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Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide-distributed zoonotic protozoan parasite which causes toxoplasmosis and has a significant effect on public health. In the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), toxoplasmosis can cause asymptomatic infections, reproductive disorder and even death, which poses a serious threat to the conservation of this rare protected species. Therefore, serological investigation of T. gondii is essential to understanding its risk to giant pandas, however, there are no specific testing kits for giant pandas. Previous research has used MAT as the reference method for screening T. gondii , to investigate this further, this study focused on the agreement comparing of MAT with ELISA and IHA tests for detecting T. gondii antibodies in 100 blood samples from 55 captive giant pandas in Chengdu, China. The results showed 87.0%, 87.0%, 84.0%, samples were sero-positive for T. gondii using ELISA (kits a, b, c), respectively, while MAT and IHA tests were 84.0% and 9.0% sero-positive, respectively. There was no significant difference between MAT and the three ELISA kits and these two methods had substantial agreement (0.61 < қ ≤ 0.80). Meanwhile, there was a significant difference (P < 0.001) between MAT and IHA, and these two methods had only a slight agreement (қ ≤ 0.20). The relative sensitivity of the ELISA (kits a, b, c) were 89.0%, 91.5% and 95.1%, and the specificity were 86.7%, 80.0% and 80.0%, respectively, which showed these three ELISA kits all had great accuracy. It is suggested that MAT is the recommended test method for primary screening T. gondii in giant pandas and then verified by ELISA. [Display omitted] • It's the first report to compare the agreement of the three test kits for detecting T. gondii antibodies in giant panda. • No significant difference and substantial agreement between MAT and ELISA, slight agreement, meanwhile, the contrary result between MAT and IHA. • The relative sensitivity of ELISA kits was 89%, 91.5% and 95.1%, and the specificity was 86.7%, 80% and 80%, respectively. • The two commonly used commercial MAT and ELISA kits tested were valuable tools for T. gondii diagnosis for giant panda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The first report of UC-MSCs isolation, cultivation and identification in giant panda. • UC-MSCs from giant panda were positive for MSC markers and pluripotency genes. • bFGF and EGF promoted giant panda UC-MSCs proliferation. • Adipocyte, osteoblast and chondrocyte were successfully induced from giant panda UC-MSCs. Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) constitute a class of cells with significant self-renewal and multilineage differentiation properties and have great potential for therapeutic applications and the genetic conservation of endangered animals. In this study, we successfully isolated and cultured UC-MSCs from the blood vessels of giant panda umbilical cord (UC). The cells were arranged in a vortex or cluster pattern and exhibited a normal karyotype, showing the morphological characteristics of fibroblasts. In addition, we found that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and epidermal growth factor (EGF) promoted cell proliferation, whereas stem cell factor (SCF) did not promote cell proliferation. Cultured UC-MSCs were negative for CD34 (hematopoietic stem cell marker) and CD31 (endothelial cell marker), but positive for MSC markers (CD44, CD49f, CD105, and CD73) and stem cell markers (KLF4, SOX2, and THY1). Similar to other MSCs, giant panda UC-MSCs have multiple differentiation ability and can differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts and chondrocytes. Giant panda UC-MSCs are new resources for basic research as cell models following their differentiation into different cell types and for future clinical treatments of giant panda diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A milk sample from a captive giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), obtained at 13 days postpartum, contained 7.1% protein, 1.6% carbohydrate, 10.4% lipid and 0.9% ash. The ratio of casein to whey proteins was 5.0:2.1. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of the whey protein fraction showed the presence of at least two major proteins other than α-lactalbumin and β-lactoglobulin. SDS-PAGE and urea-gel electrophoresis showed that αs-casein is not a major component. The proportions of triacylglycerol, cholesterol, cholesterol esters and phospholipid were 90.5, 5.3, 0.96 and 3.1%, of the total lipid, respectively. The dominant saccharide in the panda milk was Gal(α1-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc (isoglobotriose). The milk contained, in addition, lesser amounts of lactose, Gal(α1-3)Gal(β1-4)[Fuc(α1-3)]Glc (fucosyl isoglobotriose), Neu5Ac(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)Glc (3′-N-acetylneuraminyl-lactose), Neu5Ac(α2-6)Gal(β1-4)Glc (6′-N-acetylneuraminyl-lactose) and Neu5Ac(α2-3)Gal(β1-4)[Fuc(α1-3)]Glc. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]