Research on the structure of the ovine major histocompatibility complex (MHC), Ovar-Mhc, and its association with resistance to various diseases in sheep has received increasing attention during recent years. The term 'resistance' is used to denote the capacity of an animal to defend itself against disease or to withstand the effects of a harmful environmental agent. The Ovar-Mhc is poorly characterised when compared to MHCs of other domestic animals. However, its basic structure is similar to that of other animals, comprising Class I, II and III regions. Products of the Class I and II genes, the histocompatibility molecules, are of paramount importance as these present antigens to T-lymphocytes, thereby eliciting immune responses. Several studies have been conducted in sheep on the involvement of MHC genes/antigens in genetic resistance to diseases, the majority being concerned with gastrointestinal nematodes. Studies on resistance to footrot, Johne's disease and bovine leukaemia virus (BLV)-induced leukaemogenesis have also been reported. Genes of all three regions were implicated in the disease association studies. In addition to disease resistance, Ovar-Mhc genes have been found to be associated with traits such as marbling and birthweight. The use of genetic markers from within the Ovar-Mhc may be useful, via marker-assisted selection, for increasing resistance to various diseases provided they do not impact negatively on other economically-important traits. This review summarises current knowledge of the role of Ovar-Mhc in genetic resistance to diseases in sheep.

Extensive metabolic and physiologic changes occur during the peripartum, concurrent with a high incidence of infectious disease. Immune dysfunction is a likely contributor to the increased risk of disease at this time. Studies using high-yielding, total mixed ration-fed cows have indicated that neutrophil function is perturbed over the transition period; however, this reported dysfunction has yet to be investigated in moderate-yielding, grazing dairy cows. Therefore, we investigated changes in the expression of genes involved in neutrophil function. Blood was collected from cows at 5 time points over the transition period: precalving (-1wk; n=46), day of calving (d 0; n=46), and postcalving at wk 1 (n=46), wk 2 (n=45), and wk 4 (n=43). Neutrophils were isolated by differential centrifugation and gene expression was investigated. Quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR with custom-designed primer pairs and Roche Universal Probe Library (Roche, Basel, Switzerland) chemistry, combined with microfluidics integrated fluidic circuit chips (96.96 Dynamic Array, San Francisco, CA) were used to investigate the expression of 78 genes involved in neutrophil function and 18 endogenous control genes. Statistical significance between time points was determined using a repeated measures ANOVA. Genes that were differentially expressed over the transition period included those involved in neutrophil adhesion (SELL, ITGB2, and ITGBX), mediation of the immune response (TLR4, HLA-DRA, and CXCR2), maturation, cell cycle progression, apoptosis (MCL1, BCL2, FASLG, and RIPK1), and control of gene expression (PPARG, PPARD, and STAT3). We noted reduced gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IFNG, TNF, IL12, and CCL2) on the day of calving, whereas anti-inflammatory cytokine gene expression (IL10) was upregulated. Increased gene expression of antimicrobial peptides (BNBD4, DEFB10, and DEFB1) occurred on the day of calving. Collectively, transcription profiles are indicative of functional changes in neutrophils of grazing dairy cows over the transition period and align with studies in cows of conventional total mixed ration systems. This altered function may predispose cows to disease over the transition period and is likely to be a natural change in function due to parturition.

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to compare the changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) in response to noxious stimuli with tail flick and hot plate responses of rats administered opiorphin.MethodsFemale Sprague -Dawley rats (n = 8 per group) randomly received intravenous (IV) injection of morphine (1 mg/kg,) or opiorphin (2 mg/kg,) or saline (0.5 ml,) in each of the three testing methods (EEG, tail flick and hot plate). Each type of test (n = 24 per test) was conducted in different population of rats on separate occasions. The tail flick and hot plate latencies were recorded until 5 min after test drug administration to conscious rats. The EEG was recorded in anaesthetised rats subjected to noxious thermal and electrical stimuli after test drug administration. At the end of 5 min in each of the testing methods rats were administered naloxone subcutaneously (SC) (1 mg/kg) and the test procedure was repeated.ResultsThere was no significant increase in the median frequency and spectral edge frequency (F50 & F95) of EEG, indicators of nociception, of morphine and opiorphin groups after noxious stimulation. Noxious stimuli caused a significant increase in both F50 and F95 of the saline group. An injection of naloxone significantly increased the F50, thus blocking the action of both opiorphin and morphine. There was a significant increase in the tail flick latency after administration of opiorphin and morphine as compared to the baseline values. Rats of morphine group spent significantly longer on the hot plate when compared to those of the opiorphin and saline groups. There was no significant difference in the hot plate latencies of opiorphin and saline groups.ConclusionThe results of this study suggest that the analgesic effect of opiorphin occurs at the spinal level and it is not as effective as morphine at supraspinal level. It may be due to rapid degradation of opiorphin or limited ability of opiorphin to cross the blood brain barrier or a higher dose of opiorphin is required for its action in the brain. Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics studies along with in vivo penetration of opiorphin in the cerebrospinal fluid are required for further evaluation of opiorphin analgesia.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12883-018-1047-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Biomarkers that identify prepathological disease could enhance preventive management, improve animal health and productivity, and reduce costs. Circulating extracellular vesicles, particularly exosomes, are considered to be long-distance, intercellular communication systems in human medicine. Exosomes provide tissue-specific messages of functional state and can alter the cellular activity of recipient tissues through their protein and microRNA content. We hypothesized that exosomes circulating in the blood of cows during early lactation would contain proteins representative of the metabolic state of important tissues, such as liver, which play integral roles in regulating the physiology of cows postpartum. From a total of 150 cows of known metabolic phenotype, 10 cows were selected with high (n=5; high risk) and low (n=5; low risk) concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids, β-hydroxybutyrate, and liver triacylglycerol during wk 1 and 2 after calving. Exosomes were extracted from blood on the day of calving (d 0) and postcalving at wk 1 and wk 4, and their protein composition was determined by mass spectroscopy. Extracellular vesicle protein concentration and the number of exosome vesicles were not affected by risk category; however, the exosome protein cargo differed between the groups, with proteins at each time point identified as being unique to the high- and low-risk groups. The proteins α-2 macroglobulin, fibrinogen, and oncoprotein-induced transcript 3 were unique to the high-risk cows on d 0 and have been associated with metabolic syndrome and liver function in humans. Their presence may indicate a more severe inflammatory state and a greater degree of liver dysfunction in the high-risk cows than in the low-risk cows, consistent with the high-risk cows' greater plasma β-hydroxybutyrate and liver triacylglycerol concentrations. The commonly shared proteins and those unique to the low-risk category indicate a role for exosomes in immune function. The data provide preliminary evidence of a potential role for exosomes in the immune function in transition dairy cows and exosomal protein cargo as biomarkers of metabolic state.

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