Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
2,328
result(s) for
"Ferrets"
Sort by:
Ferrets : cool pets!
Young readers learn basic information about ferrets and keeping them as pets.
Book
Gene discovery and expression analysis of the B cell receptor repertoire in the domestic ferret model
The domestic ferret is the preferred model organism for the study of influenza A infection and responses to vaccination, because its respiratory tract architecture and sialic acid receptor type and distribution are similar to those in humans. Despite this, the ferret has remained underutilized in antibody-omics research, which is increasingly critical to inform vaccine design. The molecular analysis of antibody responses is predicated on precise knowledge of the germline V(D)J segments, and is an active area of research for this species. To define a reference immunoglobulin repertoire for the ferret, we used a curated set of V(D)J genes from human and closely related carnivores to BLAST the ferret genome. Non-overlapping BLAST hits were annotated and vetted for recombination signal sequences as well as segment-specific functionality as defined by IMGT. Immunoglobulin transcript expression was analyzed for both variable and constant region genes, and we identified two functional IGHG genes in the ferret. We report a publicly available workflow for annotating immunoglobulin genes in any species, as well as a complete ferret immunoglobulin gene set. We include the genomic sequences for 409 ferret immunoglobulin genes of both the heavy and light chains. This reference data set establishes a critically important foundation for future BCR and antibody repertoire studies in this established preclinical vaccine model.
Journal Article
The worst night ever
Wyatt Palmer's just another undersized freshman hoping to fit in at high school, but when his best friend Matt Diaz's pet ferret ends up in the hands of the Bevins, the most popular boys at Coral Cove High, Wyatt and Matt try to get the animal back by attending a party for the cool clique and stumble onto the Bevin family's dark secret.
Book
Transgenic ferret models define pulmonary ionocyte diversity and function
Speciation leads to adaptive changes in organ cellular physiology and creates challenges for studying rare cell-type functions that diverge between humans and mice. Rare cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR)-rich pulmonary ionocytes exist throughout the cartilaginous airways of humans
1
,
2
, but limited presence and divergent biology in the proximal trachea of mice has prevented the use of traditional transgenic models to elucidate ionocyte functions in the airway. Here we describe the creation and use of conditional genetic ferret models to dissect pulmonary ionocyte biology and function by enabling ionocyte lineage tracing (
FOXI1
-Cre
ERT2
::ROSA-TG), ionocyte ablation (
FOXI1
-KO) and ionocyte-specific deletion of
CFTR
(
FOXI1
-Cre
ERT2
::
CFTR
L/L
). By comparing these models with cystic fibrosis ferrets
3
,
4
, we demonstrate that ionocytes control airway surface liquid absorption, secretion, pH and mucus viscosity—leading to reduced airway surface liquid volume and impaired mucociliary clearance in cystic fibrosis,
FOXI1
-KO and
FOXI1
-Cre
ERT2
::
CFTR
L/L
ferrets. These processes are regulated by CFTR-dependent ionocyte transport of Cl
−
and HCO
3
−
. Single-cell transcriptomics and in vivo lineage tracing revealed three subtypes of pulmonary ionocytes and a
FOXI1
-lineage common rare cell progenitor for ionocytes, tuft cells and neuroendocrine cells during airway development. Thus, rare pulmonary ionocytes perform critical CFTR-dependent functions in the proximal airway that are hallmark features of cystic fibrosis airway disease. These studies provide a road map for using conditional genetics in the first non-rodent mammal to address gene function, cell biology and disease processes that have greater evolutionary conservation between humans and ferrets.
Conditional genetic ferret models enable ionocyte lineage tracing, ionocyte ablation and ionocyte-specific deletion of
CFTR
to elucidate the roles of pulmonary ionocyte biology and function during human health and disease.
Journal Article
Prevalence, genetics, and transmissibility in ferrets of Eurasian avian-like H1N1 swine influenza viruses
Pigs are important intermediate hosts for generating novel influenza viruses. The Eurasian avian-like H1N1 (EAH1N1) swine influenza viruses (SIVs) have circulated in pigs since 1979, and human cases associated with EAH1N1 SIVs have been reported in several countries. However, the biologic properties of EAH1N1 SIVs are largely unknown. Here, we performed extensive influenza surveillance in pigs in China and isolated 228 influenza viruses from 36,417 pigs. We found that 139 of the 228 strains from pigs in 10 provinces in China belong to the EAH1N1 lineage. These viruses formed five genotypes, with two distinct antigenic groups, represented by A/swine/Guangxi/18/2011 and A/swine/Guangdong/104/2013, both of which are antigenically and genetically distinct from the current human H1N1 viruses. Importantly, the EAH1N1 SIVs preferentially bound to human-type receptors, and 9 of the 10 tested viruses transmitted in ferrets by respiratory droplet. We found that 3.6% of children (≤10 y old), 0% of adults, and 13.4% of elderly adults (≥60 y old) had neutralization antibodies (titers ≥40 in children and ≥80 in adults) against the EAH1N1 A/swine/Guangxi/18/2011 virus, but none of them had such neutralization antibodies against the EAH1N1 A/swine/Guangdong/104/2013 virus. Our study shows the potential of EAH1N1 SIVs to transmit efficiently in humans and suggests that immediate action is needed to prevent the efficient transmission of EAH1N1 SIVs to humans.
