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Aims Genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter jejuni were investigated along the broiler chicken production chain in central Italy. Methods and Results Campylobacter sp. isolated from cloacal swabs in farms ( n = 116) and from the neck skin of chilled and eviscerated carcasses at slaughter ( n = 24) were identified as C. coli ( n = 99) and C. jejuni ( n = 41) by multiplex PCR. Characterization by single amplified fragment length polymorphism (s- AFLP) revealed a specific genotype of Campylobacter for each farm. Minimal inhibitory concentration showed high prevalence of fluoroquinolones (70%), tetracycline (70%) and erythromycin (30%) resistance among C. coli isolates. Campylobacter jejuni isolates showed lower prevalence of fluoroquinolone (39%) and tetracycline (10%) resistance, and all isolates were susceptible to erythromycin. The S- AFLP types of the C. coli and C. jejuni isolates were associated with their antimicrobial resistance profiles ( P < 0·001). Conclusions The genetic diversity detected in Campylobacter isolates suggested that a specific genotype was harboured in each farm. A considerable number of C. coli isolates were resistant to erythromycin. Significance and Impact of the Study Campylobacter coli was detected more frequently than C. jejuni in contrast to common findings for poultry. The high prevalence of 30% resistance to erythromycin in C. coli strains isolated from poultry is worrisome, as this is the first antibiotic of choice to treat human campylobacteriosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feline injection-site sarcoma (FISS) is an aggressive tumor believed to arise from the proliferation of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts in areas of chronic inflammation, particularly at sites of injection. Local recurrence is frequent after surgical excision. Gelatinases (MMP-2 and MMP-9) and their inhibitor (TIMP-2) are endopeptidases pivotal in extracellular matrix remodeling and therefore in tumor invasiveness. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-2 in FISS to assess their usefulness as prognostic factors. Size, soft tissue sarcoma (STS) grading system, depth of infiltration, surgical margins, and Ki-67 index were evaluated as additional prognostic markers. Twenty-four cases of primary FISS were classified according to clinical follow-up as nonrecurrent (NR, n = 14; 58.3%) and recurrent (R, n = 10; 41.7%). MMP-2, MMP-9, and TIMP-2 were variably expressed in the FISS examined, confirming their role in tumor invasiveness, yet they did not show significant differences between the R and NR groups. These results could be due to different tumor stages or to the multiple activities of these enzymes, not limited to ECM remodeling. The immunohistochemical expression of these enzymes considered alone does not seem to be useful as a prognostic marker. STS grading system, depth of infiltration, surgical margins, and Ki-67 index did not relate to recurrence. Instead, the size of the tumor, measured after formalin fixation, with an optimal cutoff of 3.75 cm (accuracy = 86%; P < .05), and the mitotic count, with an optimal cutoff of 20 mitoses/10 HPF (accuracy = 80%; P < .05), could be evaluated as useful prognostic markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prostasome-like vesicles ( PV) are components of the canine prostatic fluid during ejaculation and despite some enzymatic activities have been identified recently, their functions in the reproductive events in this species are still poorly understood. In this study, we evaluated at neutral or slightly alkaline pH, the effects of different concentrations of purified PV on sperm cell motility characteristics and the impact on the short- and long-term preservation of preserved semen maintained at room temperature. Two different experiments were performed. In the first experiment, purified PV were added at increasing concentration (1.25, 2.5, 5, 10, and 20 μL equivalent to 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 μg of protein, respectively) to aliquots of 100 μL of preserved semen maintained at 22 °C at the following time points: 0, 30, 60, 120, 240, and 480 min. Computer-assisted sperm motility characteristics and pH were assessed three times at each time points, for each sample and for every concentrations. In the second experiment, the purified PV were added with the same methods as described above but only at time 0. Sperm motility characteristics and pH were assessed over the time. This study showed how the addition of purified PV to preserved semen affects negatively ( p < 0.05) at neutral and alkaline pH, both total and progressive motility in a concentration depending manner. Furthermore, prostasome addition was demonstrated to change the quality of sperm movement which may represent a mechanism facilitating sperm