Jorge Francisco Gonzalez

Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | ULPGC · Faculty of Veterinary

The increasing resistance to anthelmintics has necessitated the exploration of alternative control strategies of gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections. A sustainable option is genetic selection based on differences in susceptibility to GIN infection between and within breeds of sheep. Here, three-month-old Canaria Hair breed (GIN-resistant) an...

Mast cell degranulation is the major mechanism influencing establishment and survival of the abomasal nematode Teladorsagia circumcincta and probably many other gastrointestinal nematodes. Host galectins -3 and -9 have been shown to bind IgE and positively and negatively influence mast cell degranulation. As incoming nematodes produce large amounts...

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections are a serious drawback on small ruminant production. Since anthelmintic resistance has extended, optimisation of alternative non-chemical control strategies has attracted interest. Recently, a prototype recombinant vaccine protected immunologically mature sheep from Texel-cross and Canaria Sheep breeds aga...

Due to increased anthelmintic resistance, complementary methods to drugs are necessary to control gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN). Vaccines are an environmentally-friendly and promising option. In a previous study, a Teladorsagia circumcincta recombinant sub-unit vaccine was administered to two sheep breeds with different levels of resistance agai...

Trypanorhyncha are cestodes commonly infecting marine fish. Numerous studies have detailed the biology of Trypanorhyncha species, but information on the pathological changes produced by these parasites is limited. Dusky groupers are keystone species necessary for the preservation of several marine ecosystems. Considering their vulnerable state of c...

This study describes early immunological mechanisms that underlie resistance to Teladorsagia circumcincta infection in adult Churra sheep. After a first experimental infection, 6 animals were classified as resistant (RG) and 6 as susceptible (SG) to T. circumcincta infection based on their cumulative faecal egg count (cFEC) at the end of the infect...

Galectins are a family of glycan-binding molecules with a characteristic affinity for ß-D-glycosides that mediate a variety of important cellular functions, including immune and inflammatory responses. Galectin-11 (LGALS-11) has been recently identified as a mediator induced specifically in animals against gastrointestinal nematodes and can interfe...

Abstract Vaccines and genetic resistance offer potential future alternatives to the exclusive use of anthelmintics to control gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN). Here, a Teladorsagia circumcincta prototype vaccine was administered to two sheep breeds which differ in their relative levels of resistance to infection with GIN. Vaccination of the more su...

Eosinophils are prominent effector cells in immune responses against gastrointestinal nematode infections in ruminants, but their in vivo role has been hard to establish in large animals. Interleukin‐5 is a key cytokine in the induction and stimulation of anti‐parasitic eosinophil responses. This study attempted to modulate the eosinophil response...

Las helmintosis digestivas de los pequeños rumiantes, principalmente las tricostron-gilidosis, son muy frecuentes (100 % de prevalencia de rebaño y 70 % individual), y causan pérdidas de millones de euros por descenso de la productividad y el coste de las medidas de control. Generalmente son infecciones mixtas, en las que participan Ostertagia/Tela...

A zoonotic, opportunistic out-break of tropical rat mite Ornithonyssus bacoti [Acari: Macronyssidae; Ornithonyssus bacoti (Hirst)] in an animal facility, is described. Immunocompetent mice [Mus musculus (Linnaeus)] and rat [Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout)] strains in a conventional health status facility suffered from scratching and allopecia and st...

Canaria Hair Breed (CHB) sheep display resistance against the adult stage of the nematode, Haemonchus contortus. Previous studies have suggested significant correlations between γδ(+) T lymphocytes and fecundity of female adult worms, suggesting a novel role in immune modulation by these cells. The largest proportion of γδ(+) T lymphocytes in sheep...

Sheep are capable of developing protective immunity to Haemonchus contortus through repeated exposure to this parasite, although this immune protection is the result of a complex interaction among age, gender, physiological status, pregnancy, lactation, nutrition and innate and adaptive immunity in the host animal. There are multiple effectors of t...

The presence of zoonotic parasites in feral cats have been widely considered all over the world. In Gran Canaria (Macaronesian archipelago, Canary Islands, Spain) the number of feral cats has grown out of control in urban and rural areas. 48 of Felis catus captured in different Gran Canaria areas were studied. Animals were necropsied and several or...

Haemonchus contortus appears to be the most economically important helminth parasite for small ruminant production in many regions of the world. The two sheep breeds native to the Canary Islands display distinctly different resistant phenotypes under both natural and experimental infections. Canaria Hair Breed (CHB) tends to have significantly lowe...

Haemonchus contortus (H. contortus) is a haematophagous parasite which causes important economic losses in small ruminants. On the island of Gran Canaria, two sheep breeds coexist which differ in their susceptibility to the infection with H. contortus; the resistant Canaria Hair Breed (CHB) sheep and the susceptible Canaria Sheep (CS) breed. The ma...

Cytokine expression in the lung can play an important role during Mycoplasma bovis infection through leukocyte recruitment and activation, and the induction of a broad array of inflammatory mediators. To gain further insight into the pathogenesis of M. bovis-associated pneumonia, cytokine expression was examined, by immunohistochemical methods in f...

Gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) parasites pose a significant economic burden particularly in small ruminant production systems. Anthelmintic resistance is a serious concern to the effective control of GIN parasites and has fuelled the focus to design and promote sustainable control of practices of parasite control. Many facets of sustainable GIN pa...

