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PubMed2003

RPR test for serological survey of rabbit syphilis in companion rabbits.

Since the RPR (rapid plasma regain) test was found to be useful for the diagnosis of rabbit syphilis, serological survey by this test has been carried out in Japanese companion rabbits. A hundred virgin household rabbits kept alone and without signs and history of syphilis were examined by RPR test from April 2001 to March 2002, in Tokyo, Japan. The test was positive in 35 cases and negative in 65 cases. RPR negative rabbits should be selected for breeding to prevent the spread of rabbit syphilis in companion rabbits in Japan.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Different fates of donor mitochondrial DNA in bovine-rabbit and cloned bovine-rabbit reconstructed embryos during preimplantation development.

The functions of mitochondria depend on precise interaction between nuclear and cytoplasmic genomes. Non-balance of mtDNA has been reported in most nuclear transfer embryos and offspring. The reason of the degradation of donor mtDNA is still not clear. To further investigate the mechanism, in this study, we designed an experiment as follows. Two fibroblast cell lines sharing same nuclear genome but different mitochondria genome backgrounds, namely cells from ear tissues of cloned bovine and its donor, were choose as donor cells and introduced into enucleated rabbit oocytes. Similar developmental potential was observed in cloned bovine-rabbit (clone group) and bovine-rabbit (non-clone group) embryos. Real-time PCR assay showed that, in non-clone group, bovine mtDNA decreased during the development of reconstructed embryo, and that a sharp decrease was detected at the blastocyst stage. In clone group, bovine mtDNA decreased slightly, and the abrupt reduction of donor mtDNA did not occur during preimplantation development. In addition, an obvious increase in rabbit mtDNA was observed in both groups at the blastocyst stage. Our results demonstrate that: 1) the fates of donor mtDNAs in bovine-rabbit and cloned bovine-rabbit reconstructed embryos were different; and 2) recipient mtDNAs replicate at blastocyst regardless of the difference of donor cells.

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Rabbit alveolar macrophages stimulated with endotoxin and lung fragments from endotoxemic rabbits produce a leukocyte infiltration-inducing factor that lacks IL-1, TNF alpha, or chemotactic activity.

We reported previously that rabbit pleural and peritoneal macrophages (Møs) and human Mø stimulated with endotoxin (LPS) release a protein factor of 45 to 60 kd that induces local polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL) infiltration upon intradermal injection in rabbits. In the case of the human Mø product, it was shown to be distinct from interleukin-1 (IL-1), tumor necrosis factors (TNF alpha), granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GMCSF), IL-6, and lower molecular weight PMNL chemotactic factors. Here, we examined resident rabbit alveolar Møs to determine if they produce a similar factor following in vitro or in vivo exposure to LPS. Following LPS exposure (0.3 to 30 ng/ml), alveolar Møs obtained from normal rabbits by bronchoalveolar lavage released PMNL recruiting activity within 3 h, as measured by the accumulation of 51Cr labeled blood PMNL at injected skin sites. Production of this activity was blocked by cycloheximide; it was heat labile and not affected by polymyxin B, which neutralized the LPS. On gel filtration chromatography, a major peak of activity was eluted at 45 to 60 kd and was free of IL-1 but partially overlapped with rabbit TNF alpha. Although active in vivo in PMNL recruitment into the tissues, these fractions did not induce PMNL migration in vitro in a filter chemotaxis assay. After sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) the predominant PMNL recruiting factor (PRF) eluted from gel slices corresponded to 22 to 32 kd, suggesting that this protein is a dimer under gel filtration conditions. These gel eluates did not contain TNF alpha activity. Following iv administration of sublethal doses of LPS (3 micrograms/kg) or of antibiotic killed Escherichi coli (10(9)/kg), peripheral lung fragments from perfused lungs spontaneously produced this PRF during ex vivo culture without further LPS stimulation. Lung tissue from normal rabbits did not release PRF spontaneously. We conclude that resident alveolar Møs produce a PRF protein in response to LPS that is distinct from IL-1, TNF alpha, and chemotactic factors and that the production of a similar protein by lung cells (probably Møs) is probably induced in vivo during endotoxemia or bacteremia. This factor may contribute to PMNL accumulation in the lung during pathologic processes.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Mg 2+, Ca 2+-ATPase of skeletal muscle nuclei in normal rabbits and in rabbits with experimental muscular dystrophy].

