Citrobacter koseri related abortion and fetal septicemia in cattle.

A 31-month-old Holstein dairy cow aborted at 224 days of gestation with ejection of cheese-like lochia. Citrobacter koseri, which commonly exists in the normal flora of human and animal digestive tracts, was isolated from aborted fetal tissues (liver, spleen, kidney, heart, lung, cerebrum, and skeletal muscle) and fetal membranes. Histopathological examination revealed suppurative fibrinous meningoencephalitis of the cerebrum, cerebellum, and brainstem; suppurative bronchopneumonia; suppurative chorioamnionitis; and fibrous splenic serositis. Numerous gram-negative bacilli were detected in the cytoplasm of macrophages and/or neutrophils in these lesions. Bacteriological investigation and immunohistochemical staining identified the bacilli as C. koseri. This is the first report of cattle abortion caused by C. koseri infection in dairy cattle.

Integrated taxonomic approaches to seven species of capillariid nematodes (Nematoda: Trichocephalida: Trichinelloidea) in poultry from Japan and Indonesia, with special reference to their 18S rDNA phylogenetic relationships.

Morphological and genetic analyses were performed on seven species of the family Capillariidae (Nematoda: Trichocephalida: Trichinelloidea), viz. Eucoleus perforans, Eucoleus contortus, Aonchotheca bursata, Baruscapillaria obsignata, Capillaria anatis, Capillaria phasianina, and Capillaria spinulosa, detected in poultry from Japan and Indonesia. Two Eucoleus spp., perforating the esophageal mucosa of the Japanese green pheasant farmed in Japan (E. perforans) and domestic goose in Indonesia (E. contortus), were morphologically characterized. Furthermore, we observed substantial nucleotide differences between their 18S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA), revealing maximum identity (97.27%) over the 1797-bp length. Similarly, B. obsignata in the small intestine of Japanese green pheasants in Japan, a chicken, geese, domestic pigeons, and a turkey in Indonesia, and C. anatis in the ceca of chickens in Indonesia were morphologically and molecular-genetically compared with previously reported isolates of these species in Japan. Aonchotheca bursata collected from the small intestine of the Japanese green pheasant was also molecular-genetically characterized for the first time; however, sequencing of the 18S rDNA of C. phasianina from the cecum of the same bird was unsuccessful. Capillaria worms in the ceca of a domestic duck and geese in Indonesia were identified as C. spinulosa, which had only previously been recorded in wild birds of the Anseriformes in the Palaearctic region. Morphologically, this species was closest to Capillaria pudendotecta recorded from the ceca of wild and captive swans, except for the lack of vaginal appendages in female worms and shorter esophagi relative to the body length in both male and female worms. Phylogenetically, these two species were closely related, although substantial nucleotide changes were noted. The 18S rDNA nucleotide sequences of the species isolated here were consistent with the recent taxonomic system established for Capillariidae based primarily on the morphology of male caudal ends.

Influence of atopic dermatitis on reproduction and uterine natural killer cells.

The causal relationship between severe allergic conditions and successful pregnancy remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate reproductive performance in an experimental mouse model of atopic disease (AD), and the appearance of uterine natural killer (uNK) cells that have crucial roles in placental formation was examined. In the NC/Nga pregnant mice with moderate skin allergic lesions and an 8.6-fold elevation of plasma IgE, significant differences were not detected in the reproductive indices of the number of normal fetuses, abortion rate and placental size. There were few uNK cells in the placenta of AD mice, and they showed a significant decrease regarding the immature subtype as compared with controls. These findings revealed that AD disturbs uNK cell differentiation and provides disadvantageous effects on placental formation, although it does not arrest the pregnancy process. It may be possible that specific immunological conditions behind AD operate favorably to recover the reproductive performance.