This paper describes the immunophenotype of cellular inflammatory infiltrates in chronic cholangitis in six common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), four striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba), three Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) and one pygmy sperm whale (Kogia Breviceps) found stranded along the coasts of the Canary Islands (Spain)...

A preliminary analysis of the significance of genetic diversity in cysteine proteinase genes has been performed simultaneously in sheep and goats, with regard to the immunological control using these enzymes against haemonchosis. For this purpose, we have studied the cross-immunoprotective effect of cysteine protease-enriched protein fractions (CPF...

Canaria Hair Breed (CHB) sheep are more resistant than Canaria sheep (CS) to experimental Haemonchus contortus infection. Protective responses appear effective against the adult stage of the parasite, not as commonly reported in other breeds against the larval stages. In this study we have quantified several abomasal immune cells and correlated the...

With a rising world population and economic development, the global demand for meat, milk and other animal products is increasing dramatically. Controlling parasitic diseases in livestock, in particular helminth infections, could rapidly improve productivity and resource utilization. There is a growing interest in indigenous ruminant breeds because...

An ELISA test for the detection of anti-Teladorsagia circumcincta antibodies in goat milk samples (both individual and bulk milk samples) has been developed in dairy goats experimentally infected with a trickle infection. The results observed were compared with those obtained when some other standard methods for the detection of animals infected wi...

The effect of eprinomectin on goats experimentally infected with the nematode Haemonchus contortus was investigated. Faecal analysis showed that a single dose of eprinomectin 'pour-on' delayed the onset of shedding of eggs for 10 to 17 days.

Giardia duodenalis (syn. Giardia lamblia, Giardia intestinalis) is a wide-spread intestinal protozoa of both humans and animals. Although giardiosis in goat is commonly asymptomatic, young kids may bear an enteric disease associated with persistent diarrhoea and delayed weight gain. In the present study we have analysed the occurrence of Giardia in...

This study compares the susceptibility to Haemonchus contortus infection in two breeds of sheep endemic to the Canary Islands, the Canaria Hair Breed sheep and the Canaria sheep. Sheep were experimentally infected with 20,000 larvae of H. contortus and animals killed on days 7 and 28 post-infection. No difference between sheep breeds were detected...

The evolution of the humoral responses of IgG and IgM against 29-35-kDa Toxoplasma gondii fractions from experimentally infected goats were studied and compared by ELISA with the use of whole T. gondii soluble extracts and 29-35-kDa electroeluted proteins as antigens. The IgM response to electroeluted proteins was detected from wk 1 to wk 3 postinf...

A survey of Eimeria infections was performed in dairy goats and kids (<6 months old) of six farms from a dry desert area of Gran Canaria Island (Spain). The number of oocysts per gram of faeces (OPG) was determined by a modified McMaster technique over a total of 2,616 individual faecal samples taken from the rectum in monthly intervals. Eimeria oo...

RESUMEN: Se describe un caso de cirrosis billar en un delffn listado (Stenefa coenJie.. oa/ba) varado YIYO en las costas de las Islas canarias. Las lesiones hepa1icas ~ ron en sewra proiferadón de tejido conectiYo fibroso. CD'I pérdida de patrón lobullllar, regeneración nodular del tejido hepMico e hlperplasia de los condudcs blares asociada a seYe...

Haemonchus cysteine proteases, because of their apparent critical function in worm physiology, are considered important candidates in the immunological control of haemonchosis in sheep. Only limited information is, however, available on the immunoprotective properties of these molecules in goats. In the present study cysteine proteases of Haemonchu...

The use of cysteine proteinases from Fasciola hepatica adult flukes for the serodiagnosis of caprine fasciolosis by means of an indirect ELISA test was studied. Two proteolytic fractions from adult fluke homogenates, with apparent molecular weights of 28 and 34 kDa (P28 and P34 respectively), were characterised as cysteine proteinases using azocase...

The IgG response of goats experimentally infected with RH Toxoplasma gondii has been analysed using an indirect ELISA and Western-blot analysis. Specific IgG antibodies were first detected at 14 days post-inoculation (p.i.), reaching a peak by day 35 p.i. and showing slight fluctuations until the end of the experiment (91 p.i.). Specific IgG showed...

The adult Haemonchus contortus somatic antigens responsible for cross-reactivity have been analysed using serum samples from goat kids infected and reinfected with Teladorsagia circumcincta. Goat kids infected with T. circumcincta had similar serum ELISA values against somatic antigens of H. contortus as goats infected with H. contortus itself. Imm...

Rodriguez, J.L., Gutierrez, C., González, J. and Brooks, D.L. 1999. Clinicopathological and haematological study of experimentally infected goat kids with Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum. J. Appl. Anim. Res., 15: 169–174.Goat kids experimentally infected with Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capricolum showed anorexia, high fever, swollen-painf...

An intestinal disease in pigeons (Columba livia) from the Canary Islands characterized by diarrhea and body weight loss is described. Intestinal cryptosporidiosis was identified in three young pigeons. Cryptosporidia were associated with hyperplasia of the intestinal crypts and moderate inflammatory infiltration in lamina propria. This is the first...

A 16-year-old, male, Hanoverian horse had a three-month history of weight loss, hirsutism and polyuria/polydypsia. Examinations revealed neutrophilia, lymphopenia, hyper glycaemia and abnormalities in hepatic function. A tentative diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism was made. The results of thyroid-releasing hormone and combined dexamethasone suppres...