Young-Min Yun

A morphological study of the vomeronasal organ and the accessory olfactory bulb in the Korean roe deer, Capreolus pygargus.

The vomeronasal organ (VNO) and accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) of the Korean roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) were studied histologically to evaluate their morphological characteristics. Grossly, the VNO, encased by cartilage, has a paired tubular structure with a caudal blind end and a rostral connection through incisive ducts on the hard palate. In the VNO, the vomeronasal sensory epithelium (VSE) consists of galectin-3-positive supporting cells, protein gene product (PGP) 9.5-positive receptor cells, and basal cells. The vomeronasal respiratory epithelium (VRE) consists of a pseudostratified epithelium. The AOB strata included a vomeronasal nerve layer (VNL), a glomerular layer (GL), a mitral/tufted cell layer, and a granular cell layer. All lectins used in this study, including Bandeiraea simplicifolia agglutinin isolectin B4 (BSI-B4), soybean agglutinin (SBA), Ulex europaeus agglutinin I (UEA-I), and Triticum vulgaris wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), labeled the VSE with varying intensity. In the AOB, both the VNL and the GL reacted with BSI-B4, SBA, and WGA with varying intensity, but not with UEA-I. This is the first morphological study of the VNO and AOB of the Korean roe deer, which are similar to those of goats.

Physiological changes in jeju crossbred riding horses by swim training.

The changes in physiologic parameters by swim exercise duration were examined in five female well-trained Jeju crossbred riding horses that had riding experience of more than three years without swim training experience. The horses were performed with swim exercise for 10 min (60.0 m/min) once a day for 14 days. Physiologic characteristics and haematic parameters were measured before swimming, immediately after swimming, and after a 10 min rest at first day (D0), 7 days (D7), and 14 days (D14) of training. After 14 days of swim training, heart rate (p<0.05), blood glucose (p<0.05), lactate concentration (p<0.001), packed cell volume (p<0.01), and hemoglobin (p<0.01) measured immediately after swim and after 10 min rest showed significant lower values than those of D0. The results illustrate the benefits of swim training for riding horses and the need for the establishment of swimming routines of appropriate duration and intensity to maximize the advantages of swim training.

New Record of Lipoptena fortisetosa (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) Collected from Siberian Roe Deer on Jeju Island, Korea

ABSTRACT Lipoptena deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) are blood-sucking ectoparasites of mammals, and only one species, Lipoptena cervi (L.), has previously been reported from the Republic of Korea. A study of Siberian roe deer Capreolus pygargus Pallas on Jeju Island, south of the Korean mainland, led to the discovery of a second species of deer ked, Lipoptena fortisetosa Maa, for Korea. In total, 518 deer keds were collected from 19 adult and juvenile deer examined from May to October 2012. The infestation of all of the deer examined and the occurrence on newly born deer suggest a high prevalence and abundance of L. fortisetosa parasitizing Siberian roe deer throughout Jeju Island. This deer represents a new host species for L. fortisetosa.

Clusterin is highly expressed in tubular complexes during spontaneous pancreatitis of spontaneous hypertensive rats

Pancreatitis is an inflammatory disorder of pancreas which leads to varying degrees of pancreatic endocrine and exocrine dysfunction and manifests in either acute or chronic forms. Spontaneous pancreatitis in experimental animals has rarely been reported. Here, we found acute to chronic courses of spontaneous pancreatitis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), showing the formation of tubular complexes (TCs) and enhanced islet regeneration. We investigated the expression pattern of clusterin in the pancreas of SHRs based on immunohistochemistry (IHC). IHC analysis revealed the strong expression of clusterin in dedifferentiated duct-like cells and regenerative islets of TCs. These results imply that clusterin might be involved in the formation of TCs and parenchymal regeneration during rat pancreatitis.

Biochemical characterization of variants of canine CYP1A1 using heterologous 3 expression

Cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) is a heme-containing mono-oxygenase involved in metabolism of environmental contaminants. Two variants of dog CYP1A1 with a single residue difference were identified and designated Sap1 and Sap2. Compared with Sap1, Sap2 had a Trp50Leu substitution. The biochemical characteristics of the variants were comparatively analyzed using heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. The membrane fraction of E. coli expressing Sap2 exhibited higher CYP holoprotein and heme contents than the Sap1-containing membranes, although the level of total CYP1A1 protein (i.e., apoprotein + holoprotein) was comparable between the groups. As normalized to holo-CYP content, the Sap2-expressing membranes showed lower CYP1A1-specific enzyme activities, such as 7-ethoxyresorufin O-dealkylation (EROD), than the Sap1 group. In single substitution variants of residue 50, proteins with hydrophobic residues having mass similar to Leu exhibited lower EROD activities than those with hydrophobic residues having larger mass than Leu. In addition, variants with polar or charged residues having mass similar to Leu showed activities that were comparable to those of Sap2. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Trp50Leu substitution leads to an enhancement of holo-CYP1A1 formation, but diminishes the enzyme activity because of the small size of Leu compared with Trp.

Prevalence and Clinical Relevance of Exon 2 Deletion of COMMD1 in Bedlington Terriers in Korea

Background Deletion of exon 2 of copper metabolism domain containing 1 (COMMD1) results in copper toxicosis in Bedlington terriers (CT‐BT). Objectives This study was conducted to identify the prevalence and clinical relevance of the COMMD1 mutation in Bedlington terriers in Korea. Animals A total of 105 purebred Bedlington terriers (50 males, 55 females) from the kennels and pet dog clubs in Korea were examined during the period 2008–2013. Methods A multiplex PCR was carried out to detect exon 2 deletion of COMMD1. Clinical analysis was performed on each genetic group, and clinical status of the dogs was followed up to estimate survival probability. Results Of the 105 samples, 52 (49%) were wild‐type homozygote, 47 (45%) were heterozygote, and 6 (6%) were mutant‐type homozygote. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity was increased in the mutant‐type homozygous group >2 years of age (P < .0001). The survival probability of 6 mutant‐type homozygotes surviving 2.5 years was 0.67, and 4 years was 0.5. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Results show the prevalence and clinical relevance of exon 2 deletion of COMMD1 and could help establish a structured selective breeding program to prevent CT‐BT in Korea.

Influence of Horse and Rider on Stress during Horse-riding Lesson Program

The present study aims to confirm the influence of a horse-riding lesson program (HRLP) on the stress level of horses and riders by respectively analyzing their salivary cortisol concentration. Twenty-four healthy horses and 23 riders participated in this study. The horses were randomly classified into two groups for the horse riding lesson program: Class 1 (for the beginner lesson) and Class 2 (for the intermediate lesson). The Class 1 group consisted of 12 horses and 12 riders, while the Class 2 group consisted of 12 horses and 11 riders. Salivettes cotton wool swabs were used for saliva collection and the saliva analyses were conducted using a two-way analysis of variance for repeated measures with SAS version 8. As for the results, the average salivary cortisol concentration of all horses before HRLP significantly increased compared to the baseline (p<0.001) while it decreased after the HRLP. The results of the salivary cortisol concentration of the riders were similar to the horses’ results. However, there was no difference during the HRLP between Class 1 and Class 2 in the horse or rider groups. The results suggest that the HRLP did not influence the stress level of the horses or riders. Thus, this study provides the necessary information and guidelines for future studies on stress in horses during riding and gives insight into better horse welfare and management options.