Search results for "Dogs"
showing 10 items of 249 documents
Genome-wide diversity and runs of homozygosity in the “Braque Français, type Pyrénées” dog breed
2018
Objective Braque Français, type Pyrénées is a French hunting-dog breed whose origin is traced back to old pointing gun-dogs used to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game. This breed is popular in France, but seldom seen elsewhere. Despite the ancient background, the literature on its genetic characterization is surprisingly scarce. A recent study looked into the demography and inbreeding using pedigree records, but there is yet no report on the use of molecular markers in this breed. The aim of this work was to genotype a population of Braque Français, type Pyrénées dogs with the high-density SNP array to study the genomic diversity of the breed. Results The average observed (\docum…
Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi in Stray Dogs from Southern Italy
2020
Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterial pathogen transmitted by Ixodes ticks and is responsible for Lyme disease in both humans and dogs. The aim of this work was to evaluate B. burgdorferi diffusion among stray dogs in Palermo (Sicily, Italy) by serological methods in order to study the risk factors associated with the infection. Serum and blood samples of 316 dogs were collected from a shelter in Palermo, and were analyzed for the presence of antibodies against B. burgdorferi by indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA), and of the ospA gene by real-time PCR, respectively. Seventeen sera (5.4%) were positive for the antibodies via IFA and one blood (0.3%) for ospA via real time PCR. On the basi…
Ancient European dog genomes reveal continuity since the Early Neolithic
2017
Europe has played a major role in dog evolution, harbouring the oldest uncontested Palaeolithic remains and having been the centre of modern dog breed creation. Here we sequence the genomes of an Early and End Neolithic dog from Germany, including a sample associated with an early European farming community. Both dogs demonstrate continuity with each other and predominantly share ancestry with modern European dogs, contradicting a previously suggested Late Neolithic population replacement. We find no genetic evidence to support the recent hypothesis proposing dual origins of dog domestication. By calibrating the mutation rate using our oldest dog, we narrow the timing of dog domestication t…
A large-scale screening for the taiga tick, Ixodes persulcatus, and the meadow tick, Dermacentor reticulatus, in southern Scandinavia, 2016
2019
Abstract The taiga tick, Ixodes persulcatus, has previously been limited to eastern Europe and northern Asia, but recently its range has expanded to Finland and northern Sweden. The species is of medical importance, as it, along with a string of other pathogens, may carry the Siberian and Far Eastern subtypes of tick-borne encephalitis virus. These subtypes appear to cause more severe disease, with higher fatality rates than the central European subtype. Until recently, the meadow tick, Dermacentor reticulatus, has been absent from Scandinavia, but has now been detected in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Dermacentor reticulatus carries, along with other pathogens, Babesia canis and Rickettsia r…
Tetraspanin CD63 controls basolateral sorting of organic cation transporter 2 in renal proximal tubules.
2016
CD63 is a ubiquitously expressed member of the tetraspanin superfamily. Using a mating-based split-ubiquitin-yeast 2-hybrid system, pull-down experiments, total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, Forster resonance energy transfer, and biotinylation assays, we found that CD63 interacts with human organic cation transporter 2 (hOCT2), which transports endogenous and exogenous substrates, such as neurotransmitters and drugs in several epithelial cells. CD63 overexpression affects cellular localization of hOCT2 expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK)293 cells. Studies with CD63-knockout mice indicate that in renal proximal tubules, CD63 determines the insertion of the mouse ortholog…
Genetic tools discriminate strains of Leishmania infantum isolated from humans and dogs in Sicily, Italy
2020
Background Leishmaniasis is one of the most important vector-borne diseases and it represents a serious world health problem affecting millions of people. High levels of Leishmania infections, affecting both humans and animals, are recognized among Italian regions. Among these, Sicily has one of the highest prevalence of Leishmania infection. Methodology/Principal Findings Seventy-eight Leishmania strains isolated from human and animal samples across Sicily, were analyzed for the polymorphic k26-gene and genotypes were assigned according to the size of the PCR products. A multilocus microsatellite typing (MLMT) approach based on the analysis of 11 independent loci was used to investigate po…
Effects of in-office bleaching on human enamel and dentin. Morphological and mineral changes
2017
Abstract Background The effects of HP-based products upon dental enamel and dentin are inconclusive. Aim To evaluate changes in micromorphology and composition of calcium (Ca) and phosphate (P) in enamel and dentin after the application of 37.5% hydrogen peroxide (HP) and 35% carbamide peroxide (CP) Methods Crowns of 20 human teeth were divided in two halves. One half was used as control specimen and the other as experimental specimen. The control specimens were kept in artificial saliva, and the experimental specimens were divided into four groups (n = 5 each): group 1 (enamel HP for 45 min); group 2 (dentin HP for 45 min); group 3 (enamel CP for 90 min); and group 4 (dentin CP for 90 min)…
Identification of the Tetraspanin CD9 as an Interaction Partner of Organic Cation Transporters 1 and 2
2019
Organic cation transporters (OCTs) are membrane proteins with relevant physiological (because they accept neurotransmitters as substrate) and pharmacological (because of their interaction with drugs) roles. The human OCTs hOCT1 (SLC22A1/hOCT1) and hOCT2 (SLC22A2/hOCT2) are highly expressed in hepatic (hOCT1) and in renal and neuronal tissue (hOCT2), suggesting a possible role in modulating neurotransmitter activity in the liver, kidney, and brain, and their clearance from the blood. Even though there are several data demonstrating that OCTs are regulated under various patho-physiological conditions, it remains largely unknown which proteins directly interact with OCTs and thereby influence …
Evaluation of Immunofluorescence Antibody Test Used for the Diagnosis of Canine Leishmaniasis in the Mediterranean Basin: A Systematic Review and Met…
2015
With an expected sensitivity (Se) of 96% and specificity (Sp) of 98%, the immunofluorescence antibody test (IFAT) is frequently used as a reference test to validate new diagnostic methods and estimate the canine leihmaniasis (CanL) true prevalence in the Mediterranean basin. To review the diagnostic accuracy of IFAT to diagnose CanL in this area with reference to its Se and Sp and elucidate the potential causes of their variations, a systematic review was conducted (31 studies for the 26-year period). Three IFAT validation methods stood out: the classical contingency table method, methods based on statistical models and those based on experimental studies. A variation in the IFAT Se and Sp …
Co-regulation of paralog genes in the three-dimensional chromatin architecture.
2016
Paralog genes arise from gene duplication events during evolution, which often lead to similar proteins that cooperate in common pathways and in protein complexes. Consequently, paralogs show correlation in gene expression whereby the mechanisms of co-regulation remain unclear. In eukaryotes, genes are regulated in part by distal enhancer elements through looping interactions with gene promoters. These looping interactions can be measured by genome-wide chromatin conformation capture (Hi-C) experiments, which revealed self-interacting regions called topologically associating domains (TADs). We hypothesize that paralogs share common regulatory mechanisms to enable coordinated expression acco…