Molecular test for detection of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae associated with respiratory tract infection from goats in north and central parts of Kerala

Mycoplasmal pneumonia is an important contagious disease that significantly affects the economy of small ruminant farming worldwide and Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovipneumoniae) is one of the major aetiological agents associated with pleuropneumonia in goats. It is considered as a serious epidemic disease of goats due to its huge economic impact and hence, rapid and early diagnosis of the disease is warranted. Clinical mycoplasmosis often lacks pathognomonic signs, so definitive diagnosis of the disease is quite burdensome. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test has been proven to be a specific and sensitive technique for the early diagnosis of mycoplasmosis. The present study highlights the detection of M. ovipneumoniae employing PCR test in 150 nasal swab samples collected from goats with symptoms of respiratory tract infection from five districts of Kerala. Results revealed that, out of 150 samples, 83 (55.33 per cent) were positive in 16S rRNA Mycoplasma genus specific PCR test. Among the 83 genus positive samples, 68 samples (45.33 per cent of total 150 samples) were positive in M. ovipneumoniae specific PCR test.

A Multivalent Vaccine Containing Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae Antigens Elicits Strong Immune Responses and Promising Protection in Pigs

Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (App) and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhp) cause porcine pleuropneumonia and mycoplasmal pneumonia, respectively, and have serious impacts on the swine industry because they retard the growth of pigs. To protect pigs against these diseases, we have developed a multivalent vaccine consisting of App bacterins, APP RTX toxins (Apx toxins), and Mhp bacterin and adhesin protein. This vaccine induced the production of higher levels of antibodies against App and Mhp than the commercial vaccine (Nisseiken Swine APM Inactivated Vaccine). Furthermore, the vaccine efficiently protected pigs against virulent App challenge, showing promise as an efficient vaccine for the prevention of two important respiratory diseases, porcine pleuropneumonia and mycoplasmal pneumonia.

A six-year old boy with refractory mycoplasmal pneumonia combined with recurrent pneumothorax

A six-year old boy presented with mycoplasmal pneumonia combined with recurrent pneumothorax. The patient had been treated with azithromycin and methylprednisolone for mycoplasmal pneumonia after admission, however his condition deteriorated. We increased the dosage of methylprednisolone and changed to erythromycin from azithromycin, his condition improved progressively. He presented pneumothorax twice during recovery phase. He was put on thoracic closed drainage and was cured. Pneumothorax is rare complication of mycoplasmal pneumonia. Here we reported the case to raise awareness of this condition.

Genome-Wide Detection of Allele Frequency Change and Quantitative Trait Loci for Respiratory Disease and Immune-Related Traits in Landrace Pigs Selected for Mycoplasmal Pneumonia of Swine Resistance

Background: The genetic improvement of disease resistance in pig has been well-received. Identification of a quantitative trait locus (QTL) related to a chronic respiratory disease such as Mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS) and immune-related traits is important for understanding the genomic background of disease resistance and to apply marker-assisted selection. The objective of this study was to understand the influence of genomic factors on respiratory disease and immune-related traits in MPS-selected pigs.Results: A total of 874 Landrace purebred pigs, which were selected based on MPS resistance, were genotyped using the Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip, and were then used for genomic analyses. First, we performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to detect a novel QTL for a total of 22 performance, respiratory disease, and immune-related traits using additive and nonadditive genetic effects. Second, we evaluated the changes in allele frequency due to selection for MPS resistance and compared the putative selected regions with the detected QTL. GWAS detected a total of 11 genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with an additive effect in five traits and a total of three significant SNPs with a nonadditive effect in three traits. Most of these detected QTL regions were novel regions with some candidate genes located in them. With regard to a pleiotropic region among traits, only five of these detected QTL regions overlapped among traits. Changes in allele frequencies at the many putative selected regions were spread across the whole genome and overlapped with the detected QTL. Some of these selected regions were the ones that contained the detected QTL for MPS score and other traits.Conclusion: These results suggest that a closed-line breeding population is a useful target population to refine and confirm QTL regions by integrating the results of GWAS and allele frequency changes. The study provides new insights into the genomic factors that affect respiratory disease and immune-related traits in pigs.

