A 2-year-old male cat exhibited marked splenomegaly and severe anemia with many nucleated red cells and undifferentiated primitive cells appearing in the peripheral blood. A diagnosis of erythroleukemia was made in it on the basis of its clinical, hematological and pathological findings, especially the electron microscopical findings of the primitive cells in the peripheral blood. Ultrastructural observation of the primitive cells in the peripheral blood demonstrated that most of the cells were abnormal proerythroblast. These cells had a round or oval nucleus with a large nucleolus, many ribosomes, a moderate number of large mitochondria with light matrix and slender rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum in the cytoplasm. Surface invaginations were often observed. A few of the cells contained an erythrocyte in their cytoplasm. Some primitive cells other than those of the erythroid series were also observed in the peripheral blood.

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A total of 217 Salmonella strains isolated from domestic animals (78 strains from cattle, 74 from swine and 65 from chickens) in Japan in 1976 were examined for drug resistance and prevalence of R plasmids. S. typhimurium and S. enteritidis were commonly encountered among 20 serovars identified in this survey. Of the 217 strains examined, 164(76%) were resistant to one or more of the drugs tested. High incidence of multiple drug resistance was observed in the Salmonella strains of cattle origin, over 70% of which showed a multiple resistance to chloramphenicol, tetracycline, streptomycin and sulfonamide. Of the 164 resistant Salmonella strains, 104 (63%) were found to carry R plasmids which were capable of performing a conjugal transfer. Of them, 64 (62%) were originated from cattle. Most of them had multiple resistant markers, including chloramphenicol. It was also found that R plasmids of incompatibility groups H1 and Iα were widely distributed among Salmonella strains isolated from domestic animals, especially from cattle, in Japan.

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Agar gel diffusion was applied to detect colt serum antibody against Corynebacterium equi. Concentrated culture supernates and bacterial sonicates prepared from nine strains of C. equi were used as antigens. The presence of precipitating antibodies was demonstrated in the sera of all the affected colts, but not at all in those of the healthy colts examined. Precipitating lines were observed between both antigens and affected colt sera. Precipitating antibodies against concentrated culture supernates appeared only in the 7S globulin fraction. One precipitating line against bacterial sonicates was demonstrated in the 7S globulin fraction and the other one in both 7S and 19S globulin fractions separated with Sephadex G-200 column chromatography.

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The protection from challenge and behaviors of the vigorous protease-producing strain, CH-91, of Staphylococcus aureus of chicken origin in immunized mice were examined. When dermatolysis caused by protease of strain CH-91 was used as a marker of infection, the protection from an experimental challenge with the strain could be seen in mice immunized with living organisms of homologous and heterologous strains. Most of the challenging organisms were phagocytized by infiltrating leukocytes and a suppurative focus was formed in the immunized mice. In that case, α-hemolysin and protease were produced, but they were smaller in amount than those produced in non-immunized mice. Moreover, antibodies against staphylococcal cells and α-hemolysin, but no antibody against protease, were detected in sera of the immunized mice. On the other hand, such protection could be recognized in mice passively immunized with antisera against staphylococcal cells or α-hemolysin, but not in mice immunized with anti-protease serum. Particularly, in mice immunized with anti-α-hemolysin serum, many leukocytes infiltrated and formed a suppurative focus in the subcutaneous tissue at the challenged site. This finding was similar to that of mice immunized with living organisms. From these results, it is concluded that antibody against α-hemolysin may play the most important role in the protection of mice from challenge with living organisms.

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Young adult Angiostrongylus cantonensis (21-23 days old) grown in mastomys and mice were transferred into the pulmonary arteries of rats previously immunized against the donor animal's antigens such as erythrocytes, serum proteins and splenic cells. The transferred worms survived normally in the rats despite evidence of hemagglutinating, precipitating and cytotoxic antibodies directed against the antigens. These findings suggest that no harmful 'host antigen' effect occurs in the intracranial-stage worms of A. cantonensis.