The total ATPase activity of the rabbit skeletal muscle nuclei was established to be a sum of activities of two ATPases--Mg2+ and Mg2+, Ca2+-ATPases. The latter composes 50% of total ATPase activity for skeletal muscles nuclei of the normal rabbits and 30% for skeletal muscles nuclei of the rabbits with muscular dystrophy. Mg+, Ca2+-ATPase of the skeletal muscle nuclei is activated by calcium ions within a range of 10(-6)--10(-4) M and is inhibited with its concentration of 0.5-10(-3) M and higher. Sodium and potassium ions activate Mg2+, Ca2+-ATPase. Inhibition of Mg2+-ATPase is observed for the skeletal muscle nuclei of the rabbits in norm with the presence of 80 mM of Na+ and 70 mM of K+ in the incubation medium. Under experimental muscular dystrophy such an effect is not observed in connection with the fact that the concentration of monovalent cations in the incubation medium does not exceed 60 mM. The ATPase activity in nuclei of the rabbit skeletal muscles may be also manifested in the presence of Mn2+ greater than Ca2+ greater than Ba2+. A problem is under discussion as to substitution of ions Mg2+ by ions Mn2+, Ca2+, Ba2+ in manifestation of the Mg2+ATPase activity for the skeletal muscle nuclei of the normal rabbits and of those with experimental dystrophy.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1978

Characterization of cardiac myosin from rabbit embryos and adult rabbits.

1. Ca2+-ATPase of myosin and electrophoretic pattern of light chains of myosin were investigated in cardiac muscles of 22-day-old rabbit embryos, new-born and adult rabbits. 2. Ca2+-ATPase activity was found to decrease during development and in contrast to that of adult rabbit, cardiac myosin prepared from 22-day-old embryos, is stable on exposure to pH 9.5. 3. Myosin from the cardiac muscle of rabbit embryos reveals light chains of both fast and slow types, that from adult animals, however, reveals light chains of the slow type only. 4. These studies suggest that unlike the cardiac muscle of adult rabbit, cardiac muscle of rabbit embryos contains both fast and slow types of myosin.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
PubMed1986

Agglutination of sheep erythrocyte-rabbit antibody complexes treated with sheep serum by a rabbit antiserum specific for the third component (C3) of sheep complement.

Sheep E-rabbit A incubated with sheep serum for up to 20 min at 39 degrees C and washed were agglutinated by a rabbit antiserum (anti-inulin-foetal lamb serum) that was specific for sheep C3. If incubated for longer than 20 min at 39 degrees C, there was less sensitisation. Such a complex was not readily generated at 17 degrees C whereas there was no reaction if incubated at 2 degrees C. Once the sheep E-rabbit A-sheep C complex had been generated at 39 degrees C and washed free of sheep serum, it could still be agglutinated after overnight storage at 4 degrees C. Addition of chelators of Ca2+ and/or Mg2+ or antrypol or cobra venom factor (a specific inhibitor of C3) prevented sensitisation of sheep E-rabbit A by sheep serum for agglutination. These results show that sheep serum C3 was taken up by sheep E-rabbit A and its presence on this indicator demonstrated by agglutination using a rabbit antiserum specific for sheep C3.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Rabbit antibodies to degraded and intact glycosaminoglycans which are naturally occurring and present in arthritic rabbits.

Using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and radioimmunoassays employing chondroitinase ABC-treated rabbit cartilage proteoglycan, we have shown that approximately one-third of the outbred New Zealand white rabbits we have examined possess naturally occurring antibodies which react with oligosaccharides of hyaluronic acid (independently of chain length) bearing saturated and 4,5-unsaturated glucuronosyl residues at the nonreducing ends. Such antibodies were also found in a similar proportion of rabbits with an experimental inflammatory arthritis. There was a preferential reactions in the majority of sera with unsaturated oligosaccharides of hyaluronic acid. One serum (R64) reacted only with unsaturated oligosaccharides of hyaluronic acid. Sera reacted also with unsaturated (never saturated) oligosaccharides of chondroitin 4-sulfate and with chondroitin 6-sulfate, particularly when chondroitin sulfate oligosaccharides remained bound to a proteoglycan core protein. Reactions were also observed to both unsaturated and saturated oligosaccharides of chondroitin. Some of these sera also reacted with intact hyaluronic acid and chondroitin but never with intact chondroitin sulfate. The antibodies were present in the IgG fraction of four sera studied and in the IgM fraction of one of these sera: they bound through the F(ab')2 region of the molecule. These observations suggest that, in some rabbits, humoral immunity to hyaluronic acid and/or chondroitin sulfate bound to core protein can develop after these reactive glycosaminoglycans have been degraded by eliminases or hydrolases produced by naturally occurring bacteria and rabbit cells, respectively. Immunological studies of proteoglycans and hyaluronic acid treated with eliminases and hydrolases employing rabbit antisera, and possibly those from other species, should be evaluated in the light of these observations.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Field study of the relationship between skin-sensitizing antibody production in the cottontail rabbit, Sylvilagus floridanus, and infestation by the rabbit tick, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris (Acri: Ixodidae).

