eThe nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin is adapted to cattle but infrequently infects humans, very often resulting in invasive infections with high levels of morbidity and mortality. A Salmonella-induced intestinal acute inflammatory response is postulated as a mechanism to prevent bacterial dissemination to systemic sites. In S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, flagella contribute to this response by providing motility and FliC-mediated activation of pattern recognition receptors. In this study, we found 4 Salmonella enterica isolates, with the antigenic formula 9,12:؊:؊, that, based on fliC sequence and multilocus sequence type (MLST) analyses, are aflagellate S. Dublin isolates. Interestingly, all were obtained from human bloodstream infections. Thus, we investigated the potential role of flagella in the unusual invasiveness exhibited by S. Dublin in humans by analyzing flagellation and proinflammatory properties of a collection of 10 S. Dublin human clinical isolates. We found that 4 of 7 blood isolates were aflagellate due to significantly reduced levels of fliC expression, whereas all 3 isolates from other sources were flagellated. Lack of flagella correlated with a reduced ability of triggering interleukin-8 (IL-8) and CCL20 chemokine expression in human intestinal Caco-2 cells and with reduced early inflammation in the ceca of streptomycin-pretreated C57/BL6 mice. These results indicate that flagella contribute to the host intestinal inflammatory response to Salmonella serovar Dublin and suggest that their absence may contribute to its systemic dissemination through dampening of the gut immune response. Analysis of FliC production in a collection of cattle isolates indicated that the aflagellate phenotype is widely distributed in field isolates of S. Dublin.

The nutritional status of females during pregnancy can play a critical role in the postnatal growth and development of the offspring, often leading to permanent changes ('fetal programming'). The Sertoli cells are a strong candidate for fetal programming of future performance because the number of Sertoli cells is highly correlated with adult testicular size and the maximum rate of sperm production. For Merino ewes, we imposed different levels of metabolizable energy (ME) intake (LowME: 70% of requirements for maintenance of ewe body mass and normal growth of conceptus (n = 13); HighME: 110% of those requirements (n = 12)) from Week 10 of pregnancy until parturition and then tested for effects on testicular histology in newborn males. Pregnant ewes were weighed weekly and lambs were weighed at birth and 2 days later. Blood was sampled at the same times. LowME ewes did not gain weight, whereas HighME ewes gained 17% over their pretreatment weight. Birthweights were higher in HighME lambs than in LowME lambs. Paired testes tended to be heavier in the HighME group than in the LowME group (P=0.08). The diameter of the testicular cords did not differ. The absolute volume of testicular cords (0.36 ± 0.02 v. 0.30 ± 0.02 mL for HighME v. LowME, respectively; P=0.03) and the number of Sertoli cells (43.0�±�2.5 v. 34.5 ± 2.0 × 108 for HighME v. LowME, respectively; P=0.018) per testis were both greater in the HighME than in the LowME group. Plasma follicle-stimulating hormone concentrations were not significantly affected at birth or 2 days later. We conclude that undernutrition during pregnancy can reduce testicular development in the newborn. Depending on the ability of the Sertoli cell population to recover between birth and puberty, this may limit the ultimate number of Sertoli cells and, hence, the future capacity for sperm production and fertility.

The pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) is a South American grazing deer which is in extreme danger of extinction. Very little is known about the biology of the pampas deer. Moreover, most information has not been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and is only available in local publications, theses, etc. Therefore, our aim was to update and summarize the available information regarding the reproductive biology of the pampas deer. Moreover, in most sections, we have also included new, unpublished information. Detailed descriptions are provided of the anatomy of both the female and the male reproductive tract, puberty onset, the oestrous cycle and gestational length. Birthing and the early postpartum period are described, as are maternal behaviour and early fawn development, seasonal distribution of births, seasonal changes in male reproduction and antler cycle, reproductive behaviour, semen collection, and cryopreservation. Finally, an overview is given and future directions of research are proposed.

To test whether undernutrition during foetal to pre-pubertal life would have long lasting effects on testicular histology in adult male offspring, eleven adult Sprague-Dawley pregnant rats were divided into two groups: Control group, n = 4, fed ad libitum, during gestation and lactation (until 25 day post-partum). Underfed group pregnant females (n = 7) were kept in cages where only dams had access to food (standard rat chow, 33.5% of ad libitum intake of Control group pregnant dams). After parturition, litters were adjusted to either 14 (Underfed group) or eight (Control group) pups. Mothers were weighed weekly. At 25 day of age pups were weaned, housed at four animals per cage, fed ad libitum and weighed weekly until euthanized at 100 day of age. Testes were processed for standard histology and morphometrical evaluation. At weaning, mother weight was lower in underfed than in Control group (mean +/- SD): 214.1 +/- 26.2 g vs 361.9 +/- 33.1 g. Body weight at 100 days of age (254 +/- 26.9 g vs 342.4 +/- 10.2 g, p

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