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The effects of H₁- and H₂-antihistaminics on acid secretory response by histamine were studied by means of continuous pH recording of proventricular effluent in urethane anesthetized chickens. The birds were operated for artificial respiration, vagotomy and instillation of physiological saline solution. The esophagus just under the crop was cannulated with a silicone rubber tubing (4 mm in outer diameter). Another polyethylene cannula (5 mm in outer diameter) was inserted into the proventriculus through the proventricular-gizzard junction. A flow-type pH glass electrode was placed at right angle to the proventricular effluent at extra abdominal cavity. A diluted sodium hydroxide solution of 5×10^-4 or 1×10^-3 N was perfused into the esophagal cannula by means of Manostat cassette pump and the pH of effluent emerging from the proventricular cannula was recorded graphically. In most of the experiments, basal pH records of effluent ranging from 9-10 were obtained by introducing 5×10^-4 N sodium hydroxide solution into the proventricular lumen at a flow rate of 12 ml/min. In some experiments, a basal pH level ranging from 5-7 was recorded when 5×10^-4 N sodium hydroxide solution was introduced at a flow rate of 2.4 ml/min. In all the above cases, the pH of effluent rapidly decreased following the administration of histamine (10μg/kg, i.v.). The time course of the pH fall could be divided into two phases, a transient and a lasting ones. The transient phase was not inhibited by metiamide 0.4 mg/kg (i.v.), an H₂-antagonist, or by diphenhydramine 0.5 mg/kg (i.v.), all H₁-antagonist. The lasting phase was blocked almost completely by the H₂-antagonist, but only partially by the H₁-antagonist. The results suggest that two histamine receptors are involved during the acid secretion in the chicken.

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Female Wistar rats were mated at the age of 8 weeks. Thereafter, the fecal flora was determined in them at intervals of about one week before parturition, during lactation, and after weaning. The large intestinal flora was also examined in infant rats after the second parturition. There was an increase in number of fecal Escherichia coli organisms and enterococci in all the dams and of Proteus mirabilis organisms in some dams during lactation, as compared with any other period. Especially, E. coli showed a remarkable increase in population. These phenomena were shown to be related to the ingestion of infant excrements by the dams. E. coli organisms and enterococci increased moderately in number several days before the second parturition, as compared with those before the first parturition and several days after the first weaning. Anaerobic bacteria, such as anaerobic glam-positive cocci, fusiforms, catenabacteria (composed of eubacteria and anaerobic lactobacilli), clostridia and curved rods, showed somewhat larger populations during lactation than at parturition, but no decrease in population after weaning. On the other hand, bifidobacteria decreased in population at about one week of lactation, as well as after weaning, relating to the age of rats. Staphylococci, lactobacilli, total streptococci, bacteroidaceae and veillonellae showed no special changes during the lactation stage. Changes in the fecal microflora of dams were discussed.

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The resistance to the ixodid tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis (parthenegenetic Okayama strain), manifested by a reduction in engorged body weight, and the production of precipitating and complement-fixing antibodied in rabbits subjected to a series of adult female infestation werd investigated. The periods necessary for the acquisition of resistance and the production of humoral antibodies in rabbits did not appear to be directly correlated with the difference in the number of ticks used in a single infestation or the interval between infestations. These observations were made following a nearly constant period after the first infestation, i.e., for about 2 weeks on the host resistance to ticks and for 1 to 2 weeks on the antibody production. The existence of a negative correlation between the antibody titer and the engorged body weight of ticks was atiparent in almost all the series of infestations. Such evidence suggests that the role of humoral immunity in the acquisition of the host resistance to ticks may not be so minor. A few rabbits with circulating antibodies showed no resistance to sequential infestations. Precipitating and complement-fixing antibodies, however, were observed in all rabbits infested with ticks. Therefore, it was cotisidered that the demonstration of these antibodies was of value in reference to the past history of tick bites in the host.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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