Recent research on bovine paratuberculosis in South Korea.

[kiny]

I don't like posting Elsevier stuff, but it's an interesting article (I only link the page that matters to us, the rest is about JD, so they can't claim I violated their copyright laws, even though tax payers are paying for the research)


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22749233

Abstract

Bovine paratuberculosis (Johne's disease), a chronic and debilitating disease of ruminants caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), is a major cause of chronic ruminant enteritis. A national eradication program has been in place in South Korea since the first report of the disease in 1967; however, only limited data on bovine paratuberculosis in South Korea are available. Some research, such as investigations of the reactivity of animal sera against MAP antigens, has been done in localized areas and in limited animal species. Compared with the worldwide situation, the development of diagnostic methods in South Korea has shown similar results even though some data were obtained from international collaborative studies. MAP is considered by some to be zoonotic, noting an association with Crohn's disease, although this issue is still controversial; however, research into this association is limited. Decisions based on disease priorities have hampered active progress in research on the disease. In this paper, we reviewed the available results generated from South Korea compared with global research. Finally, we propose a theme for future research.

 

[kiny]

He's referring to this article from 2010:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19878316

The etiology of Crohn's disease (CD) is unresolved, but it is likely that an interplay of host genetic factors and environmental triggers is relevant. Mycobacterium paratuberculosis (MAP) has been focused upon as one of these triggers because it causes a similar chronic inflammatory bowel disease in animals. However, the differences among MAP antigens isolated from humans (H-MAP) and cattle (B-MAP) have not been well characterized. In this study, culture filtrate (CF) proteins from MAP isolates were tested with sera from CD patients and healthy controls in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Antibody produced by seven CD patients reacted differently according to the antigen source: strong reactivity was seen to H-MAP CF, but not to B-MAP CF. Six proteins, ModD, PepA, transaldolase, EchA9, MAP2120c, and MAP2950c, in H-MAP CF reacting specifically with CD patient sera were identified by liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-MS. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that ModD and PepA were the same proteins reacting with sera from cattle infected with MAP. The elevated antibody responses of CD patients to rModD and rPepA were confirmed by ELISA (P<0.001). These results support previous studies showing ModD and PepA as key antigens for the diagnosis of MAP infections. The study also identified additional proteins potentially useful in the design of assays for human MAP infections.

(it's the right link this time)