Prevalence of intestinal parasites in private-household cats in Japan

The present study is the first national investigation of intestinal parasites in private-household cats in Japan. A total of 942 faecal samples were collected from private-household cats. Giardia species was assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit and other intestinal parasites were identified microscopically. The overall prevalence of intestinal parasites was 10.1%; two protozoan parasites (Giardia species and Cystoisospora species) and five helminths (Toxocara cati, Toxascaris leonina, Ancylostoma tubaeforme, Taenia species and Spirometra erinacei) were detected. The total prevalence of intestinal parasite infection was significantly higher in cats aged ≤ 6 months old than in cats older than 6 months because of a significantly higher prevalence of Cystoisospora species and T cati. The total infection prevalence was higher among outdoor cats as a result of the significantly higher prevalence of T cati and S erinacei. Sex and faecal condition were not related to intestinal parasite infections. Regional differences were observed in Cystoisospora species and A tubaeforme.     

Laser induced injury caused hyperglycemia-like effect in Drosophila larva: a possible insect model for posttraumatic diabetes

Diabetic patients need particular care in case of infection, digestive disorder or external injury, because external stress often exasperates the glucose metabolism, which is known as “sick day management”. In addition, severe trauma can be a cause of hyperglycemia with insulin resistance. In spite of critical component of the treatment, the precise mechanisms of how trauma develops posttraumatic diabetes remain unknown. Here, we ablated body wall muscles in Drosophila larvae by laser beam and found that the level of trehalose, the principal sugar circulating in the hemolymph or in the tissues of most insects, was increased. The model may provide a helpful tool to understand the relationship between trauma and sugar metabolism.     

Urinary albumin and transferrin as early diagnostic markers of chronic kidney disease

Feline renal diseases are increasingly noted in veterinary practice. It is important to diagnose and identify the pathological basis of renal dysfunction accurately at an early stage, but there are only a few reports on this area in clinical veterinary medicine. We investigated the efficacy of measurement of urinary albumin (u-Alb) and urinary transferrin (u-Tf) for early diagnosis using 5-µl urine samples collected noninvasively by catheterization from normal (IRIS stage I) cats and cats with stage I chronic kidney disease (CKD). The u-Alb levels in normal and stage I CKD cats were 6.0 ± 4.5 and 11.2 ± 8.4 mg/dl, respectively, and the u-Tf levels were 0.09 ± 0.42 and 0.52 ± 0.79 mg/dl, respectively. Based on ROC curve analysis, the sensitivity and specificity of u-Alb and u-Tf were higher than those of the currently used biomarker, the plasma creatinine level. The sensitivity of u-Alb was higher than that of u-Tf, whereas the specificity of u-Tf was higher than that of u-Alb. The validity of the threshold albumin level (20 mg/dl) was confirmed by measurements using SDS-PAGE. Since leakage of u-Tf in urine precedes leakage of u-Alb, inclusion of u-Tf in biochemistry tests may be appropriate for IRIS staging as a diagnostic marker of early diagnosis of renal disorder in cats.     

Promotion of liver and kidney carcinogenesis by ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE) in male Wistar rats

Tumor-promoting effects of ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE) were investigated in a 2-stage carcinogenesis bioassay with regard to hepatic and renal carcinogenesis in rats. Male 6-week-old Wistar rats were given drinking water containing N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)nitrosamine (EHEN), as an initiator, at a dose of 500 ppm for 2 weeks. Starting one week thereafter, the animals were administered ETBE at dose levels of 0 (control), 100, 300, 500 or 1,000 mg/kg/day by gavage for 19 weeks from week 4 to 22. Necropsy of all rats was performed at week 23, and livers and kidneys were examined histopathologically. Incidences of hepatocellular adenomas, and those of combined hepatocellular adenomas and carcinomas were significantly elevated in rats given 1,000 mg/kg/day ETBE, but not 100‒500 mg/kg/day ETBE, and there was a significant increase in the average numbers of lesions. No significant differences in incidences and average numbers of renal tubule neoplasms were found in rats administered 100‒1,000 mg/kg/day ETBE. However, the average numbers of atypical tubule hyperplasias, considered to be preneoplastic lesions, were significantly increased in rats given ETBE at 1,000 mg/kg/day, but not in rats given 500 mg/kg/day or lower doses. Thus, these results imply that ETBE has hepatic and renal tumor-promoting activities that affect EHEN-induced carcinogenesis in male rats, and the no-observed-effect level is 500 mg/kg/day under the present experimental conditions.     