cells attachment to the uterine epithelium and facilitating energy preservation before fertilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choroid plexus tumors (CPTs) are reported with an increasing incidence in dogs, and they call for a reexamination of histologic features and criteria of classification corresponding to their biological behavior. In this study, the human World Health Organization classification was applied to 16 canine CPTs, and the expression of molecules involved in neoplastic cell adhesion (E-cadherin, N-cadherin), invasion (doublecortin), and proliferation (Ki-67) was investigated. Mitotic index was found to be the main criterion for grading CPTs. Cell density and multilayering of papillae were also statistically associated with histologic grade. Intraventricular spread and parenchymal invasion was observed for tumors showing histologic benign features. E-cadherin was expressed in all CPT grades, independent of tumor invasion. N-cadherin immunolabeling was more expressed in grade I than high-grade CPTs, whereas doublecortin expression was not detected in CPTs. An increasing proliferative activity was observed in relation with histologic grade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Systemic and local infections and inflammations are known to cause infertility in humans and animals. However, the mechanisms by which infection/inflammation induces infertility are only partially known. The objectives of this study were: (i) to provide models of systemic (acute) and local (sub-acute) inflammation by intra-peritoneal injection or intra-cervical deposition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the rabbit and (ii) to assess their effects on uterine tissues and sperm transport in the genital tract of rabbit does. Intra-peritoneal administration of different doses of LPS induced systemic effects such as fever, anorexia and changes in white blood cells (WBC) count. In our study, LPS inoculation (100μg/kg) produced an inflammation-like status that lasted for about 3 days, with minimal distress for the animals. Intra-peritoneal administration of LPS 60h before artificial insemination induced a rapid increase of IL-1β concentrations. The intra-cervical inoculation of LPS did not show any systemic effects, as confirmed by the lack of changes in body temperature, feed intake and WBC count. Histological examination of uterine tissues showed an endometritis-like inflammation status in LPS-treated does, more severe in those inoculated intra-cervically. The number of spermatozoa recovered from uterine horns and oviducts of intra-cervically treated does was less than that retrieved from intra-peritoneally treated animals and controls. These results suggest (i) that sub-acute or acute inflammation may cause infertility by compromising the uterine environment and/or impairing sperm transport and (ii) that the LPS-induced -infection/inflammation experimental model is useful for studying the mechanisms involved in reproductive dysfunctions in the rabbit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated the presence and the level of Campylobacter spp. contamination in 41 thigh samples (with skin) and 37 skinless breast samples collected at the end of slaughter (T1) and after 10 day period at refrigeration temperature (4°C) (T2), corresponding to their commercial shelf life. The isolates were phenotypically classified as Campylobacter spp. and successively identified by conventional multiplex PCR. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates from fresh thigh and breast samples was also determined via the microdilution method (MIC) in Eucamp microtitre plates with known scalar concentrations of: gentamicin (GEN), streptomycin (ST), ciprofloxacin (CIP), tetracycline (TET), erythromycin (ERY), and nalidixic acid (NA). A greater percentage of positivity for Campylobacter spp. (P  < 0.001) was observed in thighs and C.jejuni appeared to be the most common species identified at this level (P  < 0.001) followed from its association with C.coli. There was a global reduction of Campylobacter spp. in both thigh and breast samples at T2 (P  < 0.001) showing that the refrigeration was able to reduce Campylobacter count. The prevalence of resistance to CIP, TET, NA, and ERY was evidenced for C.jejuni and C. coli. The co (TET-NA, CIP-NA) and multiple resistant (CIP-TET-NA, CIP-TET- NA-ERY) isolates came from the thigh products. It should be highlighted the presence of Campylobacter spp. isolates resistant to ST occurred in breast samples, responsible for the ST-CIP co-resistance and ST-CIP-TE multi-resistance profiles, higher in breast than in thigh products (P  > 0.001). The presence of Campylobacter isolates resistant to ST can be further investigated since it is used for therapeutic treatment of several bacterial diseases in humans [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]