Competitive indirect ELISA for ceftiofur sodium and the effect of different immunizing and coating antigen conjugates.

Ceftiofur sodium is a broad spectrum, beta-lactamase-resistant cephalosporin. Ceftiofur and desfuroylceftiofur were used to develop competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (CI-ELISA) for the determination of ceftiofur sodium. Hapten-protein conjugates were made using three different carrier proteins and three methods of conjugation. The first two methods use the free amine of ceftiofur as the site of conjugation, and coupling to bovine serum albumin and ovalbumin was achieved by using two different cross-linking reagents. The third conjugation procedure joins the hydrolyzed form of ceftiofur, desfuroylceftiofur, to the maleimide-activated carrier proteins, bovine serum albumin and keyhole limpet hemocyanin. A variety of immunization schedules is presented to show the effect of repeated immunizations on antibody maturation. Serum antibody levels were evaluated for each conjugation method using both homologous and heterologous conjugates as antigens. All of the immunogens resulted in the generation of anticeftiofur antibodies. The heterologous assay systems on average yielded more sensitive assays, but antisera obtained from all three immunogens were used successfully in developing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA's) for ceftiofur. Ceftiofur was detected in mouse sera in a concentration range of 3-500 ppb. The results illustrate that the method used to couple the hapten to a carrier protein as well as the site of coupling significantly influence the resulting enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA's).

Effects of feeding fumonisin B1 present in Fusarium moniliforme culture material and aflatoxin singly and in combination to turkey poults.

Diets containing 200 mg fumonisin B1/kg of feed and .75 mg aflatoxin/kg of feed singly or in combination were fed to female turkey poults (Nicholas Large White) from day of hatch to 21 d of age. When compared with controls, 21-d body weight gains were reduced 10% by fumonisin B1, 39% by aflatoxins, and 47% by the combination. Relative weights (grams/100 g body weight) of the kidney and pancreas increased in poults fed the diet containing aflatoxins alone, whereas the relative weight of the liver decreased. Relative weights of the liver and pancreas increased in the poults fed the fumonisin diet. Relative weights of the kidney, pancreas, and gizzard increased in the poults fed the combination diet, whereas the relative weight of the liver decreased. Most serum constituents, hematology values, and activities of enzymes measured were altered in poults receiving the diets containing aflatoxins with or without fumonisin B1. No major histological lesions were observed in tissues from control poults or poults fed the diet containing fumonisin alone. Lesions associated with aflatoxins were only observed in the liver and occasionally in the kidney of poults fed the diets containing aflatoxins with or without fumonisin B1. The primary hepatic change was bile duct hyperplasia with some hepatocellular degeneration and necrosis and megalocytosis. Occasional necrotic and degenerating tubular epithelial cells were observed in the kidneys. The increased toxicity in poults fed the combination diet for most variables can best be described as additive, although some variables showed less than additive toxicity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Influence of fumonisin B1, present in Fusarium moniliforme culture material, and T-2 toxin on turkey poults.

Diets containing 300 mg fumonisin B1 (FB1)/kg of feed and 5 mg T-2 toxin/kg of feed singly or in combination were fed to female turkey poults (Nicholas Large White) from day of hatch to 21 d of age. When compared with controls, 21-d body weight gains were reduced 21% by FB1, 26% by T-2, and 47% by the combination. the efficiency of feed utilization was adversely affected by FB1 and the combination of FB1 and T-2. Relative weights (grams/100 g BW) of the liver and gizzard were increased in poults fed the FB1 and the combination diets; whereas, the relative weight of the pancreas was increased in all treated groups. All poults were scored for oral lesions using a scale of 1 to 4 (1 = no visible lesions, 4 = severe lesions). Oral lesions were present in all poults fed the T-2 diet (average score of 3.29) or the combination diet (average score of 3.54). Serum concentration of cholesterol was decreased and lactate dehydrogenase activity was increased in poults fed the FB1 and combination diets. The activity of aspartate aminotransferase and the values for red blood cells, hemoglobin, and hematocrit were increased only in poults fed the combination diet. Inorganic phosphorus concentration was decreased only in poults fed the combination diet. The increased toxicity in poults fed the combination diet for most variables can best be described as additive, although some variables not altered by FB1 or T-2 singly were significantly affected by the combination, indicating that the combination may pose a potentially greater problem to the turkey industry than either of the mycotoxins individually.

