Journal of Veterinary Medical Science
Online ISSN : 1347-7439
Print ISSN : 0916-7250
ISSN-L : 0916-7250
Volume 87, Issue 1
Displaying 1-18 of 18 articles from this issue
Avian Pathology
  • Shwe Yee WIN, Fumiya HORIO, Jumpei SATO, Yoshinosuke MOTAI, Hikari SEO ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 1-12
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 01, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 20, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS
    Supplementary material

    Poultry red mites (PRMs, Dermanyssus gallinae), tropical fowl mites (TFMs, Ornithonyssus bursa), and northern fowl mites (NFMs, Ornithonyssus sylviarum) are hematophagous mites that are distributed worldwide which pose a serious challenge to the poultry industry and negatively impact poultry production and welfare. Vaccines represent a promising approach for controlling avian mites, and the identification of antigens with broad efficacy against multiple avian mite species is advantageous for vaccine control. This study aimed to identify histamine release factor (HRF), which was previously reported as a candidate vaccine antigen against PRMs, from TFMs and NFMs and to analyze its cross-reactivity and acaricidal effects on different avian mite species. The deduced amino acid sequences of the HRFs identified in the TFMs and NFMs were highly homologous to those of the PRMs. We generated recombinant HRF (rHRF) of TFMs, NFMs, and PRMs, and immune plasma against each rHRF was produced by immunization with each antigen. The immune plasma contained antibodies specific to each antigen and showed cross-reactivity with rHRFs from different avian mites. Moreover, PRM nymphs (protonymphs) artificially fed each immune plasma showed higher mortality rates than those fed the control plasma. These results suggest that HRFs can be used as candidate antigens for a universal vaccine with broad efficacy across avian mites.

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Biochemistry
  • Ayaka SUKA, Reiko UENOYAMA, Shota ICHIZAWA, Masaaki KATAYAMA, Masao MI ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 61-67
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: December 03, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS
    Supplementary material

    Cats with progressive renal diseases often exhibit a weakened urinary odor, in contrast to normal cat urine which emits odorants with catty odor, such as 3-mercapto-3-methyl-1-butanol, 3-mercapto-3-methylbutyl formate, 3-methyl-3-methylthio-1-butanol, and 3-methyl-3-(2-methyldisulfanyl)-1-butanol. Felinine, an amino acid, is a precursor of these odorants and metabolized from its precursor, 3-methylbutanol glutathione (MBG), via 3-methylbutanol-cysteinylglycine (MBCG). While previous studies have reported felinine excretion in normal cats, its levels in cats with renal diseases remain unclear. This study investigates the urinary excretion of felinine and its precursors in cats with renal diseases and explores whether changes in these metabolites are linked to reduced volatile felinine derivatives with catty odor. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry quantified urinary felinine, MBCG, and MBG in 40 normal cats and 66 cats with renal diseases (classified into mild, moderate, and severe renal diseases), revealing a significant decrease in urinary felinine levels in cats with advanced renal disease, while urinary MBG levels increased. The felinine-to-MBG ratio was significantly lower in cats with severe renal disease compared to normal cats and those with mild renal disease. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analysis further showed that the emission of felinine derivatives decreased markedly with renal disease progression. A significant correlation was found between urinary felinine excretion and its major derivative, 3-methyl-3-methylthio-1-butanol. These findings suggest that impaired felinine metabolism, likely due to reduced kidney enzyme activity, contributes to both diminished urinary felinine levels and reduced sulfurous odor in cats with renal diseases.

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Epidemiology
  • Aaron Paul R SERDEÑA, John Michael G BERNARDO, Gladys Maria V PANGGA, ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 13-27
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 01, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 18, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    African swine fever (ASF) is a contagious hemorrhagic disease affecting both domestic and wild pigs with high mortality rate and severe socio-economic losses. Due to the virus’ potential ability to remain infectious in suitable conditions and environments, it is imperative to identify risk factors that may contribute to its transmission. The Philippines’ current ASF surveillance relies on pig blood samples. With this very limited epidemiological data, it is imperative to include raw meat and processed pork products due to high ASF transmission risks. In this study, a total of 384 raw pork and 384 processed pork products from selected wet markets were collected and detected the ASF virus (ASFv) VP72 gene using real-time polymerase chain reaction (rt-PCR), and the overall positivity rates were 10.16% and 10.68%, respectively. Moreover, an interview with wet market vendors was conducted, and the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression was employed to identify possible factors associated with sample positivity. Results showed that ASFv-positive samples were linked to zoning status, rainy seasons, Longganisa preparation, selling different meat types, longer pork batches, and cleaning or disinfection in market stalls. Overall, ASFv contamination in pork and processed pork products can pose a threat to the swine industry, and market practices may further lead to ASFv persistence in these commodities which may contribute to ASF spread. Therefore, there’s a need to address this risk by strict surveillance and proper handling procedures throughout the food supply chain.

