Jiansong You

Application of chicken egg yolk immunoglobulins in the control of terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases: a review.

Abstract Oral administration of chicken egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) has attracted considerable attention as a means of controlling infectious diseases of bacterial and viral origin. Oral administration of IgY possesses many advantages compared with mammalian IgG including cost-effectiveness, convenience and high yield. This review presents an overview of the potential to use IgY immunotherapy for the prevention and treatment of terrestrial and aquatic animal diseases and speculates on the future of IgY technology. Included are a review of the potential application of IgY for the treatment of livestock diseases such as mastitis and diarrhea, poultry diseases such as Salmonella, Campylobacteriosis, infectious bursal disease and Newcastle disease, as well as aquatic diseases like shrimp white spot syndrome virus, Yersina ruckeri and Edwardsiella tarda. Some potential obstacles to the adoption of IgY technology are also discussed.

Deer antler base as a traditional Chinese medicine: a review of its traditional uses, chemistry and pharmacology.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Deer antler base (Cervus, Lu Jiao Pan) has been recorded in the Chinese medical classics Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing 2000 years ago and is believed to nourish the Yin, tonify the kidney, invigorate the spleen, strengthen bones and muscles, and promote blood flow. In China, deer antler base has been extensively used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat a variety of diseases including mammary hyperplasia, mastitis, uterine fibroids, malignant sores and childrens mumps. AIM OF THE REVIEW We provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the traditional uses, chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and clinical trials of deer antler base in order to explore its therapeutic potentials and future research needs. BACKGROUND AND METHODS The pharmacological value of deer antler base was ignored for many years while researchers concentrated on the pharmacological value of velvet antler. However, more recently, scientists have carried out a great number of chemical, pharmacological and clinical studies on deer antler base. The present review covers the literature available from 1980 to 2012. All relevant information on deer antler base was collected from ancient Chinese herbal classics, pharmacopoeias, formularies, scientific journals, books, theses and reports via a library and electronic search by using PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Science Direct, and CNKI (in Chinese). KEY FINDINGS Both in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies have demonstrated that deer antler base possess immunomodulatory, anti-cancer, anti-fatigue, anti-osteoporosis, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-stress, anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, hematopoietic modulatory activities and the therapeutic effect on mammary hyperplasia. Although the mechanism of actions is still not clear, the pharmacological activities could be mainly attributed to the major bioactive compounds amino acids, polypeptides and proteins. Based on animal studies and clinical trials, deer antler base causes no severe side effects. CONCLUSIONS Deer antler base has emerged as a good source of traditional medicine. However, further investigations are needed to explore individual bioactive compounds responsible for these in vitro and in vivo pharmacological effects and its mechanism of actions. Further safety assessments and clinical trials in humans need to be performed before it can be integrated into medicinal practices. The present review has provided preliminary information for further studies and commercial exploitations of deer antler base.

Polysaccharides from Astragalus membranaceus promote phagocytosis and superoxide anion (O2-) production by coelomocytes from sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus in vitro.

The potential immunostimulatory effects of Astralagus membranaceus polysaccharides (APS) on sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka), were investigated in vitro. Phagocytosis and superoxide anion (O(2)(-)) production by phagocytic amoebocytes (PA) from A. japonicus coelomic fluid were measured during incubation at 18 degrees C, 22 degrees C, or 25 degrees C with APS at 0, 10, 20, or 40 microg mL(-1) (n=3). Phagocytic activity against yeast cells was quantified by direct visualization, and O(2)(-) production by nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction assay. Compared with controls, including APS at 20 microg mL(-1) significantly increased (P<0.05) the percentage of phagocytic capacity (PC) and phagocytic index (PI) at 18 degrees C and 22 degrees C, but no significant enhancement was observed at 25 degrees C. In contrast, the coelmocytes of A. japonicus can have an obvious generation of O(2)(-) after the stimulation. The concentration of 20 microg mL(-1) APS resulted in a significant increase in nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) positive cells (P<0.05) at different temperature and even 10 microg mL(-1) APS could increase O(2)(-) generation significantly at 18 degrees C and 22 degrees C. Both phagocytosing and O(2)(-) production increased with the increase of APS concentration from 0 to 20 microg mL(-1) at different temperature, and when APS at 40 microg mL(-1), they were decreased. It suggested that immunocytes activity in A. japonicus decreased with the temperature increasing from 18 degrees C to 25 degrees C, and APS could be an effective immunostimulant to enhance phagocytic activity and O(2)(-) production.