The resistance of cottontail rabbits to tick feeding appears correlated with the rabbits' development of skin-sensitizing antibodies. Resistance appeared to be greatest in adult rabbits which had been repeatedly infested with ticks. Rabbits with little exposure to ticks, usually the young cottontails, showed little or no skin-sensitizing antibody present in their blood and usually had relatively high tick loads when compared with adult rabbits. Models used to interpret the data show promise as tools for predicting tick population fluctuations and, perhaps, incidence of vector borne disease outbreaks. The existence of resistance to tick attachment has important implications for the host-parasite relationship. The research lends support to the hypothesis that the resistance may function as a homeostatic regulatory mechanism capable of maintaining the size of the tick population in equilibrium with the size of the rabbit population. In this way, host resistance may be advantageous to the parasite as well as to the host.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Effect of superior cervical ganglionectomy on the sensitivity of rabbit ear artery and cerebral arteries of rabbit and cat to vasoactive agents.

The effect of sympathetic denervation on the sensitivity of the rabbit ear and basilar arteries and the cat middle cerebral artery to vasoactive agents was examined in relation to the functional significance of the innervation. Fourteen days after superior cervical ganglionectomy, the catecholamine fluorescence disappeared and the norepinephrine content drastically decreased and transmural nerve stimulation ceased to elicit any response in all these arteries. In the rabbit ear artery, denervation resulted in a significant leftward shift of dose-response curves for norepinephrine (8.2-fold), serotonin (7.7-fold), histamine (2.9-fold) and potassium (1.2-fold). In contrast, there was no significant shift of dose-response curves to these drugs in the rabbit basilar and cat middle cerebral arteries. These results indicate that after chronic superior cervical ganglionectomy, postjunctional supersensitivity developed in the rabbit ear artery, but no pre- or postjunctional supersensitivity occurred in the rabbit basilar and cat middle cerebral arteries. The difference may be in part attributable to the reported closer synaptic cleft distance of the sympathetic nerve terminals in the ear than in the cerebral arteries examined. These results further suggest that the sympathetic adrenergic nerve exerts a tonic influence over the rabbit ear artery, but little or none in normal cerebral blood vessels.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

[Toxicological study of amikacin following intravenous drip infusion. 1. Acute toxicity in rats, rabbits and dogs, and subacute toxicity in rabbits].

Acute toxicity of amikacin sulfate (AMK) was studied in rats, rabbits and dogs following 1 hour drip intravenous infusion (1 hour d.i.v.), and compared with those after intravenous injection (i.v.). Subacute toxicity was studied in rabbits following 1 hour d.i.v. of AMK at doses of 400, 200, 100 and 25 mg/kg for 36 days. Acute toxicity: Acute toxicity of AMK by 1 hour d.i.v. was extremely diminished as compared with that by i.v. judging from LD50, the toxicity was approximately 1/6 in rats and approximately 1/2 in rabbits and dogs. No difference was observed between males and females. Subacute toxicity: 1. No death was found in all rabbits. 2. At the doses of 25 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg, there were no significant changes or signs recognized as toxicological effects of AMK. 3. At the dose of 200 mg/kg, very slight renal damages were observed histopathologically in all the 5 rabbits. 4. At the dose of 400 mg/kg, slight or moderate renal damages were observed in all the rabbits. Those were mainly dilatation of renal proximal tubules, hydropic swelling and degeneration of renal proximal tubular epithelium. No significant impairment effect of AMK was found in heart, lung, liver and other organs. 5. From these results, it is considered that the maximum no effect dose from a view point of safety is about 100 mg/kg in this study.

Amikacin↗
PubMed1995

Characterization of a rabbit germ-line VH gene that is a candidate donor for VH gene conversion in mutant Alicia rabbits.