Hyperferritinemia is associated with short survival time in dogs with multicentric lymphoma

In the present study, we examined the relationship between serum ferritin concentration before treatment and survival time in dogs with multicentric lymphoma. Eighteen dogs with multicentric lymphoma were enrolled in the study. When the dogs were classified into high and low ferritin groups on the basis of their serum ferritin concentration (3,000 ng/ml cut-off value), the median survival time of dogs with high concentrations (≥3,000 ng/ml, n=7) was 40 days, whereas it was 360 days among dogs with low concentrations (<3,000 ng/ml, n=11). This difference was statistically significant (P=0.001). This finding suggests that the initial high level of serum ferritin indicates short survival time in dogs with multicentric lymphoma. Large-scale research is necessary to confirm this finding.     

Identification of metabolites of (-)-epicatechin gallate and their metabolic fate in the rat

After intravenous administration of (-)-epicatechin gallate to Wistar male rats, its biliary metabolites were examined. Deconjugated forms of (-)-epicatechin gallate metabolites were prepared by beta-glucuronidase/sulfatase treatment and purified by HPLC. Five compounds were subjected to FAB-MS and NMR analyses. These metabolites were shown to be (-)-epicatechin gallate, 3'-O-methyl-(-)-epicatechin gallate, 4'-O-methyl-(-)-epicatechin gallate, 4' '-O-methyl-(-)-epicatechin gallate, and 3',4' '-di-O-methyl-(-)-epicatechin gallate. After oral administration, five major metabolites excreted in rat urine were purified in their deconjugated forms and their chemical structures identified. They were degradation products from (-)-epicatechin gallate, pyrogallol, 5-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-gamma-valerolactone, 4-hydroxy-5-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)valeric acid, 3-(3-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid, and m-coumaric acid. Time course analysis of the identified (-)-epicatechin gallate metabolites showed that (-)-epicatechin gallate and its conjugate appeared in the plasma with their highest levels 0.5 h after oral administration; their levels rapidly decreased, and then they disappeared by 6 h. The degradation products, mainly in their conjugated forms, emerged at 6 h, peaked at 24 h, and disappeared by 48 h. In urine samples, (-)-epicatechin gallate and its methylated metabolites were hardly detected and the degradation products began to be excreted in the 6-24 h period, peaked in the 24-48 h period, and then began to disappear. The most abundant metabolite in both the plasma and the urine was found to be the conjugated form of pyrogallol. On the basis of these results, a possible metabolic route of (-)-epicatechin gallate orally administered to the rat is proposed.     

Evaluation of the NO scavenging activity of procyanidin in grape seed by use of the TMA-PTIO/NOC 7 ESR system

The nitrogen monoxide (NO) scavenging activity of grape seed extract (GSE) was studied in the TMA-PTIO/NOC 7 system. The procyanidin-rich (>95%) GSE showed strong NO scavenging activity in the system. The activity was found to depend on the condensation rate of cyanidin when synthetic oligomers were tested. Investigation of the NO scavenging activities of other polyphenols (catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, and epigallocatechin gallate) in the TMA-PTIO/NOC 7 system revealed that gallocatechin, epigallocatechin, and epigallocatechin gallate exhibited strong activities. From the results, it was suggested that the high condensation rate of and the gallate ester moiety in procyanidin in GSE may play an important role in the NO scavenging activity. The mechanism of the NO scavenging activity of phenolic compounds such as GSE is speculated to be as follows: NO reacts with phenolic compounds directly to generate phenoxy radicals.     

Azathioprine and UVA light generate mutagenic oxidative DNA damage

Oxidative stress and mutagenic DNA lesions formed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) are linked to human malignancy. Clinical treatments inducing chronic oxidative stress may therefore carry a risk of therapy-related cancer. We suggest that immunosuppression by azathioprine (Aza) may be one such treatment. Aza causes the accumulation of 6-thioguanine (6-TG) in patients' DNA. Here we demonstrate that biologically relevant doses of ultraviolet A (UVA) generate ROS in cultured cells with 6-TG-substituted DNA and that 6-TG and UVA are synergistically mutagenic. A replication-blocking DNA 6-TG photoproduct, guanine sulfonate, was bypassed by error-prone, Y-family DNA polymerases in vitro. A preliminary analysis revealed that in five of five cases, Aza treatment was associated with a selective UVA photosensitivity. These findings may partly explain the prevalence of skin cancer in long-term survivors of organ transplantation.     

Three-dimensional structure of Hayabusa samples: origin and evolution of Itokawa regolith

Regolith particles on the asteroid Itokawa were recovered by the Hayabusa mission. Their three-dimensional (3D) structure and other properties, revealed by x-ray microtomography, provide information on regolith formation. Modal abundances of minerals, bulk density (3.4 grams per cubic centimeter), and the 3D textures indicate that the particles represent a mixture of equilibrated and less-equilibrated LL chondrite materials. Evidence for melting was not seen on any of the particles. Some particles have rounded edges. Overall, the particles' size and shape are different from those seen in particles from the lunar regolith. These features suggest that meteoroid impacts on the asteroid surface primarily form much of the regolith particle, and that seismic-induced grain motion in the smooth terrain abrades them over time.