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Immunology
  • Hongde XIAO, Hui JI, Naiji ZHOU, Yuncai XIAO, Deshi SHI
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 68-74
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 26, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Autophagy within macrophages serves as a vital mechanism for modulating inflammatory responses to central nervous system infections caused by Streptococcus suis in both humans and swine. However, the mechanism by which autophagy regulates inflammation during S. suis infection is unclear. This study investigated the mechanism by which autophagy serves as a defense against S. suis infection in mouse microglial cells (BV2). Initially, we examined how S. suis infection triggers the adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK)/ mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) autophagic cascade and the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inflammatory signaling pathways using western blot within BV2 cells. We then demonstrated that treatment with autophagy inhibitors, inducers, and siRNA of autophagy genes changed the levels of C-C motif ligand 2 (CCL2), CCL3, CCL5, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and p-p65, p-p38, p- c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p-Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activity within BV2 cells. We found that S. suis infection induced AMPK/mTOR autophagy pathway, NF-κB and MAPK pathway in BV2 cells. Further, Autophagy inhibits S. suis infection-induced NF-κB and MAPK signaling and subsequent inflammatory factors CCL2, CCL3, CCL5, and TNF-α. Collectively, these findings suggest that AMPK/mTOR-regulated autophagy has an inhibitory effect on pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by regulating the NF-κB and MAPK pathways during S. suis infection.

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Internal Medicine
  • Hisashi INOKUMA, Masaki MAEZAWA, Yoshiyuki MIYAZAKI, Atsushi OGINO, Ke ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 28-31
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 01, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 18, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    A homozygous calf with CACNA1S-related muscle weakness, a new autosomal recessive congenital disorder in Holstein cattle, was identified by genotyping 195 stored blood samples from Holstein calves aged less than 12 months. The patient was an 8-day-old male calf with congenital astasia which presented to a university hospital in 2019. The patient was unable to maintain an upright position with assistance to stand. Congenital abnormalities in the central nervous system were suspected, but necropsy revealed no specific lesion, with no clear diagnosis. CACNA1S-related muscle weakness should be considered a cause of congenital astasia or weakness in calves. Genotyping is required for a definitive diagnosis because clinical and laboratory findings are non-specific.

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  • Mutsuki UMEZAWA, Takuma AOKI, Seiya NIIMI, Hiroshi TAKANO, Kazuya MAMA ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 75-79
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 21, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    This study aimed to prospectively investigate the hypothesis that myocardial energy metabolism changes in the early stages of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) by evaluating the blood carnitine profiles. Fourteen client owned cats with HCM stage B1 and 22 clinically healthy cats were included in this study. Total-carnitine, free-carnitine, acylcarnitine, and acylcarnitine/free-carnitine ratio (AF ratio) in serum were measured in both groups. No significant differences were observed in total-carnitine, free-carnitine, and acylcarnitine concentrations between the groups. However, the AF ratio in the HCM group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P=0.02). The lower serum AF ratio in cats with early-stage HCM, may suggest an alteration in their myocardial energy metabolism.

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Laboratory Animal Science
  • Mami OBA, Ryo IMAI, Natsuko TESHIMA, Miho NODA, Yuka NUNOMURA, Seiichi ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 80-85
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 25, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS
    Supplementary material

    Detection of microorganisms from bovine using real-time PCR (Dembo-PCR) is a comprehensive detection technique that was developed to detect pathogens causing bovine diseases. In Japan, the definitive tests for monitored infectious diseases, which are defined by law, are carried out at government agencies. On the other hand, the existence of pathogens other than monitored infectious diseases are not well understood. From the perspective of livestock quarantine, it is important to make it possible to identify pathogens other than monitored infectious diseases, so we extended the existing Dembo-PCR system in this study. In particular, the number of targets other than monitored infectious disease was increased. The new version of Dembo-PCR may be useful in elucidating new pathologies associated with multiple pathogens.

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Parasitology
  • Nianyuan CHEN, Qingxiu CAI, Shujing WANG, Qingyang SONG, Ying XIE, Hui ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 32-42
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 01, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 20, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Protozoan parasites such as Eimeria tenella and Toxoplasma gondii pose significant health challenges in livestock and humans. The limited treatment options and rising drug resistance underscore the urgent need for new therapies. This study investigates myrcene, a monoterpene hydrocarbon classified for its antiprotozoal potential against E. tenella and T. gondii infections. Initially, we examined its effect on the sporulation process of E. tenella oocysts in vitro and its anti-E. tenella activity in vivo. Myrcene significantly reduced the sporulation rate of E. tenella oocysts at 3 and 4 mg/kg. In vivo experiments demonstrated that treatment with 4 mg/kg myrcene significantly reduced E. tenella load and oocyst output, as well as cecal lesion and weight loss caused by E. tenella infection, showing moderate anti-E. tenella activity, with an Anticoccidial Index (ACI) of 161.4. Furthermore, we investigated the anti-T. gondii activity of myrcene both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro studies showed that treatment with myrcene effectively inhibited the invasion rate and intracellular proliferation ability of T. gondii tachyzoite in DF-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo administration prolonged the survival time in T. gondii-infected mice, suggesting notable protective effects. Additionally, it mitigated T. gondii-induced hepatosplenic toxicity by reducing parasite load in the liver and spleen, and ameliorating liver function as evidenced by decreased serum transaminase levels. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate promising anti-E. tenella and anti-T. gondii activity exhibited by myrcene warranting further exploration into its mechanisms and potential therapeutic applications.