Passive protection of shrimp against white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) using specific antibody from egg yolk of chickens immunized with inactivated virus or a WSSV-DNA vaccine.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) causes high mortality and large economic losses in cultured shrimp. The VP28, VP19 and VP15 genes encode viral structural proteins of WSSV. In this study, hens were immunized with recombinant plasmid (pCI-VP28/VP19/VP15) with linkers or with inactivated WSSV, which used CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODNs) and Freunds adjuvant as adjuvant, respectively. Egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) from hens immunized with inactivated vaccine and DNA vaccine was obtained, purified and used for protection of Metapenaeus ensis shrimp against WSSV. The data showed that the antibody response of the hens immunized with the DNA vaccine was improved by CpG ODNs as adjuvant, but was still inferior to inactivated WSSV in both sera and egg yolks. Using specific IgY from hens immunized with inactivated WSSV and DNA vaccine to neutralize WSSV, the challenged shrimp showed 73.3% and 33.3% survival, respectively. Thus, the results suggest that passive immunization strategy with IgY will be a valuable method against WSSV infection in shrimp.

Characterization of chicken egg yolk immunoglobulins (IgYs) specific for the most prevalent capsular serotypes of mastitis-causing Staphylococcus aureus

The objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate the potential of egg yolk immunoglobulins (IgYs) for treating mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Specific IgY against type 5 (IgY-T5), type 8 (IgY-T8) and type 336 (IgY-T336) S. aureus strains were obtained by immunizing hens with whole cell vaccines and the IgY produced were then purified to around 80% purity using a water dilution method coupled with salting out and ultra-filtration. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay indicated that the IgY specifically targeted the three homologous strains. A growth inhibition assay was performed in Columbia broth (non-encapsulated form) and phosphate-buffered saline (encapsulated form) for an 8h incubation. The results showed that IgY-T336 significantly inhibited (but only 1.5 log units; P<0.01) the growth of all three strains at 15 mg/ml in the Columbia broth. In contrast, the same concentrations of IgY-T5 and IgY-T8 did not show obvious bacteriostatic activity against the two homologous strains. In phosphate buffered saline, no inhibition of the two encapsulated strains was observed with IgY-T5, IgY-T8 and IgY-T336. However, IgY-T336 reduced live bacteria by 1.0 log unit against strain 336 compared with the control. An internalization test indicated that all of the specific IgY (at 5mg/ml) significantly (about 3.0 log units of the control; P<0.01) blocked the internalization of their homologous strains by bovine mammary epithelial cells (MAC-T cells) within 6h. These results suggested that research on the application of IgY as a treatment for mastitis caused by S. aureus should be focused on the internalization inhibition activity rather than on the growth inhibition activity of the IgY.

Protection of mice against enterotoxigenic E. coli by immunization with a polyvalent enterotoxin comprising a combination of LTB, STa, and STb

Currently available enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) vaccines are based on colonization factors and/or the heat-labile enterotoxin B subunit (LTB). However, the induction of antitoxic responses against heat-stable enterotoxin a (STa) and b (STb) has merit as these two poorly immunogenic toxins are frequently associated with ETEC strains. In this study, we genetically constructed a trivalent enterotoxin fusion protein (STa–LTB–STb, abbreviated to SLS) in an effort to develop a single toxoid containing these three enterotoxins for vaccination against ETEC. Mutagenesis at one disulfide-bridge-forming cysteine in STa led to a dramatic reduction in the STa toxicity of SLS; however, the fusion peptide retained the STb-associated toxicity. Immunization of mice with SLS protein elicited significant antibody responses to LTB, STa, and STb. Significantly, the mice antisera were able to neutralize the biological activity of both STa and STb. In the experiment to assess the protective effect of SLS immunization, the mortality of mice receiving SLS was significantly lower than their control cohorts (P < 0.01) after intraperitoneal challenge with ETEC. These results show that the trivalent fusion enterotoxin SLS has the potential to serve as a useful toxin-based vaccine against ETEC-induced diarrheal disease via a single immunogen.

