Assessing PCV2 antibodies in field pigs vaccinated with different porcine circovirus 2 vaccines using two commercial ELISA systems.

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the primary causative agent for post-weaning, multisystemic, wasting syndrome. Consequently, serologic detection of and vaccination against PCV2 are important for the swine industry. Among several serological tests, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is commonly used to measure anti-PCV2 antibody levels. In the present study, we used two commercial ELISA systems to comparatively evaluate anti-PCV2 antibodies in field pigs treated with three different PCV2 vaccines. Among a total of 517 serum samples, the results of the two ELISAs were fully concordant for 365 positive and 42 negative samples, indicating 78.7% agreement. In addition, the Pearson coefficient (0.636) indicated a moderate correlation between data from the two ELISAs. Results from the farms with pigs vaccinated with the three different PCV2 vaccines demonstrated that most of the vaccinated animals underwent seroconversion. However, the increase and duration of antibody titers varied depending on the vaccine, the presence of maternal antibodies, and the vaccination program. PCV2 serologic status and anti-PCV2 antibody levels of herds from this study could be utilized to determine the best timing for vaccination and assessing vaccination compliance.

Characterization of canine oral papillomavirus by histopathological and genetic analysis in Korea.

In August 2008, forty dogs out of 400 developed oral warts in a breeding farm in Korea. Canine oral papilloma infection is a common disease in dogs. However, there has been no report of an outbreak of canine oral papillomavirus (COPV) in a group of dogs or in dog breeding farms in Korea, and the genetic analysis of COPV in Korea has yet to be performed. This study diagnosed canine oral papilloma from the oral samples of these dogs based on histopathological examination and immunohistochemistry. Polymerase chain reaction was applied to amplify the corresponding products using preexisting primer sets for COPV and a universal human papillomavirus targeting L1 gene. Further genetic analysis of the major viral capsid gene L1 confirms the sequences of Korean COPV, which shows a close relationship to previously reported COPV. This study describes the histopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of canine oral papilloma in a group of breeding dogs in Korea and discloses the complete L1 gene sequences of Korean COPV.

Comparative immunohistochemical characterization of canine seminomas and Sertoli cell tumors.

Primary testicular tumors are the most common causes of cancer in male dogs. Overall, the majority of canine patients should be cured by testicular surgery. However, tumor markers are not well-known in veterinary medicine. We sought to determine using immunohistochemistry whether the combined human testicular tumor markers (placental alkaline phosphatase, OCT3/4, CD30, alpha-fetoprotein, inhibin-alpha, vimentin, c-KIT, and desmin) are expressed in canine seminomas and Sertoli cell tumors (SCTs). We examined 35 canine testicular tumors, 20 seminomas and 15 SCTs. c-KIT was expressed markedly in canine seminomas. Both inhibin-alpha and vimentin were expressed significantly in canine SCTs. The results of this study demonstrate differences and similarities between tumor marker expression of testicular tumors in dogs and humans. All the main markers in current routine use are discussed as well as potential useful markers for benign and malignant tumors, and tumor progression.

Role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of Asian and South American foot-and-mouth disease viruses in swine.

In this study, we performed experiments to evaluate the extend of the process of apoptotic cell death by foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Apoptosis can also occur in some virus-infected cells, and ability of viruses to either inhibit or promote apoptosis may influence the pathologic outcome of infection. In this study, to determine if apoptosis plays a role in the outcome of FMDV infection in swine, we evaluated apoptosis in diseased tissues collected from pigs inoculated with two different stains of FMDV (O1 Campos and O Taiwan). And host cell DNA fragmentation in diseased tissue from animals which were infected with either virus was evaluated by occurrence of a laddering pattern characteristic of apoptosis. Infection of cultured keratinocytes from swine tongue failed to demonstrate apoptosis in the first few hours of infection, suggesting that cell-to-cell correlation between viral antigen and apoptotic changes, e.g. cytokine secretions by immune system cells, could be critical to initiating apoptosis. Consistent with this finding, we were able to detect the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha in diseased tissues. A clear difference in the pathogenicity of the two different FMDV isolates to pigs was not demonstrated in our study.