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  • Yuka MATSUDA, Misuzu OKAJIMA, Yuji FUJII, Fumiki IZUMI, Maho R TAKAHAS ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 43-51
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 01, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 18, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Piroplasmas (Babesia and Theileria) are protozoa transmitted from ticks to warm-blooded animals. Some species of them, such as Babesia microti, can cause zoonotic infections. Although B. microti infections in wild rodents and ticks in Japan have been frequently reported in Hokkaido, there are only older reports of zoonotic babesiosis in other areas of Japan. In this study, we investigated prevalence of piroplasma species in wild rodents and ticks collected in near Gifu City, a central region in Japan, between 2021 and 2023 using nested-PCR to detect the 18S rRNA gene sequences of various piroplasma species. Among 87 wild rodents, piroplasma gene sequences detected in four large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus) were 100% identical to B. microti Otsu/Hobetsu type. Notably, the gene detected in one pool of nymphal Haemaphysalis ticks was closely related to Babesia motasi-like isolates recently detected in human patients in South Korea. Additionally, the deer Theileria species, which has been widely detected throughout Asia, including Japan, was detected from Haemapyhsalis ticks. Our results indicate that a variety of piroplasmas, including piroplasmas that are potentially pathogenic to humans, such as B. microti Otsu/Hobetsu types and protozoa closely related to B. motasi, are distributed in the Gifu City area.

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Pathology
  • Yuto SANO, Chisa MIURA, Yuki KINOSHITA, Miyu KAKIMOTO, Tomonori TSUDA, ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 52-56
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 01, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 19, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS
    Supplementary material

    Congenital cystic eye (CCE) is a rare congenital ocular disease, which has been suggested to be caused by problems with optic vesicle invagination. This is characterized by the formation of intraorbital cystic lesions lined by undifferentiated neuroepithelium. However, cases involving ocular structures with varying degrees of differentiation have also been reported as CCE in humans and animals. In horses, CCE have only been reported as a case presenting as neuroepithelial-lined cysts without the formation of ocular structures. This paper describes large bilateral intraorbital cysts in a 1-day-old horse. The histopathological findings revealed that the cysts were covered by neuroepithelium with formation of the lens, ciliary body, and optic nerve, and it was diagnosed as CCE. This report provides further variations of CCE in horses.

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  • Yui MORIOKA, Naoko ANO, Yuko TATSUNO, Kohji NOMURA, Kiyokazu OZAKI
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 57-60
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 01, 2025
    Advance online publication: December 04, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS
    Supplementary material

    An ocular mass was noted in the right iridociliary region of a 13-year-old male beagle dog. The right eyeball was surgically removed. Histopathologically, the mass was located mainly in the ciliary body and appeared to be continuous with non-pigmented epithelial cells. The polygonal neoplastic cells proliferated in sheets with periodic acid-Schiff-positive basement membrane material. Neoplastic cells had small round nuclei with no atypia or mitosis, and abundant, pale eosinophilic, granular, and rarified cytoplasm displayed ballooning change. No invasive growth or metastasis was observed. Immunohistochemically, the cells were positive for vimentin, neuron-specific enolase, and S100, and negative for cytokeratin AE1/AE3, Iba-1, CD204, MelanA, Sox10, and PNL2. Based on these findings, the lesion was diagnosed as an iridociliary adenoma with ballooning change.

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  • Hisaki TOKUNO, Miyuu TANAKA, Takeshi IZAWA, Hiroshi SASAI, Mitsuru KUW ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 86-89
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: December 03, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS
    Supplementary material

    A 6-year-old male rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) showed loss of appetite, right side rotating and the left side circling. The symptoms did not improve, and the rabbit died on the 2nd day after presentation. Histological evaluation of the brain revealed a non-demarcated high cellularity area of neoplastic cells in the midbrain. In the lesion, neoplastic proliferation of large pleomorphic cells with irregular nuclei and medium amount of cytoplasm with prominent atypia was observed. Most of the neoplastic cells were immunohistochemically positive for both Olig2 and vimentin, and filamentous structure was seen in the cytoplasm. To our knowledge, this is the first report of anaplastic oligodendroglioma in a pet rabbit.

