Molecular study of Mhc-DRB in wild chacma baboons reveals high variability and evidence for trans-species inheritance

The MHC class II genes of many primate species were investigated extensively in recent years. However, while Mhc-DRB genes were studied in Old World monkeys such as rhesus macaques, the Mhc-DRB of baboons was only studied in a limited way. Because of their close anatomical and physiological relationship to humans, baboons are often used as models for reproduction and transplantation research. Baboons are also studied as a model species in behavioural ecology. Thus, identification of MHC genes would provide a foundation for studies of Mhc, biology and behaviour. Here, we describe the use of PCR, cloning, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and sequencing to identify Mhc-DRB sequences in wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). We amplified the highly variable second exon of baboon Mhc-DRB sequences using generic DRB primers. To validate and optimize the DGGE protocol, four DNA samples were initially studied using cloning and sequencing. Clones were screened using a novel RFLP approach to increase the number of clones identified for each individual. Results from cloning and sequencing were used to optimise DGGE conditions for Mhc-DRB genotyping of the remaining study subjects. Using these techniques, we identified 16 Paur-DRB sequences from 30 chacma baboons. On the basis of phylogenetic tree analyses, representatives of the Mhc-DRB1 and Mhc-DRB5 loci, and 13 different DRB lineages were identified. Evidence for trans-species inheritance of some Mhc-DRB sequences comes from high identity between the new Paur-DRB sequences and sequences from Papio cynocephalus, Macaca mulatta and possibly Galago moholi.Nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ databases under the accession numbers DQ339722–DQ339737.     

血液病患者单采血小板输注疗效的影响因素分析

目的:探讨影响血液病患者血小板输注疗效的因素,为提高血液病患者的临床疗效提供参考依据。方法:选择2013年1月至2015年12月海南省人民医院收治的156例输注单采血小板的血液病患者为研究对象,所有患者单次输入血小板12U(血小板数≥2.5×1011个),观察输注后血小板计数纠正增加指数(CCI),分析病种、脾大、发热、年龄、性别对血小板输注疗效的影响。结果:血小板输注总有效率为71.0%。再生障碍性贫血(AA)者血小板输注有效率为65.9%、特发性血小板减少性紫癜(ITP)为65.7%,急性白血病(AL)为77.7%,骨髓增生异常综合征(MDS)为71.9%,不同病种之间血小板输注有效率比较差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。发热感染者血小板输注有效率为69.9%,明显低于无发热感染者(77.6%,P0.05);脾不大者有效率为74.9%,明显高于脾大者(52.86%,P0.05);男性、女性有效率分别为76.5%、75.8%,60周岁者与芏60周岁者有效率分别为72.0%、77.3%,差异均无统计学意义(P0.05)。随着血小板输注次数的升高,血小板输注无效的发生率也显著升高。结论:发热及脾大是影响血液病患者血小板输注疗效的不利因素。     

Inter- and intraobserver reproducibility of thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology: an analysis of discrepant cases

OBJECTIVE: To determine the inter- and intraobserver reproducibility and analyse the discrepant cases of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the thyroid. METHODS: Cases of thyroid FNAC with a corresponding histological diagnosis were reviewed regarding the original cytological diagnoses by two observers. The final cytological diagnoses (FCD) included both concordant and consensus diagnoses. The inter- and intraobserver reproducibility and efficacy of thyroid FNAC were calculated based on the FCD. RESULTS: A total of 97 FNAC cases with corresponding histopathological specimens were analysed. Although inter- and intraobserver disagreement in the cytological diagnoses occurred in about one-quarter of the cases analysed (24.7% and 23.7%, respectively), a substantial level of diagnostic interobserver (kappa = 0.71) and intraobserver (kappa = 0.66) reproducibility was observed. The efficacy of the method was 94.4%. Disagreement in the diagnosis was detected in 24 cases (24.7%), most of them (41.7%) for follicular lesions. Discordant cytological diagnoses between the two observers were represented by six (16.2%) of the 37 cases with an FCD of colloid nodule, five (41.7%) of the 12 cases of cellular follicular lesion, all three cases of follicular neoplasm, in two (6.3%) of the 32 cases of PTC, one (16.7%) of six cases of follicular neoplasm with a predominance of Hürthle cells and in one case of poorly differentiated neoplasia. Similarly, major disagreement in intraobserver cytological diagnoses was observed for the diagnosis of follicular lesions: 18 (78.3%) of a total of 23 discordant cases. CONCLUSION: As discrepancies in the cytopathological diagnosis can have repercussions in the management of patients, all cases with a cytological diagnosis of follicular lesions/neoplams should be reviewed in multidisciplinary meetings thus minimizing interobserver variability.     

