Thiaminase activity in the gut of cobalt-deficient sheep

1983 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 211 ◽  
Author(s):  
SO Mann ◽  
AB Wilson ◽  
M Barr ◽  
WJ Lawson ◽  
L Duncan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urinary Excretion ◽  
Vitamin B12 ◽  
Clinical Condition ◽  
Methylmalonic Acid ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Poor Correlation ◽  
Bacillus Spp ◽  
Cobalt Deficiency

In an attempt to clarify the reported relationship between cobalt deficiency and the incidence of cerebrocortical necrosis (CCN), sheep were fed on a diet deficient in cobalt. High levels of thiaminase activity were found regularly in rumen and faeces samples from cobalt-deficient animals, and also from controls supplemented with cobalt or vitamin B12. There was a poor correlation between thiaminase activity and viable counts of the thiaminase-producing organisms Clostvidium spovogenes and Bacillus spp. Urinary excretion of thiamine appeared normal. When the sheep were killed, normal concentrations of thiamine were found in the liver. The sheep were deficient in vitamin B12, as judged by the concentrations in serum and liver, by urinary excretion of methylmalonic acid, and by clinical condition. Twitching and weakness were observed, but clinical signs of CCN did not develop.

scholarly journals The effect of antibiotics on rats receiving a vitamin B12-deficient diet

1970 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Williams ◽  
G. H. Spray
Keyword(s):  
Urinary Excretion ◽  
Vitamin B12 ◽  
Malonic Acid ◽  
Methylmalonic Acid ◽  
Deficient Diet

1. Rats fed on a vitamin B12-deficient or -supplemented diet were given either neomycin or a mixture of streptomycin and erythromycin by mouth for between 7 and 15 d. The urinary excretion of methylmalonic acid and the levels of vitamin B12 in plasma and tissues and of acetic and propionic acids in caecal contents were measured.2. Both treatments caused prompt reduction of methylmalonate excretion in the deficient rats. This was apparently due to depression of the production of some precursor of methyl-malonic acid, probably propionate, rather than to an immediate effect on vitamin B12 nutrition.3. After withdrawal of the antibiotics, neomycin-treated vitamin B12-deficient rats appeared to become partly repleted in vitamin B12, but the change in the vitamin B12 status of those which had received streptomycin and erythromycin was much smaller.

Relationships between plasma methylmalonic acid and ruminal succinate in cobalt-deficient and -repleted sheep

2007 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 367 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Wiese ◽  
C. L. White ◽  
I. H. Williams ◽  
J. G. Allen
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin B12 ◽  
Methylmalonic Acid ◽  
Plasma Concentrations ◽  
Plasma Vitamin ◽  
Normal Range ◽  
Deficient Diet ◽  
Wool Growth ◽  
Cobalt Deficiency ◽  
Vitamin B12 Supplementation ◽  
Effective Degree

We measured methylmalonic acid (MMA) in plasma and succinate in the rumen during the depletion of sheep to a state of severe cobalt deficiency and repletion by various forms of supplementation. Groups of 10, cobalt-deficient weaners were allocated to one of 4 treatments: no supplement, 0.1 or 4.0 mg/day of cobalt as a solution of CoSO4.7H2O per os, or intramuscular vitamin B12. Plasma concentrations of MMA were elevated above the normal range (5 µmol/L) after 35 days on the cobalt-deficient diet, before a reduction in feed intake and while liveweights were still increasing. In all 3 supplemented groups of sheep, plasma vitamin B12 concentrations increased to normal levels within 10 days of supplementation (P < 0.001). Plasma MMA concentrations were reduced to normal levels within 10 days with vitamin B12 supplementation but took 31 days with oral cobalt supplementation (P < 0.001). Plasma MMA concentration in the unsupplemented group continued to rise and remain high for the duration of the experiment and did not show the peak and decline to levels indistinguishable from cobalt adequate levels as observed by others. Rumen succinate concentrations were elevated within 6 days of sheep being introduced to a cobalt-deficient diet and in the unsupplemented sheep remained elevated for the duration of measurement. This rise in rumen succinate was seen at a wider range of cobalt intakes than previously reported. In both oral cobalt treatments, vitamin B12 concentrations increased (P < 0.001) and succinate concentrations decreased (P < 0.001) in the rumen to normal levels within 6 days of supplementation. However, the vitamin B12 provided to the sheep by injection was not recycled to the rumen to any effective degree, as demonstrated by the persistence of high rumen succinate concentrations. The ability of the vitamin B12-supplemented sheep to maintain higher rates of wool growth than deficient sheep, while still exhibiting elevated succinate concentrations in the rumen, demonstrates that overcoming the blockage of the methylmalonyl CoA mutase pathway in the rumen is not essential for restoring metabolic pathways such as those responsible for wool growth. This work contributes to the knowledge of plasma MMA and rumen succinate as useful indicators of functional cobalt status and cobalt intake in sheep.