Acute hepatic and renal toxicity in lambs dosed with fumonisin-containing culture material.

To examine the effects of acute exposure to fumonisin-containing culture material (FCCM), 15 crossbred wether lambs were dosed intraruminally with FCCM containing 0 (CONTROL, n = 3), 11.1 (LOW, n = 4), 22.2 (MED, n = 4), or 45.5 (HIGH, n = 4) mg of total fumonisins (B1, B2, and B3)/kg BW daily for 4 d. Blood samples were collected daily, and on d 11 lambs were killed and necropsied. Changes in serum constituents in fumonisin-treated lambs indicative of liver damage, included increased (P < .05) activities of alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase. Serum concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides, urea nitrogen, and creatinine were also increased (P < .05) in lambs dosed with FCCM. Hemoglobin tended to increase (P = .07) and white blood cell count tended to decrease (P = .08) in HIGH lambs and activated partial thromboplastin time tended to decrease (P < .10) in lambs dosed with LOW and MED treatments. Mitogen-induced lymphocyte blastogenesis was not different (P = .14) among treatments. Feed intake markedly decreased (P < .01) following the first dosing of FCCM and continued to decline throughout the study. Ruminal VFA concentrations and pH tended to decrease (P < .10) at d 11 in treated lambs. Relative liver and kidney weights (g/100 g of BW) increased (P < .05) in fumonisin-treated lambs. Histiolgical examination revealved tubular nephrosis and mild hepatopathy in dosed lambs. Lambs receiving the HIGH treatment died on d 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the study and on d 9 one lamb on the MED treatment died.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Production and characterization of a monoclonal antibody against bovine haptoglobin and its use in an ELISA.

Haptoglobin (Hp) is the major acute phase reactant found in cattle. As such, it is an excellent indicator of early disease processes and could be used as a marker for pre-clinical illness in cattle. The production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against bovine Hp and bovine hemoglobin is described. The anti-haptoglobin mAbs (Hap1, Hap2, Hap3) and the anti-bovine hemoglobin (Hb) mAb (BoHem1) were characterized and tested for cross-reactivity by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblotting analyses. Additionally, the development of an ELISA based on an anti-haptoglobin mAb is discussed.

Characterization of monoclonal anti-furosemide antibodies and molecular modeling studies of cross-reactive compounds.

Four mouse monoclonal antibodies directed against furosemide have been isolated and characterized. The cross-reactivity of the antibodies with eight compounds which are structurally and/or functionally related to furosemide was determined using a competition ELISA. All of the compounds, including furosemide, were then modeled using molecular mechanical and quantum mechanical methods in an attempt to correlate antibody binding with the conformational and electronic properties of the molecules. The results of these experiments demonstrated that all of the cross-reactivity observed could be readily explained using these techniques. Furthermore, these results should allow for more accurate prediction of unexpected cross-reactivities with these antibodies when they are used in immunoassays for determination of furosemide.

Analysis of hapten-carrier protein conjugates by nondenaturing gel electrophoresis.

Hapten-carrier protein conjugates were made using five different small haptens (MW < 1000), two carrier proteins and two methods of conjugation. Nondenaturing agarose gel electrophoresis was used to demonstrate that when as few as two molecules of a small hapten are attached to the carrier, the conjugate band migrates differently from that of the carrier alone or of the coupling reagent-treated carrier. Furthermore, the direction of the change in migration of each conjugate correlates with the change in charge which occurs upon attachment of the hapten to the carrier.