The purpose of this study was to provide a new insight on the response of canines to stress exposure; the ionomic profiles of canine hair (2.8 ± 0.3 years, 15.17 ± 2.1 kg) (n = 10) was determined before and after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injections. LPS was intramuscularly injected to induce inflammatory stress responses which were confirmed by observing increases in the level of serum cortisol, aldosterone, and inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α. The hair contents of 17 elements were obtained by applying analytical procedures using the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The following elements: sodium(Na) and potassium(K) among macro-elements, iron(Fe) and manganese(Mn) among micro-elements, and aluminum(Al), nickel(Ni), and lead(Pb) for toxic elements, showed significant increased levels with the immunological stress. The degree of increase in toxic elements was remarkable with the stress exposure. A forty-five-fold increase seen in Al accumulation with the stress exposure was noteworthy. Although mercury(Hg) and cadmium(Cd) showed decreased levels with the stress exposure, the degree was negligible compared to the level of increase. Correlation pattern between the elements was changed with the immunological stress. Toxic elements became more correlated with macro- or micro-elements than with toxic elements themselves after the stress exposure. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that LPS challenge shifted the overall hair mineral profiles to a consistent direction changing Al and K up, even in animals with different hair mineral profiles before LPS treatment. In conclusion, the multivariate data processing and study of element distribution patterns provided new information about the ionomic response of the canine hairs to immunological stress, i.e., the ionomic profiles of canine hairs is strongly affected by the stress induced by LPS injections.

Effects of active immunization against somatostatin (SRIF) or various forms of somatostatin analogues on growth were investigated in male rats. In experiment 1, SRIF14, SRIF28, octreotide, Tyr 3 -octreotide or MK 608 were conjugated to human serum globulin and used as immunogens. Thirty-five Sprague-Dawley male rats were divided into seven groups and immunized against phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (control 1), or one of the conjugated immunogens at five weeks of age. Booster immunizations were performed at 7, 9 and 12 weeks of age. Only SRIF14 induced the production of anti-somatostatin antibodies. There were no differences in blood GH concentration and growth performance between the SRIF14 group (with anti-SRIF antibodies) and other groups (without the antibodies). Although growth performance for the whole period was not affected by immunization with SRIF14 conjugate, daily weight gain and feed efficiency for 2 weeks after the third booster immunization were significantly improved, suggesting that the production of antibody against somatostatin can reach the minimal level for improving growth performance only after the third booster immunization in male rats. Experiment II was designed as a 2 ´2 ´2 factorial arrangement in which SRIF14 or Tyr 1 1 -SRIF14 was conjugated onto thyroglobulin or keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) by glutaraldehyde or m-maleimidobenzoyl-N-hydroxysuccinimide coupling methods, and the immunization schedule was the same as experiment I. Anti-SRIF antibody titre values of the rats that received the conjugated SRIF14 or Tyr 11 -SRIF14 were higher than those injected with PBS. The levels of anti-SRIF antibody were not affected by the different coupling methods or by the different carrier proteins. In the Ag3 group treated with SRIF14 + KLH conjugate, total weight gain for the whole period and feed efficiency for 2 weeks after the third booster immunization were significantly different from other groups. Although GH concentration in blood was not changed by the production 142 J. Y. KIM ET AL. of antibody, our results show the possibility that active immunization against SRIF can improve growth performance in the male rat and SRIF14 peptide may be a potential candidate for active immunization.

Effects of active immunization against native 14-mer somatostatin (SRIF, somatotropin releasing inhibiting factor) and its two 14-mer-somatostatin analogues on the milk production in rat mammary cells were studied. Native SRIF, Tyr11-somatostatin (Tyr11-SRIF), and D-Trp8, D-Cys14-somatostatin (Trp8Cys14-SRIF) were conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) for immunogen preparation. Twenty-four female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups and immunized against saline (Control), SRIF, Tyr11-SRIF, and Trp8Cys14-SRIF at five weeks of age. Booster immunizations were performed at 7, 9, and 11 weeks of age. SRIFimmunized rats were mated at 10 weeks of age. The blood and mammary glands were collected at day 15 post-pregnancy and -lactation. To measure the amount of milk protein synthesis in the mammary gland, mammary cells isolated from the pregnant and the lactating rats, were cultured in the presence of 3 H-lysine. No significant differences in growth performance, concentration of growth hormone in the circulation, and the amount of milk protein synthesis were observed among the groups. Inductive levels of serum anti-SRIF antibody in the SRIF and Tyr11-SRIF groups but not in the Trp8Cys14-SRIF group, were significantly higher than that of the control group during the pregnancy and lactation periods. The result suggests that active immunization against native 14-mer SRIF and Tyr11-SRIF was able to induce anti-SRIF antibodies, but did not affect the milk protein synthesis.