Mechanism of Shuang-Huang-Lian Oral Liquid for Treatment of Mycoplasmal Pneumonia in Children on Network Pharmacology

Background and Objective: Mycoplasmal pneumonia (MP) can lead to inflammation, multiple system immune damage, and mixed infection in children. The pathogenesis is still unclear. Shuang-Huang-Lian (SHL) oral liquid can treat acute upper respiratory tract infection, acute bronchitis and light pneumonia. However, our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms supporting its clinical application still lags behind due to the lack of researches. It is difficult to understand the overall sensitization mechanism of SHL oral liquid. The purpose is to explain the mechanism of action of drugs in this study, which is useful to ensure the safety of medication for children. Methods: The therapeutic mechanism of SHL oral liquid was investigated by a system pharmacology approach integrating drug-likeness evaluation, oral bioavailability prediction, ADMET, protein-protein interaction worknet, Gene Ontology enrichment analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes database pathway performance, C-T-P network construction and molecular docking. Results: A total of 18 active ingredients contained in SHL oral liquid and 53 major proteins were screened out as effective players in the treatment of M. pneumoniae disease through some related pathways and molecular docking. The majority of targets, hubs and pathways were highly related to anti-mycoplasma therapy, immunity and inflammation process. Conclusions: This study shows that the anti-bacterial effect of SHL oral liquid has multicomponent, multi-target and multi-pathway phenomena. The proposed approach may provide a feasible tool to clarify the mechanism of traditional Chinese medicines and further develop their therapeutic potentials.

A novel biofabrication of gold nanoparticles using Erythrina senegalensis leaf extract and their ameliorative effect on mycoplasmal pneumonia for treating lung infection in nursing care

This study showed the fabrication of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) utilizing Erythrina senegalensis leaf extract as an effective, low-cost and eco-friendly approach. The bioconstituents existing in the E. senegalensis leaf extract are accountable for reducing and stabilization of NPs. The produced AuNPs were studied by using transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, UV-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. In addition, this study also showed that the prepared AuNPs exhibited very good antipneumonial activity against mycoplasmal pneumonia in the investigational animals, indicating their potential for the development of new therapeutic drugs for the lung injury treatments in in the future.

miR-143-3p impacts on pulmonary inflammatory factors and cell apoptosis in mice with mycoplasmal pneumonia by regulating TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB pathway

miR-143-3p is correlated with inflammatory pain responses, such as hsa-miR-143-3p expression reduction in fibromyalgia. The present study aimed to explore the effects of miR-143-3p and Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4/myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88)/NF-κB signaling pathway on pulmonary inflammatory factors levels and alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis in mycoplasmal pneumonia mice. Twenty mice were selected as normal group. The 120 successfully modeled Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infection mice were randomly divided into model group (without any treatment), negative control (NC) group (injected with NC mimic), miR-143-3p mimic group (injected with miR-143-3p mimic), miR-143-3p inhibitor group (injected with miR-143-3p inhibitor), TAK-242 group (treatment with TAK-242), and miR-143-3p inhibitor + TAK-242 group (treatment with miR-143-3p inhibitor + TAK-242). Compared with model group, model mice had up-regulated miR-143-3p expression and decreased MyD88 and p-NF-κB p50 protein expressions (all P<0.05); Model mice treated with miR-143-3p mimic and TAK-242 had reduced interleukin (IL)-2 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α contents and protein expressions of MyD88, p-NF-κB p50, increased IL-10 content, fewer alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis, lower Bax expression and higher Bcl-2 expression (all P<0.05); however, mice with miR-143-3p inhibitor treatment showed opposite trends in terms of above indicators. The exacerbation of mycoplasmal pneumonia caused by miR-143-3p inhibitor was partly improved by miR-143-3p inhibitor + TAK-242 combination treatment (all P<0.05). Therefore, up-regulation of miR-143-3p expression may ameliorate pulmonary inflammatory factors levels and reduce alveolar epithelial cell apoptosis in mycoplasmal pneumonia mice by inhibiting TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling pathway.