A Rapid and Sensitive One Step-SYBR Green Based Semi Quantitative Real Time RT-PCR for the Detection of peste des petits ruminants Virus in the Clinical Samples

A sensitive and rapid single step real time （rt） RT-PCR was standardized using one-step Brilliant SYBR Green kit for detection and semi-quantitation ofpeste des petitis ruminants virus （PPRV） using the virus RNA and matrix （M） protein gene-specific primers and compared with established conventional RT-PCR and TaqMan RT-PCR. The assay amplifies a 124 bp fragment of the PPRV M gene with Tm of 78.28 to 78.50. The assay was linear within a range of 50 ng to 0.5 fg total virus RNA with a detection limit （sensitivity） of 0.5 fg. Based on the serial dilution of the live-attenuated PPR vaccine virus, the detection limit was -0.0001 cell culture infectious dose 50% units （TCID50）. Additionally, swab materials spiked with known titre of vaccine virus were equally well detected in the assay. The standardized rt RT-PCR was easily employed for the detection of PPRV nucleic acid directly in the field and experimental clinical samples. The assay detected the PPRV nucleic acid as early as 3 day post infection （dpi） and up to 20 dpi in swab materials from the experimental samples. The assay was rapid and more sensitive than TaqMan and conventional RT-PCR in the detection of PPRV nucleic acid from the PPR suspected clinical samples of sheep and goats. Therefore, the established, simplified SYBR green rt RT-PCR is an alternative test to the already existing various diagnostic assays and could be useful for rapid clinical diagnosis with advantage in reducing risk of contamination.

Study on Passive Immunity:time of Vaccination in Kids Born to Goats Vaccinated Against Peste des petits ruminants

In this study,the decay of maternal peste des petits ruminants virus(PPRV) antibodies in kids born to goats vaccinated with Asian lineage IV PPR vaccine and the efficacy of passive immunity against PPRV was assessed to determine the appropriate period for vaccination in kids.Serum samples collected from kids born to vaccinated,unvaccinated and infected goats at different time intervals were tested by PPR competitive ELISA and serum neutralization test(SNT).Maternal antibodies in kids were detectable up to 6 months with a decline trend from the third month onwards and receded below the protective level by the fourth month.The kid with an SN titre of 1:8 at the time of immunization showed significant PPRV specific antibody response(percentage inhibition of 76;SN titers >1:16),when tested on 21 day post-vaccination and was completely protected from infection upon virulent PPRV challenge.Similarly,the kid with 1:8 SN titers was completely protected from PPR infection on active challenge.Therefore,PPR vaccination is recommended in kids,aged 4 months and born to immunized or exposed goats.This could be a suitable period to avoid window of susceptibility in kids to PPRV and the effort to eliminate PPR infection from susceptible populations.

Detection of Bluetongue Virus Group-specific Antigen Using Monoclonal Antibody Based Sandwich ELISA

A monoclonal antibody (MAb) specific for the bluetongue virus (BTV) group specific antigen (VP7) was characterized for its reactivity with purified virus and recombinant BTV VP7 (rVP7) protein and its suitability for use in the sandwich ELISA.The MAb,designated as 5B5 was specific to VP7 and belongs to IgG2a subclass and was selected for the development of the sELISA in this study.The MAb had a titer of 1:25 with BTV and 1:2 with the rVP7 protein.The sELISA is based on capturing of BTV antigen with VP7 specific MAb followed by detection using BTV polyclonal antiserum raised in rabbits.The assay was evaluated with six cell culture adapted serotypes of BTV that have been isolated from India,1,2,15,17,18 and 23.The assay could detect BTV antigen as early as day 8 in blood.It was also successfully applied for the detection of BTV group specific antigen in clinical samples of blood,washed RBCs,buffy coat and plasma.A total of 102 field samples from animals,suspected of being infected with BTV,were tested and 29.42% were positive.The blood samples were also amplified in cell culture which improved the sensitivity of the assay.Results confirmed that the sELISA is rapid and specific.

Production and Characterization of Monoclonal Antibodies to Bluetongue Virus

In the present study,a total of 24 MAbs were produced against bluetongue virus (BTV) by polyethyleneglycol (PEG) mediated fusion method using sensitized lymphocytes and myeloma cells. All these clones were characterized for their reactivity to whole virus and recombinant BTV-VP7 protein,titres,isotypes and their reactivity with 24 BTV-serotype specific sera in cELISA. Out of 24 clones,a majority of them (n = 18) belong to various IgG subclasses and the remaining (n = 6) to the IgM class. A panel of eight clones reactive to both whole BTV and purified rVP7 protein were identified based on their reactivity in iELISA. For competitive ELISA,the clone designated as 4A10 showed better inhibition to hyperimmune serum of BTV serotype 23. However,this clone showed a variable percent of inhibition ranging from16.6% with BTV 12 serotype to 78.9% with BTV16 serotype using 24 serotype specific sera of BTV originating from guinea pig at their lowest dilutions. From the available panel of clones,only 4A10 was found to have a possible diagnostic application.