scholarly journals Vitamin B12 deficiency and the excretion of ether-soluble acids in the rat

1967 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. K. Armstrong
Keyword(s):  
Urinary Excretion ◽  
Vitamin B12 ◽  
Methylmalonic Acid ◽  
Vitamin B12 Deficiency ◽  
Vitamin B ◽  
B12 Deficiency ◽  
Males And Females

1. Urinary excretion of total ether-soluble acids and of methylmalonic acid was studied in rats on vitamin B12-deficient diets with and without a vitamin B12 supplement.2. It was shown that urinary excretion of total ether-soluble acids and methylmalonic acid was increased in vitamin B12-deficient rats and that this increase was somewhat variable between individual animals, males and females, and rats from different litters.3. The increased excretion of these acids could readily be reversed by supplementing the diet with vitamin B12.

scholarly journals Relationship between Vitamin B12 and Cobalt Metabolism in Domestic Ruminant: An Update

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1855
Author(s):  
Jose-Ramiro González-Montaña ◽  
Francisco Escalera-Valente ◽  
Angel J. Alonso ◽  
Juan M. Lomillos ◽  
Roberto Robles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin B12 ◽  
Milk Production ◽  
Methylmalonic Acid ◽  
Liver Steatosis ◽  
Reproductive Function ◽  
Rumen Microorganisms ◽  
Enzymatic Systems ◽  
Cobalt Deficiency ◽  
Ruminant Animals ◽  
Reproductive Rates

Cobalt, as a trace element, is essential for rumen microorganisms for the formation of vitamin B12. In the metabolism of mammals, vitamin B12 is an essential part of two enzymatic systems involved in multiple metabolic reactions, such as in the metabolism of carbohydrates, lipids, some amino acids and DNA. Adenosylcobalamin and methylcobalamin are coenzymes of methylmalonyl coenzyme A (CoA) mutase and methionine synthetase and are essential for obtaining energy through ruminal metabolism. Signs of cobalt deficiency range from hyporexia, reduced growth and weight loss to liver steatosis, anemia, impaired immune function, impaired reproductive function and even death. Cobalt status in ruminant animals can be assessed by direct measurement of blood or tissue concentrations of cobalt or vitamin B12, as well as the level of methylmalonic acid, homocysteine or transcobalamin in blood; methylmalonic acid in urine; some variables hematological; food consumption or growth of animals. In general, it is assumed that the requirement for cobalt (Co) is expressed around 0.11 ppm (mg/kg) in the dry matter (DM) diet; current recommendations seem to advise increasing Co supplementation and placing it around 0.20 mg Co/kg DM. Although there is no unanimous criterion about milk production, fattening or reproductive rates in response to increased supplementation with Co, in some investigations, when the total Co of the diet was approximately 1 to 1.3 ppm (mg/kg), maximum responses were observed in the milk production.

scholarly journals Diagnostic Accuracy of Holotranscobalamin, Methylmalonic Acid, Serum Cobalamin, and Other Indicators of Tissue Vitamin B12 Status in the Elderly

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 856-863 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Valente ◽  
John M Scott ◽  
Per-Magne Ueland ◽  
Conal Cunningham ◽  
Miriam Casey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diagnostic Accuracy ◽  
Vitamin B12 ◽  
Methylmalonic Acid ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Test Method ◽  
Cobalamin Deficiency ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Erythrocyte Folate ◽  
Posttest Probability