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Surgery
  • Melpa Susanti PURBA, Dito ANGGORO, Harumichi ITOH, Kazuhito ITAMOTO, Y ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 90-96
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: November 13, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Low-level laser (LLL) therapy is a well-known noninvasive treatment that stimulates fibroblasts to improve wound healing. LLL can improve fibroblast proliferation and migration without causing toxicity. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of two laser wavelengths at different irradiation times on canine fibroblasts. Fibroblasts were isolated from canine oral mucosa. After seeding for 24 hr, the fibroblasts were irradiated using the Erchonia® EVL dual-diode laser at wavelengths of 405 nm (5 mW) and 640 nm (7.5 mW) with irradiation times of 120, 360, and 1,800 sec. The proliferating and viability cells were evaluated 24 hr after laser irradiation. Wound closure rates were calculated at 0, 24, and 48 hr after laser irradiation. Parameters, including proliferation cell, cell viability, and cell migration, tended to be higher in the 360-sec group (405 nm) and 120-sec group (640 nm) than in other groups. Our findings suggest that LLL therapy at wavelengths of 405 and 640 nm with an irradiation time of 120–360 sec (0.26–0.51 J/cm2) can stimulate the proliferation and migration of canine fibroblasts. This finding may contribute to a better understanding of the beneficial role of LLL stimulation in canine wound healing.

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Theriogenology
  • Kanami NARAMOTO, Go KITAHARA, Sayed Ahmad NAZHAT, Masahiro YASUDA, Tak ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 97-102
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: December 03, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    To clarify the profile of endometrial cytokines and their relation to inflammation and fertility, mRNA expressions of interleukin (IL)-1α, -1β, -8, -10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α at weeks (W) 3, 5, and 7 postpartum were compared between Holstein cows without and with cytological endometritis and between early (≤90 days) and delayed (>90 days postpartum) conception cows. IL-1α, IL-1β, and IL-8 expressions at W5 and W7 were significantly higher in cows with cytological endometritis than without. While IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-8, and TNF-α expressions decreased from W3 to W5 in all early conception cows, the percentage of cows decreasing these mRNA was significantly lower in delayed conception cows than early conception cows. Evaluating endometrial cytokine expression in dairy cows helps diagnose cytological endometritis and estimate fertility.

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Toxicology
  • Delgermurun DUGAR, Kodai MOTOHIRA, Nyamsuren PUREVDORJ, Bolormaa PELDE ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 103-109
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: October 14, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Despite the beneficial impacts of using drugs in animal husbandry, the risks of drug residues in animal products are a concern worldwide. Therefore, most countries have developed systems and methods to detect and monitor drug residues in animal products using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with mass spectrometry (MS). However, MS detectors are not available in all universities; thus, we developed a new method suitable for ultraviolet detection. We first validated a new method targeting tetracycline and albendazole in milk and evaluated these drug residues in 50 samples collected from farms and supermarkets in Mongolia. The practical limit of quantification (PQL) calculated in our newly developed method was suitable to detect the maximum residual limits defined in Codex Alimentarius, and the accuracy and precision of a new method were comparable to previous studies. In particular, inter-day analysis showed great precision, with albendazole showing a 99% recovery rate with ± 3.3 of relative standard deviation (RSD). In addition, we evaluated our drugs contamination, but targeted drugs residues were not detected in the current sample set. However, this may reflect the decreased use of tetracycline in the veterinary field and seasonal use of albendazole in Mongolia. Therefore, these drugs must be continuously monitored. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report about drug residues in milk published in an international journal by a Mongolian domestic institution. Further investigations of drug residue in Mongolia are urgently needed.

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Virology
  • Yoriko YONEZAWA, Osamu TAIRA, Takashi OMORI, Nobuyuki TSUTSUMI, Katsua ...
    2025 Volume 87 Issue 1 Pages 110-114
    Published: 2025
    Released on J-STAGE: January 10, 2025
    Advance online publication: December 02, 2024
    JOURNAL OPEN ACCESS

    Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is an important pathogen in the swine industry. We report for the first time the detection of NADC34-like PRRSV strains in Japan. Serum samples from 18 piglets in Okinawa Prefecture were analyzed for the open reading frame 5 (ORF5) gene encoding glycoprotein 5, which revealed that all samples belonged to sublineage 1.5 (L1A) of Lineage 1. Phylogenetic analysis, restriction fragment length polymorphism patterns, and glycosylation site characteristics confirmed the presence of NADC34-like strains that caused severe outbreaks in the U.S. and Asia. Despite its known pathogenicity, the farm showed only a transient increase in mortality. These findings highlight the need for further investigation into the pathogenicity of PRRSV strains and their potential for the emergence of new variants in Japan.

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Wildlife Science
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