Normal rabbits preferentially rearrange the 3'-most VH gene, VH1, to encode Igs with VHa allotypes, which constitute the majority of rabbit serum Igs. A gene conversion-like mechanism is employed to diversify the primary Ab repertoire. In mutant Alicia rabbits that derived from a rabbit with VHa2 allotype, the VH1 gene was deleted. Our previous studies showed that the first functional gene (VH4) or VH4-like genes were rearranged in 2- to 8-wk-old homozygous Alicia. The VH1a2-like sequences that were found in splenic mRNA from 6-wk and older Alicia rabbits still had some residues that were typical of VH4. The appearances of sequences resembling that of VH1a2 may have been caused by gene conversions that altered the sequences of the rearranged VH or there may have been rearrangement of upstream VH1a2-like genes later in development. To investigate this further, we constructed a cosmid library and isolated a VH1a2-like gene, VH12-1-6, with a sequence almost identical to VH1a2. This gene had a deleted base in the heptamer of its recombination signal sequence. However, even if this defect diminished or eliminated its ability to rearrange, the a2-like gene could have acted as a donor for gene-conversion-like alteration of rearranged VH genes. Sequence comparisons suggested that this gene or a gene like it could have acted as a donor for gene conversion in mutant Alicia and in normal rabbits.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Cloning of rabbit LCAT cDNA: increase in LCAT mRNA abundance in the liver of cholesterol-fed rabbits.

Structure of rabbit lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) and molecular basis for the effects of cholesterol feeding on LCAT expression were investigated by cloning and sequencing LCAT cDNA from rabbit. The rabbit and human sequences are 91% identical at the nucleotide level and 93% identical at the amino acid level. The interfacial substrate active site, asparagine-linked glycosylation sites, and sites at which rare mutations cause human familial LCAT deficiency are all highly conserved in the rabbit protein. The apparent molecular mass of rabbit LCAT, as determined by immunoblot analysis, was approximately equal to that of human LCAT. Rabbits showed 2.6- and 5.5-fold increases in serum LCAT activity 3 and 6 weeks, respectively, after switching to a cholesterol-enriched diet. Northern blot analysis revealed that the abundance of LCAT mRNA in liver increased 1.6- and 2.8-fold after 3 and 6 weeks, respectively, of cholesterol feeding. The marked temporal relation between the increase in serum LCAT activity and the liver LCAT mRNA abundance suggest that the regulation of LCAT activity in vivo may be primarily determined by changes in the amount of LCAT mRNA.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

A chondropathy of the pinna in rabbits associated with rabbit haemorrhagic disease.

AIMS: To investigate the relationship between loss of parts of the pinna in rabbits and rabbit haemorrhagic disease (MD). METHODS: A case-control study design was employed. Rabbits with ear lesions were shot on farms in various locations in the South Island of New Zealand. For each case, an attempt was made to obtain a sex and size-matched control rabbit from the same farm on the same day. Serum samples were collected immediately after shooting. The serum samples were tested for RHD titres from 1:lO to 1:640. A selection of affected ears was examined histologically. Odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals were calculated to assess the relationship between ear loss and RHD antibody status at various serological cut-off levels. RESULTS: Affected ears were characterised by firm cartilaginous nodules and ridges, folding of the ear or loss of pinna to form a notch or complete loss of the outer pinna from about 052.0 cm above the intertragic notch. Histological changes in affected ears consisted mostly of focal mineralisation in the auricular cartilage, proliferation of cartilaginous tissue and loss of cartilage. The serological findings showed a significant association between rabbits with ear lesions and elevated RHD titres. CONCLUSION: The loss of the outer pinna in the rabbits under study was due to degenerative and hyperplastic changes in the auricular cartilage with distortion of the pinna, withering and loss of the outer pinna. The serological findings suggests that RHD is a likely factor in the development of the ear lesions.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1995

Leukocyte proliferation in vitro against cottontail rabbit papillomavirus in rabbits with persisting papillomas/cancer or after regression.

Leukocyte proliferation responses to cotton-tail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) were measured in vitro with fresh whole blood as well as with ammonium chloride lysis-separated leukocytes. The antigens used were (1) CRPV particles produced in the athymic( (nu/nu) mouse xenograft system and (2) purified bacterial fusion proteins of the CRPV major and minor capsid proteins L1 and L2. CRPV-infected domestic rabbits with persistent papillomas or after papilloma regression, as well as uninfected controls were studied. There was a clearcut difference between infected and uninfected animals. We demonstrated antigen-specific leukocyte proliferation to at least one CRPV antigen in 12 of 21 infected rabbits but there was no positivity in 9 control animals (P = 0.004). There was whole-blood reactivity preferentially to intact CRPV particles in regressors. Specific but weak leukocyte proliferation against CRPV particles was detected in 6 of 9 regressor rabbits (66%) but only in 1 of 12 progressors (8%; P = 0.0158). This trend of greater reactivity to intact CRPV particles in regressors as compared with progressors was not seen with peripheral blood leukocytes isolated by ammonium chloride lysis. We conclude that specific leukoproliferative responses against capsid CRPV proteins exist in rabbits experimentally infected with CRPV.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Presence of rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus antigen in rabbit tissues as revealed by a monoclonal antibody dependent capture ELISA.

