Diabetes mellitus (DM) remains a global concern in both human and veterinary medicine. Type I DM requires prolonged and consistent exogenous insulin administration to address hyperglycemia, which can increase the risk of diabetes complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, and heart disorders. Cell-based therapies have been successful in human medicine using the Edmonton protocol. These therapies help maintain the production of endogenous insulin and stabilize blood glucose levels and may possibly be adapted to veterinary clinical practice. The limited number of cadaveric pancreas donors and the long-term use of immunosuppressive agents are the main obstacles for this protocol. Over the past decade, the development of potential therapies for DM has mainly focused on the generation of effective insulin-producing cells (IPCs) from various sources of stem cells that can be transplanted into the body. Another successful application of stem cells in type I DM therapies is transplanting generated IPCs. Encapsulation can be an alternative strategy to protect IPCs from rejection by the body due to their immunoisolation properties. This review summarizes current concepts of IPCs and encapsulation technology for veterinary clinical application and proposes a potential stem-cell-based platform for veterinary diabetic regenerative therapy.

Background: Current approach for diabetes treatment remained several adverse events varied from gastrointestinal to life-threatening symptoms. Regenerative therapy regarding Edmonton protocol has been facing serious limitations involving protocol efficiency and safety. This led to the study for alternative insulin-producing cell (IPC) resource and transplantation platform. In this study, evaluation of encapsulated human dental pulp-derived stem cell (hDPSC)-derived IPCs by alginate (ALG) and pluronic F127-coated alginate (ALGPA) was performed. Results: The results showed that ALG and ALGPA preserved hDPSC viability and allowed glucose and insulin diffusion in and out. ALG and ALGPA-encapsulated hDPSC-derived IPCs maintained viability for at least 336 h and sustained pancreatic endoderm marker (NGN3), pancreatic islet markers (NKX6.1, MAF-A, ISL-1, GLUT-2 and INSULIN), and intracellular pro-insulin and insulin expressions for at least 14 days. Functional analysis revealed a glucoseresponsive C-peptide secretion of ALG-and ALGPA-encapsulated hDPSC-derived IPCs at 14 days post-encapsulation. Conclusion: ALG and ALGPA encapsulations efficiently preserved the viability and functionality of hDPSC-derived IPCs in vitro and could be the potential transplantation platform for further clinical application.

Background: An immunoinformatic approach may be useful to investigate the conserved region in the spike glycoprotein of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Indonesia isolates. The aim of this study was to investigate Indonesian SARS-CoV-2 isolates based on B cell epitopes by targeting the conserved regions in the spike glycoprotein to trigger increased multi-variant virus neutralization and memory response for the development of vaccine seed candidates. Methods: SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein gene sequences originating from Indonesia were compared with Wuhan (China), the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, the United States, and Brazil isolates obtained from the NCBI and GISAID databases. The recognition of antigens was carried out directly using B cells through the B cell receptor (BCR). An indirect B cell activation by Cluster of Differentiation (CD)4+ T cells and major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-II was predicted through the binding with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) based on IC50 value. In addition, vaccine allergenicity and toxicity were investigated. During the molecular complex examination, the 3D peptide structure was investigated and the lowest amount of energy formed when the vaccine candidate peptide bound to BCR and MHC-II was calculated. Results: As a result, the spike glycoprotein sequences of Indonesian SARS-CoV-2 isolates had conserved regions which were very similar to reference countries such as China, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, the United States, and Brazil. Conclusion: It was predicted that the conserved regions could be identified as the epitope of B and T CD4+ cells that produced the peptides for vaccine candidate with antigenic, non-allergen, and non-toxic properties.

Canine mesenchymal stem cells (cMSCs) have potential applications for regenerative therapy, including the generation of insulin-producing cells (IPCs) for studying and treating diabetes. In this study, we established a useful protocol for generating IPCs from canine adipose mesenchymal stem cells (cAD-MSCs). Subsequently, in vitro preservation of pluronic F127-coated alginate (ALGPA)-encapsulated cAD-MSC-derived IPCs was performed to verify ready-to-use IPCs. IPCs were induced from cAD-MSCs with the modulated three-stepwise protocol. The first step of definitive endoderm (DE) induction showed that the cooperation of Chir99021 and Activin A created the effective production of Sox17-expressed DE cells. The second step for pancreatic endocrine (PE) progenitor induction from DE indicated that the treatment with taurine, retinoic acid, FGF2, EGF, TGFβ inhibitor, dorsomorphin, nicotinamide, and DAPT showed the significant upregulation of the pancreatic endocrine precursor markers Pdx1 and Ngn3. The last step of IPC production, the combination of taurine, nicotinamide, Glp-1, forskolin, PI3K inhibitor, and TGFβ inhibitor, yielded efficiently functional IPCs from PE precursors. Afterward, the maintenance of ALGPA-encapsulated cAD-MSC-derived IPCs with VSCBIC-1, a specialized medium, enhanced IPC properties. Conclusion, the modulated three-stepwise protocol generates the functional IPCs. Together, the encapsulation of cAD-MSC-derived IPCs and the cultivation with VSCBIC-1 enrich the maturation of generated IPCs.

Helminthiasis is an important problem that affects the productivity and health of cows in tropical countries. This study aimed to examine the prevalence of helminthiasis in the digestive tract and the factors that affect it. In the current study, feces samples were from 75 cows aged up to one year old. The samples were collected from areas with the majority of the population as cattle breeders. The data were analyzed descriptively and statistically. The result indicated that most of the cows have suffered from helminthiasis caused by Toxocara vitulorum and the prevalence of intestinal helminths was mostly mild. Toxocara vitulorum spp. was the most common nematode worm that infected cows. The most effective factors on prevalence of helminthiasis in cows were age and cage location.

Snakehead fish (Channa striata) have high albumin content, a protein needed for cell development and the formation of new tissue. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of snakehead fish extract emulgel given topically on incision wounds in white rats. The parameters of wound healing consist of wound length, a number of neutrophils, macrophages, fibroblasts and density of collagen. The white rats divide into three groups of (n = 6), one group was given the emulgel base as the negative control, one group of povidone-iodine as the positive control, and one group of snakehead fish extract 10% emulgel. White rats were sacrificed on the third and seventh days for microscopic observations. The results showed that snakehead fish extract emulgel can accelerate incision wound healing: decrease wound length, increase the number of neutrophil and macrophages cells, increase the average number of fibroblasts and increase collagen density on white rats.

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Vaccination is deemed the best approach against the COVID-19 pandemic. In regard of safety and protectivity, the whole inactivated vaccine platform is advantageous and widely used. Whole inactivated vaccine provides broader protection against various antigenic components of SARS-CoV-2. This study aims to analyze the immune response of cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) following inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine administration. The analysis utilized the flow cytometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to evaluate CD59 NK cell expression and serum IL-6 level. This research used 6 macaques which were divided into 2 groups: Adult and Adolescence. Each group was consisted of 3 macaques. The macaques received two doses of 3 µg of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine with 21 days interval between first and second dose. CD59 and IL-6 level were measured before the first vaccination (D0), 21 days post-vaccination but before second dose (D21), and 14 days after the second dose (D35). The result showed significant escalation (p ≤ 0.05) of CD59 NK cell expression between D0, D21, and D35 in both adult and adolescence macaques. Higher expression of CD59 NK cell was found in adult macaques compared to adolescence macaques. Meanwhile, the level of IL-6 remained constant (p > 0.05) throughout D0, D21, and D35 in both groups. In conclusion, the inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate can increase CD59 NK cell expression significantly, while IL-6 level was mildly elevated although the differences were insignificant.