Journal Article
Quadrivalent influenza nanoparticle vaccines induce broad protection
Influenza vaccines that confer broad and durable protection against diverse viral strains would have a major effect on global health, as they would lessen the need for annual vaccine reformulation and immunization
1
. Here we show that computationally designed, two-component nanoparticle immunogens
2
induce potently neutralizing and broadly protective antibody responses against a wide variety of influenza viruses. The nanoparticle immunogens contain 20 haemagglutinin glycoprotein trimers in an ordered array, and their assembly in vitro enables the precisely controlled co-display of multiple distinct haemagglutinin proteins in defined ratios. Nanoparticle immunogens that co-display the four haemagglutinins of licensed quadrivalent influenza vaccines elicited antibody responses in several animal models against vaccine-matched strains that were equivalent to or better than commercial quadrivalent influenza vaccines, and simultaneously induced broadly protective antibody responses to heterologous viruses by targeting the subdominant yet conserved haemagglutinin stem. The combination of potent receptor-blocking and cross-reactive stem-directed antibodies induced by the nanoparticle immunogens makes them attractive candidates for a supraseasonal influenza vaccine candidate with the potential to replace conventional seasonal vaccines
3
.
A nanoparticle influenza vaccine candidate is shown to induce broad cross-reactive antibody responses in animal models.
Journal Article
Natural SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Kept Ferrets, Spain
We found severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 RNA in 6 (8.4%) of 71 ferrets in central Spain and isolated and sequenced virus from 1 oral and 1 rectal swab specimen. Natural infection occurs in kept ferrets when virus circulation among humans is high. However, small ferret collections probably cannot maintain virus circulation.
Journal Article
Self-assembling influenza nanoparticle vaccines elicit broadly neutralizing H1N1 antibodies
A novel platform for vaccines has been developed using self-assembling ferritin-based nanoparticles displaying influenza virus haemagglutinin; the haemagglutinin–nanoparticle vaccine induces more broad and potent neutralizing antibodies against diverse virus strains than a licensed influenza vaccine in mice and ferrets.
A nanoparticle influenza vaccine
The efficacy of the current generation of vaccines for seasonal influenza is limited by the need to produce new vaccines — using dated and time-consuming technologies — to cope with the rapidly evolving virus. This study presents a novel approach to influenza vaccination using self-assembling ferritin-based nanoparticles fused to the native viral attachment protein, haemagglutinin. The haemagglutinin–nanoparticle vaccine is shown to induce neutralizing antibodies and to generate higher immunity against diverse viral subtypes than a licensed influenza vaccine. For example, antibodies elicited by a 1999 haemagglutinin–nanoparticle vaccine neutralized H1N1 viruses from 1934 to 2007 and protected ferrets from infection by a 2007 H1N1 virus.
Influenza viruses pose a significant threat to the public and are a burden on global health systems
1
,
2
. Each year, influenza vaccines must be rapidly produced to match circulating viruses, a process constrained by dated technology and vulnerable to unexpected strains emerging from humans and animal reservoirs. Here we use knowledge of protein structure to design self-assembling nanoparticles that elicit broader and more potent immunity than traditional influenza vaccines. The viral haemagglutinin was genetically fused to ferritin, a protein that naturally forms nanoparticles composed of 24 identical polypeptides
3
. Haemagglutinin was inserted at the interface of adjacent subunits so that it spontaneously assembled and generated eight trimeric viral spikes on its surface. Immunization with this influenza nanoparticle vaccine elicited haemagglutination inhibition antibody titres more than tenfold higher than those from the licensed inactivated vaccine. Furthermore, it elicited neutralizing antibodies to two highly conserved vulnerable haemagglutinin structures that are targets of universal vaccines: the stem
4
,
5
and the receptor binding site on the head
6
,
7
. Antibodies elicited by a 1999 haemagglutinin–nanoparticle vaccine neutralized H1N1 viruses from 1934 to 2007 and protected ferrets from an unmatched 2007 H1N1 virus challenge. This structure-based, self-assembling synthetic nanoparticle vaccine improves the potency and breadth of influenza virus immunity, and it provides a foundation for building broader vaccine protection against emerging influenza viruses and other pathogens.
Journal Article
Electrical pulse-induced electrochemical biosensor for hepatitis E virus detection
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the leading causes of acute viral hepatitis worldwide. In this work, a pulse-triggered ultrasensitive electrochemical sensor was fabricated using graphene quantum dots and gold-embedded polyaniline nanowires, prepared via an interfacial polymerization and then self-assembly approach. Introducing an external electrical pulse during the virus accumulation step increases the sensitivity towards HEV due to the expanded surface of the virus particle as well as the antibody-conjugated polyaniline chain length, compared to other conventional electrochemical sensors. The sensor was applied to various HEV genotypes, including G1, G3, G7 and ferret HEV obtained from cell culture supernatant and in a series of fecal specimen samples collected from G7 HEV-infected monkey. The sensitivity is similar to that detected by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain (RT-qPCR). These results suggests that the proposed sensor can pave the way for the development of robust, high-performance sensing methodologies for HEV detection.
Detection of viral biomarkers is important for disease treatment and prevention. Here, the authors report on a system that uses an electrical pulse-induced electrochemical sensor for the detection of hepatitis E virus, and demonstrate potential application of the device.
Journal Article
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from Human to Domestic Ferret
We report a case of natural infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 transmitted from an owner to a pet ferret in the same household in Slovenia. The ferret had onset of gastroenteritis with severe dehydration. Whole-genome sequencing of the viruses isolated from the owner and ferret revealed a 2-nt difference.
Journal Article