Protective effects of aqueous extract from Acanthopanax senticosus against corticosterone-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Acanthopanax senticosus, classified into the family of Araliaceae, has been known for thousands of years as a remedy and is used to treat various diseases in traditional Chinese medicine system including hypertension, ischemic heart disease and hepatitis. AIM OF THE STUDY This study aimed to examine the protective effects of aqueous extract from Acanthopanax senticosus (ASE) on corticosterone-induced neurotoxicity and its possible mechanisms, using PC12 cells as a suitable in vitro model of depression. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this paper, PC12 cells were treated with 200 μM of corticosterone in the absence or presence of ASE in varying concentrations for 24 h. Then, cell viability was measured by MTT assay. The release amount of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was quantified using LDH assay kit. Apoptosis of PC12 cells was measured by Annexin V-FITC and PI labeling. The intracellular Ca(2+) content was tested by fluorescent labeling. The mRNA level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was examined by real-time RT-PCR, and the expression of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) was determined by western blotting. RESULTS The results showed that treatment with 200 μM of corticosterone could induce cytotoxicity in PC12 cells. However, different concentrations of ASE (50, 100, 200, and 400 μg/mL) significantly increased the cell viability, decreased the LDH release, suppressed the apoptosis of PC12 cells, attenuated the intracellular Ca(2+) overloading, up-regulated the BDNF mRNA level and CREB protein expression compared with the corresponding corticosterone-treated group. CONCLUSION The present results suggest that ASE exerts a neuroprotective effect on corticosterone-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells, which may be one of the acting mechanisms that accounts for the in vivo antidepressant activity of ASE.

Anti-depressant effects of aqueous extract from Acanthopanax senticosus in mice.

In this paper, the anti‐depressant effects of Acanthopanax senticosus extract (ASE) were studied using animal models of depression including the forced swimming and tail suspension tests. The anti‐depressive mechanism of ASE was explored by monitoring the levels of monoamine neurotransmitters including 5‐hydroxytrylamine (5‐HT), norepinephrine (NE), and dopamine (DA), as well as cAMP response element‐binding (CREB) protein expression in the whole brain of mice following the tail suspension test. Our results showed that intragastric administration of ASE at a dose of 2000 mg/kg for seven days significantly reduced the duration of immobility in both the forced swimming test and the tail suspension test. These results indicate that ASE possesses antidepressant‐like properties. Pre‐treatment with 2000 mg/kg of ASE for seven days significantly elevated the levels of 5‐HT, NE, and DA in the whole brain of mice. Moreover, ASE at doses of 1000 and 2000 mg/kg significantly up‐regulated the level of CREB protein. Taken together, these findings suggest that the anti‐depressive mechanism of ASE may be mediated via the central monoaminergic neurotransmitter system and CREB protein expression. Therefore, administration of ASE may be beneficial for patients with depressive disorders. Copyright

Effectiveness of egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) against periodontal disease-causing Fusobacterium nucleatum

To evaluate the in vitro and in vivo effectiveness of egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) against periodontal disease‐causing Fusobacterium nucleatum.

Chicken egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY) developed against fusion protein LTB–STa–STb neutralizes the toxicity of Escherichia coli heat‐stable enterotoxins

To obtain a recombinant enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) fusion enterotoxin protein LTB–STa–STb (Bab) that can express the immunogenicity of the haptens STa and STb and induce their corresponding neutralizing antibodies.