African swine fever virus transmission cycles in Central Europe: Evaluation of wild boar-soft tick contacts through detection of antibodies against Ornithodoros erraticus saliva antigen

Abstract

BackgroundAfrican swine fever (ASF) is one of the most complex viral diseases affecting both domestic and wild pigs. It is caused by ASF virus (ASFV), the only DNA virus which can be efficiently transmitted by an arthropod vector, soft ticks of the genus Ornithodoros. These ticks can be part of ASFV-transmission cycles, and in Europe, O. erraticus was shown to be responsible for long-term maintenance of ASFV in Spain and Portugal. In 2014, the disease has been reintroduced into the European Union, affecting domestic pigs and, importantly, also the Eurasian wild boar population. In a first attempt to assess the risk of a tick-wild boar transmission cycle in Central Europe that would further complicate eradication of the disease, over 700 pre-existing serum samples from wild boar hunted in four representative German Federal States were investigated for the presence of antibodies directed against salivary antigen of Ornithodoros erraticus ticks using an indirect ELISA format.ResultsOut of these samples, 16 reacted with moderate to high optical densities that could be indicative of tick bites in sampled wild boar. However, these samples did not show a spatial clustering (they were collected from distant geographical regions) and were of bad quality (hemolysis/impurities). Furthermore, all positive samples came from areas with suboptimal climate for soft ticks. For this reason, false positive reactions are likely.ConclusionIn conclusion, the study did not provide stringent evidence for soft tick-wild boar contact in the investigated German Federal States and thus, a relevant involvement in the epidemiology of ASF in German wild boar is unlikely. This fact would facilitate the eradication of ASF in the area, although other complex relations (wild boar biology and interactions with domestic pigs) need to be considered.

Allogeneic major histocompatibility complex‐mismatched equine bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells are targeted for death by cytotoxic anti‐major histocompatibility complex antibodies

“…While previous studies in horses have found that repeat injections of allogeneic MSCs do not cause overt clinical symptoms of transplant rejection [15,16], these studies did not thoroughly investigate whether a cell-mediated or humoral immune response was induced or whether this limited the persistence of the cells in vivo. As the likely therapeutic benefits of MSCs appear to be largely due to the secretion of paracrine factors that promote healing of healthy tissue [30,31], it is necessary for the cells to persist throughout the initial inflammatory and healing period.…”

Preventive measures aimed at minimizing the risk of African swine fever virus spread in pig farming systems

“…Knowledge on the occurrence of these ticks in other areas of Europe is rather incomplete. However, in the Baltic countries, in Poland and in Central Europe their presence seems unlikely, as their involvement in the epidemiological cycle of the disease [29]. Such ticks are able to retain ASFV for a long time, at least 5 years, and to transmit it to susceptible species [30, 31].…”

The biochemical alterations underlying post-burn hypermetabolism

“…While in diabetes, the adipose tissue secretes cytokines into the serum, cell and clinical work suggest a modulatory role of FFAs on cytokine levels; addition of fatty acids to cultured cells is reported to increase levels of IL-6, IL-8, IL-18, IL-β, pro-matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) and pro-MMP3 while decreasing levels of IL-10, IL-12, interferon gamma (IFNγ) and CCL2 [102], [103], [104], [105] and [106]. Further, insulin-induced inhibition of FFA release reduces levels of IL-18, but not of IL-6 or TNFα [107].…”