Clinical, pathological, and molecular investigation of Mycoplasma pulmonis-induced murine respiratory mycoplasmosis in a rat (Rattus norvegicus) colony

Anti-angiogenic effect of the combination of low-dose sorafenib and EGCG in HCC-induced Wistar rats

Background:  Sorafenib is a standard drug used for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma but is often resistant and toxic. Its combination with epigallo-3-catechin gallate leads to reduced resistance and toxicity but an equally effective anti-angiogenic effect.Therefore, this study aims to assess the anti-angiogenic effect of standard-dose Sorafenib compared to the combination of low-dose Sorafenib and epigallo-3-catechin gallate. Methods:  We conducted an animal study and double-blind, randomized controlled trials. A total of 25 male Wistar rats (7-weeks-old) were randomly divided into four groups, namely Sham (K), Control (O), a combination of low-dose Sorafenib and epigallo-3-catechin gallate group (X1), and standard-dose Sorafenib group (X2). All groups were injected with N-Nitrosodiethylamine 70 mg/kg body weight (BW) intraperitoneally for ten weeks, except the Sham group. After the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, X1 and X2 were treated for two weeks. Subsequently, liver tissues were examined for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) level and microvascular density expression. Results: There was a significant difference (p=0.007) in the level of VEGF between group X1 (low dose Sorafenib + EGCG) and X2 (Standard dose Sorafenib). However, the differences in VEGF levels of group X1 and X2 compared to group O(Control) were significantly lower, with values p=0.000136 and p=0.019, respectively. The expression of microvascular density between groups X1 and X2  was not entirely different. Meanwhile, a significant difference (p<0.05) was discovered when both groups were compared with the control group. Conclusion: The combination of low-dose Sorafenib with epigallo-3-catechin gallate is superior in reducing the level of VEGF compared to standard-dose Sorafenib and is better than the control. Standard-dose Sorafenib and the combination of low-dose Sorafenib and epigallo-3-catechin gallate have similar effectivity in reducing the expression of microvascular density and could prevent resistance and lower toxicity effects.

Profiling of cellular immune responses to Mycoplasma pulmonis infection in C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice

Mycoplasma infections cause respiratory tract damages and atypical pneumonia, resulting in serious problems in humans and animals worldwide. It is well known that laboratory inbred mouse strains show various susceptibility to Mycoplasma pulmonis (M. pulmonis) infection, which causes murine respiratory mycoplasmosis. In this study, we aimed to demonstrate the difference in cellular immune responses between resistant strain, C57BL/6NCrSlc (B6) and susceptible strain, DBA/2CrSlc (D2) after challenging M. pulmonis infection. D2 mice showed higher amount of bacterial proliferation in lung, higher pulmonary infiltration of immune cells such as neutrophils, macrophages, and lymphocytes, and higher levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-17A, and tumor necrosis factor-α in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid than did B6 mice. The results of this study suggest that D2 mice are more susceptible than B6 mice to M. pulmonis infection due to a hyper-immune inflammatory response.