The ability to propagate foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) plays an important role in laboratory diagnosis and the production of vaccines to control the spread of the disease. Many established cell lines suffer from poor sensitivity for isolating virus from field samples. One possible factor that limits sensitivity to FMDV is the lack of expression of surface integrins, the primary class of cell receptor used by FMDV to initiate infection. In this study we have sequenced cDNAs encoding these molecules for pigs and subsequently developed quantitative real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assays to quantify underlying mRNA transcription of integrin molecules. These novel assays were used together with flow-cytometry to determine cell surface expression and of 4 different cell culture systems. These studies have identified a clear correlation of sensitivity to FMDV with expression of integrins ?V?6 and ?V?8. In contrast, cell surface expression of ?V?3 or mRNA for the ?1, ?3 or ?5 subunits did not appear to contribute to sensitivity of cells to FMDV. These findings confirm the requirement for ?V6 and ?V?8 as receptors for isolating FMDV from clinical samples and provide important tools and information for the rational design of recombinant cell lines containing these ligands for improved FMDV diagnosis and vaccine production.

The development of drug resistance in Eimeria is common because of extensive use of anticoccidial drugs for the control of avian coccidiosis. The significance of chemotherapy is evident from the fact that, in spite of advancement in the field of immunological, biotechnological and genetic methods, prophylactic chemotherapy with anticoccidial drugs is still widely used for the control of coccidiosis. In such situations, new drugs should be available to replace the older ones against which resistance has developed, however it takes a long time to develop any new compounds. It is therefore currently necessary to develop strategies to minimise the emergence of resistance in Eimeria strains and to prolong the effect of available anticoccidial drugs. This paper summarises the resistance status of Eimeria species in different parts of the world and reviews different types of resistance, mechanism of resistance development, factors involved in the development and spread of resistance, management of resistant strains and strategies to preserve the efficacy of the available anticoccidial drugs. Use of vaccines, synthetic and botanical anticoccidials and educating farmers about recommended coccidiosis control practices are discussed in this review, along with the integration of currently available options for the management of drug resistance and, ultimately, the control of coccidiosis.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in mainland Southeast Asia where up to seven genetically distinct viral lineages co-circulate (O/SEA/Mya-98, O/SEA/Cam-94, O/ME-SA/PanAsia, O/ME-SA/PanAsia-2, O/CATHAY, A/ASIA/Sea-97, and serotype Asia 1). The aim of this study was to analyse the sequence variability between representative complete genomes for these seven lineages. The genome sequences varied from 8130 to 8192 nucleotides in length and shared nucleotide identities ranging from 91.8 to 78.9%. Broad-scale differences such as block and codon deletions observed in these genomes paralleled features that have been reported previously for other FMDV sequences from Southeast Asia. Comparison between these sequences revealed the presence of 2501 variant sites which were more evident in regions encoding surface capsid proteins (VP2, VP3 and VP1) compared to regions encoding non-structural proteins. Specific comparisons between closely related O/ME-SA sequences showed that the distribution of variant sites was focussed particularly at the 5' end of the genome indicating that recombination may have occurred during the evolution of the O/ME-SA/PanAsia-2 lineage. These sequences provide insights into the evolutionary mechanisms by which new lineages generate genetic and antigenic novelty in the region and will form the basis of studies to define the spatio-temporal epidemiology of FMDV.

Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a well-established model of multiple sclerosis, is characterised by microglial activation and lymphocyte infiltration. Induction of EAE in Lewis rats produces an acute monophasic disease characterised by a single peak of disability followed by a spontaneous and complete recovery and a subsequent tolerance to further immunizations. In the current study we have performed a detailed analysis of the dynamics of different lymphocyte populations and cytokine profile along the induction, peak, recovery and post-recovery phases in this paradigm. MBP-injected rats were sacrificed attending exclusively to their clinical score, and the different populations of T-lymphocytes as well as the dynamics of different pro-and anti-inflammatory cytokines were analysed in the spinal cord by flow cytometry, immunohistochemistry and ELISA. Our results revealed that, during the induction and peak phases, in parallel to an increase in symptomatology, the number of CD3+ and CD4+ cells increased progressively, showing a Th1 phenotype, but unexpectedly during recovery, although clinical signs progressively decreased, the number and proportion of CD3+ and CD4+ populations remained unaltered. Interestingly, during this recovery phase, we observed a marked decrease of Th1 and an important increase in Th17 and T-reg cells. Moreover, our results indicate a specific cytokine expression profile along the EAE course characterized by no changes of IL10 and IL17 levels, decrease of IL21 on the peak, and high IL22 levels during the induction and peak phases that markedly decrease during recovery. In summary, these results revealed the existence of a specific pattern of lymphocyte infiltration and cytokine secretion along the different phases of the acute EAE model in Lewis rat that differs from those already described in chronic or relapsing-remitting mouse models, where Th17-cells were found mostly during the peak, suggesting a specific role of these lymphocytes and cytokines in the evolution of this acute EAE model.