Evaluation of Efficacy of Stabilizers on the Thermostability of Live Attenuated Thermo-adapted Peste des petits ruminants Vaccines

In this study, thermo-adapted （Ta） PPR vaccines were assessed for their stability at 25, 37, 40, 42 and 45℃ in lyophilized form using two extrinsic stabilizers {lactalbumin hydrolysate-sucrose （LS） and stabilizer E} and in reconstituted form with the diluents （1 mol/L MgSO4 or 0.85% NaC1）. The lyophilized vaccines showed an expiry period of 24-26 days at 25℃, 7-8 days at 37℃ and 3-4 days at 40℃. LS stabilizer was superior at 42℃ with a shelf-life of 44 h, whereas in stabilizer E, a 40 h shelf-life with a comparable half-life was observed. At 45 ℃, the half-life in stabilizer E was better than LS and lasted for 1 day. Furthermore, the reconstituted vaccine maintained the titre for 48 h both at 4℃ and 25℃ and for 24-30 h at 37℃. As both the stabilizers performed equally well with regard to shelf-life and half-life, the present study suggests LS as stabilizer as a choice for lyophilization with 0.85% NaCldiluent, because it has better performance at higher temperature. These Ta vaccines can be used as alternatives to existing vaccines for the control of the disease in tropical countries as they are effective in avoiding vaccination failure due to the breakdown in cold-chain maintenance, as this vaccine is considerably more stable at ambient temperatures.

Cytokines Expression Profile and Kinetics of Peste des petits ruminants Virus Antigen and Antibody in Infected and Vaccinated Goats

The present study deals with the co-ordination of cytokine （IL-4 and IFN-7） expression and kinetics of peste des petits ruminants （PPR） virus antigen and antibody in PPRV infected and vaccinated goats. The infected animals exhibited mixed cytokine （both TH1 and TH2） responses in the initial phase of the disease. The infected and dead goats had increased IFN-T response before their death; while IL-4 remained at the base level. The cytokine expression in recovered animals was almost similar to that of vaccinated ones, where a unique biphasic response of IL-4 expression was observed with an up-regulation of IFN-T on 7th days post vaccination （dpv）. Analysis of PPR virus antigen and antibody kinetics in different components of blood from infected and vaccinated animais revealed that the PPR virus antigen load was highest in plasma followed by serum and blood of the infected animals, whereas vaccinated animals showed only marginal positivity on 9th dpv. The antibody titer was high in serum followed by plasma and blood in both vaccinated and infected animals. Therefore, it is inferred that the presence of antigen and antibody were significant with the expression of cytokine, and that a decreased response of IL-4 was noticed during intermediate phase of the disease i.e., 7 to 12m days post infection （dpi）. This indicates the ability to mount a functional TH2 response after 14th dpi could be a critical determinant in deciding the survival of the PPR infected animal.

Induced pluripotent stem cells: Mechanisms, achievements and perspectives in farm animals

Pluripotent stem cells are unspecialized cells withunlimited self-renewal, and they can be triggered to differentiate into desired specialized cell types. These features provide the basis for an unlimited cell source for innovative cell therapies. Pluripotent cells also allow to study developmental pathways, and to employ them or their differentiated cell derivatives in pharmaceutical testing and biotechnological applications. Via blastocyst complementation, pluripotent cells are a favoured tool for the generation of genetically modified mice. The recently established technology to generate an induced pluripotency status by ectopic co-expression of the transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc allows to extending these applications to farm animal species, for which the derivation of genuine embryonic stem cells was not successful so far. Most induced pluripotent stem(i PS) cells are generated by retroviral or lentiviral transduction of reprogramming factors. Multiple viral integrations into the genome may cause insertional mutagenesis and may increase the risk of tumour formation. Non-integration methods have been reported to overcome the safety concerns associated with retro and lentiviral-derived i PS cells, such as transient expression of the reprogramming factors using episomal plasmids, and direct delivery of reprogramming m RNAs or proteins. In this review, we focus on the mechanisms of cellular reprogramming and current methods used to induce pluripotency. We also highlight problems associated with the generation of i PS cells. An increased understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying pluripotency and refining the methodology of i PS cell generation will have a profound impact on future development and application in regenerative medicine and reproductive biotechnology of farm animals.