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SummaryMonoclonal antibody–based competitive ELISA (C–ELISA) have been used for the specific measurement of antibodies to both rinderpest and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) viruses in cattle, sheep and goats. Examination of serum samples from sheep and goats in Gambia, before and after vaccination with rinderpest vaccine, suggested that antibodies to PPR virus could prevent an immune response to the rinderpest vaccine. Cattle sera from Nigeria and Ghana showed a high prevalence of antibody against PPR virus which may explain the difficulty experienced in some countries in achieving high post-vaccination immunity levels against rinderpest. Because antibodies against PPR virus are both cross–neutralizing and cross-protective against rinderpest virus further vaccination in the presence of antibodies against PPR virus may be a waste of national resources. This paper presents serological evidence for the transmission of PPR virus from sheep and goats to cattle and highlights the need to include PPR serology in the sero-monitoring programme to give a better indication of national herd immunity.

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Cyclin D1 is a key cell cycle regulatory protein, the expression and subcellular localization of which is often altered in human tumor cells. A common A/G single nucleotide polymorphism (A870G) in exon 4 of the cyclin D1 gene, CCND1, is associated with the presence of 2 distinct mRNA transcripts for this G1/S regulatory protein, and CCND1 genotype has been related to prognosis in lung cancer and head and neck carcinoma. We have investigated both the expression of cyclin D1 protein and the CCND1 A870G polymorphism in 100 colorectal cancer patients. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated cyclin D1 protein expression in 55% of tumors, and while the absence of cyclin D1 protein was not associated with outcome (p=0.81), high levels of protein expression (>50% of tumor cells expressing cyclin D1) correlated with significantly shortened overall survival (p=0.01). Using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, we determined the frequency of each genotype and found that CCND1 genotype was not related to overall survival (p>0.05). In addition, genotype was unrelated to the level of expression and localization of cyclin D1 protein, as well as other key G1/S checkpoint proteins (p21, p27, p53, retinoblastoma) and tumor proliferation markers (proliferating cell nuclear antigen). However, higher levels of p27, and to a lesser extent p21, were associated with reduced cytoplasmic cyclin D1 protein (p=0.029 and p=0.054, respectively). In conclusion, we have demonstrated that high levels of cyclin D1 protein expression are related to outcome in colorectal cancer; however, the CCND1 A870G polymorphism is unrelated to either cyclin D1 protein expression or patient survival. Int. J. Cancer 88:77–81, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.