The production of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to a common antigenic region on rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) has enabled the development of a capture ELISA for virus detection. The assay was shown to detect reliably the presence of viral antigen in crude homogenates of a range of rabbit tissues and has provided the first evidence for the presence of RHDV in blood, serum and heart tissue. A limited time course study of the progression of virus infection revealed viral antigen is first detected in the liver at between 18 and 24 h post-infection (p.i.) and in the spleen between 24 and 30 h p.i. The assay displayed a high level of specificity, clearly differentiating between groups of infected (lowest observed optical density (O.D.) 0.45) and uninfected (highest O.D. 0.06) rabbits. No viral antigen was detected in the urine or faeces collected from infected rabbits at post-mortem. Experiments employing the 'spiking' of pools of urine and faecal homogenates collected from uninfected rabbits, with a known amount of virus, indicated that RHDV may not be present in the faeces of infected animals and if present in urine, it appears to undergo substantial degradation.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intracutaneous vaccination of rabbits with the cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) L1 gene protects against virus challenge .

A DNA vaccine encoding the major capsid protein L1 of cottontail rabbit papillomavirus (CRPV) was constructed and administered intracutaneously (i.c.) to rabbits as supercoiled plasmids bound to gold beads using a specialized delivery device ("gene gun"). L1 DNA-vaccinated rabbits developed cellular proliferative responses to CRPV virus-like particles and developed high titered antibodies with neutralizing activity to CRPV. Following experimental challenge with CRPV, all of the L1 DNA-vaccinated rabbits, vs none of the controls, were protected from papilloma formation. These results demonstrate that i.c. vaccination of rabbits with the L1 papillomavirus capsid gene can induce antibodies that protect against subsequent papillomavirus infection.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Experimental infections of rabbits with rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus monitored by polymerase chain reaction.

Adult and 4-5-week-old rabbits were inoculated subcutaneously with rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV). Samples were prepared from various tissues at intervals postinoculation (PI) for the detection of viral RNA and antigens. Using a haemagglutination test (HAT), viral antigens were detected in the liver, bile and spleen of the adult rabbits at and after 36 h PI. The reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT - PCR) showed that RHDVRNA was present in the liver, bile and spleen as early as 18 hours PI, whereas lung, kidney, thymus, mesenteric lymph node and buffy coat were found to be positive after more than 26 hours PI. In addition, viral RNA in urine and faeces showed a variable positivity at and after 36 hours PI. In the young rabbits, RT - PCR showed that RHDVRNA was present as early as 1 day PI in the liver, bile, spleen and buffy coat; whereas lung, kidney, thymus, mesenteric lymph node and faeces were found to be positive at and after 2 days PI. Bile and spleen were the only samples in which viral RNA was detected throughout the length of the experiment. Virus was not reactivated in six recovered virus-inoculated rabbits treated with dexamethasone or a classical swine fever virus vaccine. Using a haemagglutination inhibition test and an ELISA, antibody titres increased rapidly from one week PI onwards, peaked at approximately three weeks of age, and were maintained throughout the length of the experiment.

Aging↗
PubMed1996

Susceptibility of hares and rabbits to the European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) and rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV) under experimental conditions.

The European brown hare syndrome virus (EBHSV) and the rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHDV) virus were inoculated in hares and rabbits to discover whether the homologous and heterologous host could be infected. The aims were to confirm the results of previous studies that showed the existence of antigenic differences between these two viruses, and also to define the role attributed to the hare in transmission to rabbits of a disease, EBHS, initially mistaken for RHD. During the trials, clinical symptoms and pathological lesions were noted, and virological and serological analysis were conducted, using specific tests set up for both diseases. The hares infected with EBHSV died of an acute form of EBHS, whereas the rabbits remained healthy. The low serological response in these rabbits towards the EBHSV did not protect them against RHDV. Similarly, hares inoculated with RHDV remained healthy and showed a low anti-RHDV antibody titre but died when challenged with EBHSV.

Animals↗