BACKGROUND Vitamin B12 deficiency is common among the elderly, and early detection is clinically important. However, clinical signs and symptoms have limited diagnostic accuracy and there is no accepted reference test method. METHODS In elderly subjects (n = 700; age range 63–97 years), we investigated the ability of serum cobalamin, holotranscobalamin (holoTC), total homocysteine (tHcy), methylmalonic acid (MMA), serum and erythrocyte folate, and other hematologic variables to discriminate cobalamin deficiency, defined as red blood cell cobalamin &lt;33 pmol/L. RESULTS Serum holoTC was the best predictor, with area under the ROC curve (95% CI) 0.90 (0.86–0.93), and this was significantly better (P ≤ 0.0002) than the next best predictors; serum cobalamin, 0.80 (0.75–0.85), and MMA, 0.78 (0.72–0.83). For these 3 analytes, we constructed a 3-zone partition of positive and negative zones and a deliberate indeterminate zone between. The boundaries were values of each test that resulted in a posttest probability of deficiency of 60% and a posttest probability of no deficiency of 98%. The proportion of indeterminate observations for holoTC, cobalamin, and MMA was 14%, 45%, and 50%, respectively. Within the holoTC indeterminate zone (defined as 20–30 pmol/L), discriminant analysis selected only erythrocyte folate, which correctly allocated 65% (58/89) of the observations. Renal dysfunction compromised the diagnostic accuracy of MMA but not holoTC or serum cobalamin. CONCLUSIONS This study supports the use of holoTC as the first-line diagnostic procedure for vitamin B12 status.

Effects of cobalt deficiency in the pregnant ewe on neonatal lamb survival

1992 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
pp. 169-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. E. J. Fisher ◽  
A. MacPherson
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Methylmalonic Acid ◽  
Milk Powder ◽  
Vitamin B ◽  
Deficient Diet ◽  
Cobalt Deficiency ◽  
Acid Status ◽  
Pregnant Ewe ◽  
Skimmed Milk Powder

It has been suggested (Mills, 1981) that there was a lack of research on the effects of cobalt (Co) deficiency on the reproductive performance of sheep. Duncan, Morrison and Garton (1981) reported that clinically Co-deficient ewes produced fewer lambs with a higher incidence of stillbirths and neonatal mortalities than Co-sufficient animals. Garton, Duncan and Fell (1981) related these findings to the vitamin B12 and methylmalonic acid status of dams. However, their investigations used few animals and were therefore inconclusive. The objectives of this work were to investigate the effects of subclinical Co deficiency in pregnant hill sheep on reproductive performance and neonatal lamb viability.Experiment 1 (1985/86) comprised 60 Scottish Blackface × Swaledale ewes, while experiment 2 (1986/87) included 30 of these animals plus 30 pure Scottish Blackface sheep. In both experiments the ewes were housed and bedded on sawdust and a Co-deficient diet of timothy hay, micronized maize, maize gluten, dibasic calcium phosphate and sodium chloride was offered. Skimmed milk powder was introduced to the diet during lactation. The Co content of the diet was 0.06 mg Co per kg dry matter.

Three Clusters of Bacillus Pseudobacteremia Related to a Radiometric Blood Culture Analyzer

1984 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inge Gurevich ◽  
Patricia Tafuro ◽  
Sharon P. Krystofiak ◽  
Robert D. Kalter ◽  
Burke A. Cunha
Keyword(s):  
Blood Culture ◽  
Clinical Signs ◽  
Blood Cultures ◽  
Bacillus Species ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Air Conditioner ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Bacillus Spp ◽  
Multiple Blood ◽  
Bacillus Spores

AbstractDuring a ten-month period from September 1981 to July 1982 three episodes of pseudobacteremia due to Bacillus species occurred at this 550-bed institution. The first involved eight isolates, the second 11, and the third seven isolates of the organism, all with the same antibiogram.The patients involved did not exhibit clinical signs of septicemia, and in only one case was more than one specimen per patient positive when multiple blood samples were obtained. Occasional blood cultures of Bacillus species identified in between clusters revealed a different antibiogram.Extensive epidemiologic investigation of patient locations, phlebotomists, and time of cultures yielded no common source. Components involved in the transport and processing of blood cultures, including the radiometric blood culture processor, were also sampled but without recovery of the organism. After the last episode, a layer of dust was noted inside the machine, and culture of this dust grew Bacillus spp. with the same antibiogram as those found in the blood cultures. The filter from an air conditioning unit in close proximity to the machine grew several species of Bacillus.It is presumed that Bacillus spores in the dust were introduced into the blood culture bottles following the heat sterilization of the gas sampling (inoculation/removal) needles.Modification of the cover of the machine was undertaken to prevent access of dust bearing microbes to the inside of the machine. In addition, maintenance now includes regular disinfection/cleaning of the “floor” of the machine, and more frequent changes of the air conditioner filter.

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