response to dapagliflozin treatment was evaluated by immunohistochemistry with c-Fos antibody. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to determine gene expression patterns in the hypothalamus of dapagliflozin-treated mice. @*Results@#Dapagliflozin-treated mice displayed enhanced food intake and reduced energy expenditure. Altered neuronal activities were observed in multiple hypothalamic nuclei in association with appetite regulation. Additionally, we found elevated immunosignals of agouti-related peptide neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. @*Conclusion@#This study suggests the functional involvement of the hypothalamus in the development of the compensatory metabolic phenotypes induced by SGLT-2 inhibitor treatment.

Seroprevalence of porcine proliferative enteropathy before initiating vaccine marketing in Korea / 대한수의학회지

Proliferative enteropathy caused by Lawsonia intracellularis is one of the most common enteric diseases in pigs. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of serum antibodies against L. intracellularis in the general swine population of Korea from 2005 to 2008. In total, 8,008 swine serum samples obtained from 1,001 herds were tested. The samples were analyzed with an immunoperoxidase monolayer assay to detect anti-L. intracellularis antibodies. The overall 4-year average true prevalence was 40.0% (CI: 39.4 - 40.6%) at the individual animal level and 71.9% (CI: 70.3-73.4%) at the herd level.

Seasonal Abundance of Biting Midges, Culicoides spp. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Collected at Cowsheds in the Southern Part of the Republic of Korea

Black light traps were used to measure the seasonal and geographical distribution of Culicoides spp. (biting midges or no-see-ums) at 9 cowsheds in the southern half of the Republic of Korea (ROK) from June through October 2010. A total of 25,242 Culicoides females (24,852; 98.5%) and males (390; 1.5%) comprising of 9 species were collected. The most commonly collected species was Culicoides punctatus (73.0%) followed by C. arakawae (25.7%), while the remaining 7 species accounted for <1.0% of all Culicoides spp. collected. The mean number of Culicoides spp. collected per trap night (Trap Index [TI]) was highest for C. punctatus (409.3), followed by C. arakawae (144.2), C. tainanus (4.1), C. oxystoma (1.2), C. circumscriptus (0.7), C. homotomus (0.6), C. erairai (0.4), C. kibunensis (0.3), and C. nipponensis (0.04). Peak TIs were observed for C. punctatus (1,188.7) and C. arakawae (539.0) during July and August, respectively. C. punctatus and C. arakawae have been implicated in the transmission of arboviruses and other pathogens of veterinary importance that adversely impact on animal and bird husbandry.

Induction of castration by immunization of male dogs with recombinant gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-canine distemper virus (CDV) T helper cell epitope p35

Immunocastration is a considerable alternative to a surgical castration method especially in male animal species for alleviating unwanted male behaviors and characteristics. Induction of high titer of antibody specific for gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) correlates with the regression of testes. Fusion proteins composed of canine GnRH and T helper (Th) cell epitope p35 originated from canine distemper virus (CDV) F protein and goat rotavirus VP6 protein were produced in E. coli. When these fusion proteins were injected to male dogs which were previously immunized with CDV vaccine, the fusion protein of GnRH-CDV Th cell epitope p35 induced much higher antibody than that of GnRH-rotavirus VP6 protein or GnRH alone. The degeneration of spermatogenesis was also verified in the male dogs immunized with the fusion protein of GnRH-CDV Th cell epitope p35. These results indicate that canine GnRH conjugated to CDV Th cell epitope p35 acted as a strong immunogen and the antibody to GnRH specifically neutralized GnRH in the testes. This study also implies a potential application of GnRH-based vaccines for immunocastration of male pets.