Antoine Leclerc, Raphaël Piarroux, Adriana Callico, Ellen Bronson, Carolyn Cray
{"title":"ADAPTATION OF A COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE WESTERN BLOT KIT FOR THE DETECTION OF ANTIBODY TO <i>ASPERGILLUS</i> IN PENGUINS IN FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES.","authors":"Antoine Leclerc, Raphaël Piarroux, Adriana Callico, Ellen Bronson, Carolyn Cray","doi":"10.1638/2024-0008","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Antemortem serodiagnosis of aspergillosis remains challenging in Sphenisciformes. Protein electrophoresis, serology (antibody, antigen) by ELISA, and gliotoxin detection provide variable diagnostic value. In the present study, a commercially available Western blot (WB) validated for use in humans and dolphins was adapted for use with penguin samples. Using the same method and reagents, samples were analyzed from multiple institutions in the United States and one facility in France. This was inclusive of normal juvenile African penguins (<i>Spheniscus demersus</i>, n = 10) and various species of penguins in the United States with confirmed infection (n = 9) as well as 52 samples from Humboldt penguins (<i>Spheniscus humboldti</i>) in France. Cumulative WB scores (based on reactivity to different antigens) were found to be significantly higher in the group of penguins with confirmed infection (p < 0.0001). Significant differences were also observed between the clinically normal penguins in the two populations, with higher scores in the United States (median score 1.0, 95%CI [0-5], min 0, max 11) compared to France (median score 0,95%CI [0-0], min 0, max 5). The utilization of the WB as a diagnostic tool is inconclusive due to the use of samples from varying institutions, environmental background, age, and stages of infection. However, this tool may provide an overview of antigen reactivity in penguins infected with <i>Aspergillus</i> to help design a more robust serology assay and further understand the humoral immune response during infection.</p>","PeriodicalId":17667,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1638/2024-0008","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"VETERINARY SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Antemortem serodiagnosis of aspergillosis remains challenging in Sphenisciformes. Protein electrophoresis, serology (antibody, antigen) by ELISA, and gliotoxin detection provide variable diagnostic value. In the present study, a commercially available Western blot (WB) validated for use in humans and dolphins was adapted for use with penguin samples. Using the same method and reagents, samples were analyzed from multiple institutions in the United States and one facility in France. This was inclusive of normal juvenile African penguins (Spheniscus demersus, n = 10) and various species of penguins in the United States with confirmed infection (n = 9) as well as 52 samples from Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in France. Cumulative WB scores (based on reactivity to different antigens) were found to be significantly higher in the group of penguins with confirmed infection (p < 0.0001). Significant differences were also observed between the clinically normal penguins in the two populations, with higher scores in the United States (median score 1.0, 95%CI [0-5], min 0, max 11) compared to France (median score 0,95%CI [0-0], min 0, max 5). The utilization of the WB as a diagnostic tool is inconclusive due to the use of samples from varying institutions, environmental background, age, and stages of infection. However, this tool may provide an overview of antigen reactivity in penguins infected with Aspergillus to help design a more robust serology assay and further understand the humoral immune response during infection.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine (JZWM) is considered one of the major sources of information on the biology and veterinary aspects in the field. It stems from the founding premise of AAZV to share zoo animal medicine experiences. The Journal evolved from the long history of members producing case reports and the increased publication of free-ranging wildlife papers.
The Journal accepts manuscripts of original research findings, case reports in the field of veterinary medicine dealing with captive and free-ranging wild animals, brief communications regarding clinical or research observations that may warrant publication. It also publishes and encourages submission of relevant editorials, reviews, special reports, clinical challenges, abstracts of selected articles and book reviews. The Journal is published quarterly, is peer reviewed, is indexed by the major abstracting services, and is international in scope and distribution.
Areas of interest include clinical medicine, surgery, anatomy, radiology, physiology, reproduction, nutrition, parasitology, microbiology, immunology, pathology (including infectious diseases and clinical pathology), toxicology, pharmacology, and epidemiology.