Die Schriftenreihe informiert über Möglichkeiten zur Minimierung infektiöser Faktorenerkrankungen in der Rinderhaltung. Projektziel war, die Haupteinflussfaktoren im Bereich der Haltung und des Managements zu bewerten, die zur Entstehung von ausgewählten infektiösen Faktorenkrankheiten führen. Die umfassende Analyse und die Verknüpfung der Ergebnisse aus Tierhygiene, Tiergesundheit und des Tierwohls sind geeignet, Schwachpunkte hinsichtlich der Betriebsabläufe und des Status’ der milchrinderhaltenden Betriebe zu identifizieren und daraus Maßnahmen zur Minimierung der infektiösen Faktorenkrankheiten abzuleiten. Redaktionsschluss: 14.02.2022

Studies over the past two decades have demonstrated that astrocytes are tightly associated with neurons and play pivotal roles in neural circuit development, operation, and adaptation in health and disease. Nevertheless, precisely how astrocytes integrate diverse neuronal signals, modulate neural circuit structure and function at multiple temporal and spatial scales, and influence animal behavior or disease through aberrant excitation and molecular output remains unclear. This Perspective discusses how new and state-of-the-art approaches, including fluorescence indicators, optoand chemogenetic actuators, genetic targeting tools, quantitative behavioral assays, and computational methods, might help resolve these longstanding questions. It also addresses complicating factors in interpreting astrocytes' role in neural circuit regulation and animal behavior, such as their heterogeneity, metabolism, and inter-glial communication. Research on these questions should provide a deeper mechanistic understanding of astrocyte-neuron assemblies' role in neural circuit function, complex behaviors, and disease.

Simple Summary Regenerative medicine using platelet-based blood products or adult stem cells offers the prospect of better clinical outcomes with many diseases. In veterinary medicine, most progress has been made with the development and therapeutic use of these regenerative therapeutics in horses, but the clinical need is given in dogs as well. Our aim was to transfer previous advances in the development of horse regenerative therapeutics, specifically the use of platelet lysate for feeding stem cell cultures, to the dog. Here, we describe the scalable production of canine platelet lysate, which could be used in regenerative biological therapies. We also evaluated the canine platelet lysate for its suitability in feeding canine stem cell cultures in comparison to equine platelet lysate used for equine stem cell cultures. Platelet lysate production from canine blood was successful, but the platelet lysate did not support stem cell culture in dogs in the same beneficial way observed with the equine platelet lysate and stem cells. In conclusion, canine platelet lysate can be produced in large scales as described here, but further research is needed to improve the cultivation of canine stem cells. Abstract Platelet lysate (PL) is an attractive platelet-based therapeutic tool and has shown promise as xeno-free replacement for fetal bovine serum (FBS) in human and equine mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) culture. Here, we established a scalable buffy-coat-based protocol for canine PL (cPL) production (n = 12). The cPL was tested in canine adipose MSC (n = 5) culture compared to FBS. For further comparison, equine adipose MSC (n = 5) were cultured with analogous equine PL (ePL) or FBS. During canine blood processing, platelet and transforming growth factor-β1 concentrations increased (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001), while white blood cell concentrations decreased (p < 0.05). However, while equine MSC showed good results when cultured with 10% ePL, canine MSC cultured with 2.5% or 10% cPL changed their morphology and showed decreased metabolic activity (p < 0.05). Apoptosis and necrosis in canine MSC were increased with 2.5% cPL (p < 0.05). Surprisingly, passage 5 canine MSC showed less genetic aberrations after culture with 10% cPL than with FBS. Our data reveal that using analogous canine and equine biologicals does not entail the same results. The buffy-coat-based cPL was not adequate for canine MSC culture, but may still be useful for therapeutic applications.

Mammary cancer is a serious health issue in pet rabbits; prognostic factors are unknown. In a normal mammary gland, glandular secretory cells are surrounded by a single continuous layer of myoepithelial cells. In non-invasive mammary carcinomas, tumor cells are delineated by an intact myoepithelial layer, which is gradually lost to invasive carcinomas. The main aim of this study was to determine in rabbit mammary carcinomas (n = 119) the expression of myoepithelial markers that have prognostic significance in human cancer. Results show that all cases contained some retained myoepithelial cells. In 93% of the tumors, neoplastic cells expressed the myoepithelial marker calponin. There was a statistically significant association between higher percentages of calponin-containing cancer cells and histological features indicative of a better tumor differentiation, i.e., a lower proliferation of tumor cells, an increased percentage of tubular growth within the tumor, and a lower tumor grade, respectively. These results suggest that rabbit mammary carcinomas develop from progression of non-invasive cancer forms, and that calponin expression in cancer cells likely represents a favorable prognostic factor. The latter hypothesis has to be confirmed in long-term follow-up studies.