Teratoma with trisomy 16 in a baboon (Papio hamadryas)

A teratoma was found during a planned cesarean section in a 10-year-old primigravida baboon. This teratoma had a female sex chromosome complement and trisomy for chromosome 16. This is the first report of a teratoma in a baboon and the first report of a chromosomal abnormality in a nonhuman primate teratoma. It is also the first case in a nonhuman primate to address the mechanism of origin. Through the use of genetic markers from human chromosomes 5, 8 and 17, the origin of the teratoma was shown to be most consistent with failure of meiosis II or endoreduplication in a mature ovum, while the trisomy for chromosome 16 originated after the formation of the tumor. Am. J. Primatol. 46:323–332, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Oxygen equilibrium characteristics of hemoglobins of baboons, Theropithecus gelada,Papio hamadryas and Papio anubis

Hemoglobins of three baboons, Theropithecus gelada, Papio hamadryas- and Papio anubis, were purified and their oxygen equilibrium characteristics were studied. (a) Oxygen affinity, as expressed by P₅₀, oxygen partial pressure for 50% oxygen binding, was in the order of gelada hemoglobin > anubis hemoglobin > hamadryas hemoglobin although the differences were small. (b) The presence of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate reduced their oxygen affinity in a similar manner. The effect on baboon hemoglobins was greater than that on human and Japanese monkey hemoglobins. (c) The intensity of the Bohr effect, as expressed by $\text{?Δlog}\text{P}{}_{50}\text{ΔpH}$, at pH 7·4 agreed well with each other and the value was 0·62 in the presence of 2 mm diphosphoglycerate and 0·52 in its absence. These results indicate that phenotypic adaptation (acclimatory) may play an important role in the adaptation of gelada baboon to high altitudes.     

Fetal growth in the baboon during the second half of pregnancy

The normal growth profile of critical fetal organs through the last third of gestation has not been documented in detail in human fetuses or the fetus of any nonhuman primate species. Recent epidemiological studies in human pregnancy suggest that fetal growth plays a major role in the programming of life-long health by modifying cardiovascular, pancreatic, brain, and liver growth. The present study aimed to produce a detailed database of individual organ growth in the fetal baboon in late gestation. Fetal organ weights were obtained from 43 baboon fetuses between 121 and 177 days of gestation. Various organs (brain, heart, kidney, femur, intestines, and spinal cord) showed no sign of slowed growth in late gestation while growth of others (lung, liver, stomach, and bladder) accelerated in late gestation. The fetal adrenal and thymus showed a decrease in growth rate over the final 20 and 10 days of gestation respectively. These observations provide a database that will permit analysis of factors responsible for regulation of normal and altered fetal organ development in this important experimental species.     

Activities and feeding behavior of free-ranging pregnant baboons

The activities and feeding behavior of pregnant baboons, Papio cynocephalus,were studied in two free-ranging groups in Amboseli National Park, Kenya. Both the environmental conditions and the age of their fetuses influenced females’ activity budgets and feeding behavior. Females fed more and rested less during the dry season than during the wet season, and most females spent progressively more time feeding and less time grooming than expected (based upon the amount of recent rainfall) as their fetuses matured. During the wet season, females also devoted significantly greater proportions of feeding time to consumption of grass blades, leaves, and flowers and significantly smaller proportions of their feeding time to feeding upon seeds, corms, and fruit. As their fetuses became older, the proportion of time spent feeding upon seeds increased, and the proportion of time spent feeding upon grass blades and fruit declined.     

