Interferon therapies in small animals

Clinical and inflammatory response to antiviral treatments in dogs with parvoviral enteritis

BACKGROUND

Canine parvoviral enteritis (CPE) is a fatal disease worldwide. The treatment of CPE is based mainly on supportive and symptomatic treatment. Antiviral addition to the treatment may result in a higher survival.

OBJECTIVES

This study evaluated the effects of antiviral treatments with a standardized treatment (ST) on the clinical and inflammatory response of dogs with naturally occurring CPE.

METHODS

Twenty-eight dogs with CPE caused by canine parvovirus type 2 were divided randomly into treatment groups. The ST group received fluid, antibiotic, antiemetic, and deworming treatments. The antiviral treatment groups received the same ST with an additional antiviral drug, recombinant feline interferon omega (rFeIFN-ω), oseltamivir (OSEL) or famciclovir (FAM).

RESULTS

Compared to the healthy control, the tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β, interferon (IFN)-α, IFN-γ, haptoglobin, and C-reactive protein values were high (p < 0.05) on day zero. At presentation, mild lymphopenia, neutropenia, and a high neutrophil to lymphocyte (LYM) ratio (NLR) were also observed. Adding rFeIFN-ω to the ST produced the best improvement in the clinical score with a decreased NLR, while leucocytes remained low and inflammatory markers stayed high on day three. The survival rates of the groups were 85.7% in ST+IFN, 71.4% in ST+OSEL, 71.4% in ST+FAM, and 57.1% in ST groups on day seven.

CONCLUSIONS

Antiviral drugs may be valuable in treating CPE to improve the clinical signs and survival. In addition, the decrease in NLR in favor of LYM may be an indicator of the early prognosis before the improvement of leukocytes, cytokines, and acute phase proteins in CPE.

Progress of Molecular Display Technology Using Saccharomyces cerevisiae to Achieve Sustainable Development Goals

In the long history of microorganism use, yeasts have been developed as hosts for producing biologically active compounds or for conventional fermentation. Since the introduction of genetic engineering, recombinant proteins have been designed and produced using yeast or bacterial cells. Yeasts have the unique property of expressing genes derived from both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the well-studied yeasts in genetic engineering. Recently, molecular display technology, which involves a protein-producing system on the yeast cell surface, has been established. Using this technology, designed proteins can be displayed on the cell surface, and novel abilities are endowed to the host yeast strain. This review summarizes various molecular yeast display technologies and their principles and applications. Moreover, S. cerevisiae laboratory strains generated using molecular display technology for sustainable development are described. Each application of a molecular displayed yeast cell is also associated with the corresponding Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Antiviral activity of canine interferon lambda 3 expressed using a recombinant adenovirus against canine coronavirus, canine parvovirus, and canine distemper virus

Canine coronavirus (CCoV), canine parvovirus (CPV), and canine distemper virus (CDV) are highly contagious canine pathogens; dogs with these diseases are difficult to treat. In a previous study, we developed a recombinant adenovirus expressing canine interferon lambda 3 (Ad-caIFNλ3) in canine epithelial cells. In this study, we aimed to investigate the antiviral activity of Ad-caIFNλ3 against CCoV, CPV, and CDV in two canine cell lines, A72 and MDCK. Ad-caIFNλ3 transduction suppressed replication of these viruses without cytotoxicity. Our results suggest that Ad-caIFNλ3 may be a therapeutic candidate for canine viral diseases.