Mares are seasonally polyestric. The breeding season in spring and summer and the winter anestrus are flanked by transitional periods. Endometrial diseases are a frequent cause of subfertility and have an economic impact on the horse breeding industry. They include different forms of endometrosis, endometritis, glandular maldifferentiation, and angiosis. Except for suppurative endometritis, these are subclinical and can only be diagnosed by the microscopic examination of an endometrial biopsy. Endometrosis is characterized by periglandular fibrosis and nonsuppurative endometritis by stromal infiltration with lymphocytes and plasma cells. The pathogenesis of endometrosis and nonsuppurative endometritis is still undetermined. Some mares are predisposed to persistent endometritis; this has likely a multifactorial etiology. Glandular differentiation has to be interpreted under consideration of the season. The presence of endometrial diseases is associated with alterations in the expression of several intra- and extracellular molecular markers. Some of them may have potential to be used as diagnostic biomarkers for equine endometrial health and disease. The aim of this review is to provide an overview on pathomorphological findings of equine endometrial diseases, to outline data on analyses of cellular and molecular mechanisms, and to discuss the impact of these data on reproduction and treatment.

Alpacas kept in Central Europe are often deficient in vitamin D3, which is supplemented orally or by injection by the owners or veterinarians. Vitamin D3 can be specified in two different units (IU and µg), which differ by a factor of 40. By mixing up these units, an overdosage can be induced. In this study, three alpaca crias were examined after vitamin D3 intoxication, with particular reference to kidney function. All three animals developed non-specific clinical alterations 1–2 weeks after a vitamin D3 overdose of approximately 40 times. Plasma of the animals revealed several alterations. The main findings were severe azotemia, hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia, 15 days after treatment. Kidney function analysis (endogenous creatinine clearance) in two of the crias revealed severe glomerular damage. All crias died despite intensive treatment within 23 days after vitamin D3 treatment. Necropsy revealed calcification in different organs, mainly the kidneys, lungs and liver. Since nine other crias in the same group were treated with comparable doses of vitamin D3 and no clinical signs were observed in these animals, it is concluded that individual animals show different levels of sensitivity to vitamin D3.

In Deutschland kommt seit 2014 eine Hornissenart vor, die aus Südostasien stammt: die Asiatische Hornisse. Die Asiatische Hornisse breitet sich in einigen Bundesländern bereits stark aus. Auch in Sachsen ist damit zu rechnen, dass die Art in nächster Zeit anzutreffen ist. Genau wie die Europäische Hornisse benötigt die Asiatische Hornisse für ihre Larven proteinreiche Nahrung (zum Beispiel Bienen, Schwebfliegen oder Stubenfliegen). Das Beutespektrum hängt dabei von der Nestumgebung ab. So können in städtischen Bereichen, wo sich die Asiatische Hornisse bevorzugt ansiedelt, Honigbienen bis zu zwei Drittel der Nahrung ausmachen. Das kann zu erheblichen Schäden führen. Daher ist die Asiatische Hornisse vor allem ein Imkereischädling. Redaktionsschluss: 30.11.2024

Die Broschüre 'Kleintiere in Bach und Fluss' lädt ein winzige Insekten, andere flinke Asseln oder versteckt lebende Würmer in unserem Gewässern zu entdecken. Sie leben am Gewässergrund im Schlamm, unter Steinen oder an Wasserpflanzen. Durch ihr Vorkommen verraten die Tiere viel über ihre Lebensbedingungen und den Lebensraum, den sie besiedeln. So kann man auf die Qualität des Gewässers rückschließen. Redaktionsschluss: 01.09.2023

Die Untersuchungen zur Fellfarbe des Damwildes haben gezeigt, dass diese Tierart – trotz ihrer grundsätzlich kleinen Ausgangspopulation und der damit verbundenen hohen Homozygotie – eine deutliche Farbvielfalt besitzt. Trotz der relativ kleinen Tierzahl, die außerdem noch verschiedenen Einflüssen der Zucht unterworfen war, konnten Resultate verzeichnet werden. Z. B. ist die Schwarzfärbung beim Damwild mit zwei Mutationen im ASIP-Gen assoziiert. Die Fellfarben führen zu keinen deutlichen Einschränkungen oder Behinderungen bei den Tieren. Die Schriftenreihe richtet sich an Landwirte und Hobbytierhalter.

Aufgrund ihrer Größe und auffälligen Erscheinung zählen Libellen zu den bekanntesten einheimischen Insekten. Der Zustand ihrer Entwicklungsgewässer besitzt eine herausragende Rolle. Seit 1990 haben Naturschutzmaßnahmen dazu beigetragen, dass sich die Gefährdungssituation verbessert hat. Aktuell sind 36,8 % der Arten einer Gefährdungskategorie zugeordnet. Insgesamt neun Arten konnten aus der Roten Liste beziehungsweise der Vorwarnliste entlassen werden. Trotz der vielfältigen positiven Entwicklungen gibt es auch eine Reihe von Arten mit aktuell negativem Bestandstrend. Rote Listen dokumentieren den Kenntnisstand über die Gefährdung der einzelnen Arten und über den Anteil gefährdeter Arten der betrachteten Sippe. Sie sind damit sowohl ein Instrument der Umweltindikation, als auch der Fachplanung des Naturschutzes. Redaktionsschluss: 24.09.2024