A-B-O blood groups in Kenya olive baboons (Papio anubis)

A feral population of 183 Kenyan olive baboons representing 5 troops was surveyed for salivary ABO-like antigens. Unlike previously reported populations, a high frequency of the O allele and low frequency of the B allele were detected. This observation may be the result of founder effect and/or genetic drift.     

Estimating reproductive success of primates and other animals with long and incompletely known reproductive life spans

Lifetime reproductive success is difficult to obtain for adequate numbers of wild, long-lived animals because of incomplete knowledge of reproductive life histories and fates of offspring. A procedure is described that provides a standard estimate of lifetime reproductive success from either complete or incomplete reproductive life spans. For this procedure, reproductive success is defined as the following ratio: the number of offspring living to a criterion age in a given time period divided by the number expected for that age and period. The number expected is based upon the mean inter-birth interval of the population, the length of the time period, the age criterion of reproductive success chosen by the researcher (e.g., the average age of menarche), and the probability that an offspring will live to the criterion age. The effect of error upon the estimation of parameters is analyzed using the yellow baboons of Mikumi National Park as an example. The method can be used for both sexes, any litter (clutch) size, any mating system, any mean length of interbirth interval, any age criterion of reproductive success, and any study length that allows a reasonably sized sample of individuals for each of whom a substantial proportion of their reproductive life span is known. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Distribution and Habitat Associations of Baboons (Papio hamadryas) in Central Eritrea

At least three diurnal primate taxa are still present in Eritrea, NE Africa: hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas hamadryas), olive baboons (Papio h. anubis) and grivet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops aethiops). However, information on status and distribution of primates and their habitats in Eritrea is outdated and incomplete. We conducted a primate survey, focussing on hamadryas baboons, to obtain data which will be integrated in a national wildlife management and conservation plan in Eritrea. We obtained information about the geographical distribution and abundance of baboons, their altitudinal range, habitat quality of their home-ranges, aggregation sizes at sleeping cliffs and predator presence. We described habitat quality via the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a vegetation classification of Landsat MSS satellite data. Hamadryas and olive baboons are still present in Eritrea in ample numbers. Their geographical distributions in 1997 and 1998 did not deviate significantly from their historical distributions. An estimated 15,000 Papio hamadryas hamadryas lived in the 25,000-km² area of survey (0.58 baboons/km²). Population densities of hamadryas baboons in many parts of the survey area are higher than at Kummer's (1968) study site in Ethiopia. Hamadryas baboons live at all altitudes in four of five ecogeographical zones of Eritrea. Olive baboons replaced them in the western lowlands. Both baboon taxa tend to select better quality habitats, characterized by a higher normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) than the average for the respective ecogeographical zones. Hamadryas baboons show a greater ecological plasticity than olive baboons, which are confined to riverbeds with extended gallery forest. By the end of 1999, a hybrid zone could not be confirmed.     

Ectopic splenic nodules in the olive baboon (Papio cynocephalus anubis)

Post-mortem evaluation of a female sub-adult olive baboon (Papio cynocephalus anubis) revealed a case of ectopic spleen anomaly. Three spherical masses characterized the spleen anomaly. The splenic nodules were located on the left upper quadrant of the stomach, at the distal end of the pancreas. The anterior nodule measures 1.2 cm, the middle nodule 1.9 cm and the posterior nodule 1.3 cm in diameter. Normal spleen was not observed in this case. All the three ectopic splenic nodules showed normal histological architecture. A case of ectopic splenic nodules in baboon is important in that the spleen malformation can readily be mistaken for a pathological process.