Evaluation of the drug sensitivity and expression of 16 drug resistance-related genes in canine histiocytic sarcoma cell lines

Canine histiocytic sarcoma (HS) is an aggressive tumor type originating from histiocytic cell lineages. This disease is characterized by poor response to chemotherapy and short survival time. Therefore, it is of critical importance to identify and develop effective antitumor drugs against HS. The objectives of this study were to examine the drug sensitivities of 10 antitumor drugs. Using a real-time RT-PCR system, the mRNA expression levels of 16 genes related to drug resistance in 4 canine HS cell lines established from dogs with disseminated HS were determined and compared to 2 canine lymphoma cell lines (B-cell and T-cell). These 4 canine HS cell lines showed sensitivities toward microtubule inhibitors (vincristine, vinblastine and paclitaxel), comparable to those in the canine B-cell lymphoma cell line. Moreover, it was shown that P-gp in the HS cell lines used in this study did not have enough function to efflux its substrate. Sensitivities to melphalan, nimustine, methotrexate, cytarabine, doxorubicin and etoposide were lower in the 4 HS cell lines than in the 2 canine lymphoma cell lines. The data obtained in this study using cultured cell lines could prove helpful in the developing of advanced and effective chemotherapies for treating dogs that are suffering from HS.     

Aerosol and Precipitation Chemistry during the Summer at the Summit of Mt. Fuji, Japan (3776m a.s.l.)

Aerosol and precipitation samples were obtained at the summit of Mt. Fuji, the highest peak (3776m a.s.l.) in Japan, in the summers of 1997, 1998, and 1999. The mountaintop might be affected by valley wind during the afternoon, but is located in the free troposphere during the morning. The temporal variations of chemical species in the aerosol and precipitation samples correspond with meteorological conditions. The SO₄ ^2? in the aerosol and precipitation exhibits high concentration with low temperature air mass, indicating the influence of long range transport from the Asian Continent. The contribution of the free troposphere to the chemical species obtained at the summit is estimated to be at least 30% during the summer season.     

科尔沁沙地不同下垫面风沙流结构与变异特征

对流动、半流动、半固定和固定沙地 4种不同下垫面 0～ 2 0 cm气流层的风沙流结构与变异特征研究表明 :(1 )不同退化沙地在总输沙量及各层输沙量上存在明显的差异 ,在 5月 1 5日的测定中 ,流动沙地的总输沙量是 83 .1g/ cm2 .h,分别是半流动、半固定和固定沙地的 2 .1倍、9.2倍和 33 .9倍 ;而在 5月 1 5日的测定中 ,流动沙地的总输沙量 1 0 5.7g/ cm2 .h,分别是半流动、半固定和固定沙地的 5.6倍、1 4.1倍和 75.6倍。(2 )总输沙量的 60以上分布在 1 0cm的高度内 ,随高度的增加 ,输沙量呈负指数函数下降。(3)风蚀物中粗粒 (粒径 1 .0～ 0 .5mm )与极细颗粒 (粒径0 .1～ 0 .0 5mm)和粉、粘粒 (<0 .0 5mm)的含量均很低 ,而细颗粒 (粒径 0 .2 5～ 0 .1 mm)的含量很高 ,占风蚀物的73 %～ 91 %,说明近地表层沙粒的运动以跃移为主。随高度的增加 ,风蚀物中中颗粒 (粒径 0 .5～ 0 .2 5mm)的含量下降 ,而极细颗粒和粉、粘粒含量增加 ,但其增幅因下垫面不同而异。(4) 0～ 2 0 cm总输沙量及各层输沙量与植被盖度呈显著负相关 ,与植株高度、地表紧实度和地表粗糙度长度呈微弱负相关     

退化沙质草地自然恢复过程中土壤-植物系统的变化特征

研究了科尔沁沙地封育5a后退化沙质草地自然恢复过程中土壤—植物系统的变化特征,同时分析了土壤性状与植物特征之间的相互影响程度。(1)从流动沙地恢复到固定沙地,沙质草地植物群落的物种多样性、植被盖度、地下根量和地表枯落物残留量均趋于增大。β多样性测度值表明,在半流动沙地恢复到半固定沙地阶段,植物种周转速率大,群落结构变化明显。(2)在退化沙质草地的自然恢复过程中,表层土壤的结构性能明显改善,土壤养分的有效性相应提高。(3)相关分析显示,沙质草地表层土壤的理化性状与植物特征值之间存有密切的相关性(R2=0.33～0.84,P<0.01,n=20),表明退化沙质草地的恢复过程实质上是土壤—植物系统协同演变的过程,在该过程中,植物多样性的关键恢复期滞后于土壤环境的关键恢复期。     

Wind erosion and airborne dust deposition in farmland during spring in the Horqin Sandy Land of eastern Inner Mongolia, China

In the Horqin Sandy Land of eastern Inner Mongolia in northern China, wind erosion in farmland is very common in a period from thawing of frozen surface soil in mid-March to sowing of crops in the end of April, largely because of dry and windy weather. However, little is known about the magnitude of wind erosion and associated nutrient losses due to erosion and the addition of nutrients by airborne dust deposition to farmlands during this period. A field experiment was conducted in an Entisol with sand origin under corn (Zea mays L.) production to investigate daily changes in wind speed and wind erosion intensity (as measured by soil transport rate) over a period from 20 March to 30 April 2001. We also measured daily rates of airborne dust deposition during the spring seasons with the high frequency of dust storm occurrence. The rates of soil transport by wind varied greatly from 13.2 to 1254.1 kg ha⁻¹ per day, averaging 232.1 kg ha⁻¹ per day, largely attributable to great variation between days in wind speed within the study period. The potential losses of nutrients through wind erosion were 0.26–24.95 kg ha⁻¹ per day (averaging 4.62 kg ha⁻¹ per day) in organic matter, 0.02–1.64 kg ha⁻¹ per day (averaging 0.31 kg ha⁻¹ per day) in nitrogen and 0.01–0.7 kg ha⁻¹ per day (averaging 0.13 kg ha⁻¹ per day) in phosphorus. The mean rates of airborne dust deposition ranged from 4.0 to 48.9 kg ha⁻¹ per day, averaging 19.9 kg ha⁻¹ per day, during the spring seasons. The potential addition of organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus by dust input to the experimental field was, on average, 0.54, 0.04 and 0.02 kg ha⁻¹ per day, respectively. Although the addition was a fraction of the losses due to erosion, nevertheless, dust input in the spring seasons is one of the major suppliers of soil nutrition. The fact that the addition of nutrients by dust is about 1/10 of the losses of soil nutrients through wind erosion suggests that developing and adopting more effective management practices to reduce soil erosion losses and to improve soil fertility are crucial to achieve a sustainable agricultural system in a fragile, semiarid sandy land environment.     

CHARACTERIZATION OF CANINE FOCAL LIVER LESIONS WITH CONTRAST-ENHANCED ULTRASOUND USING A NOVEL CONTRAST AGENT—SONAZOID

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound using Sonazoid, a novel contrast medium with a liver-specific Kupffer phase, was evaluated in canine focal liver lesions Twenty-five dogs with a liver mass were given intravenous Sonazoid, and the enhancement pattern in the arterial, portal, and parenchymal phase was characterized. An enhancement defect in the lesion in the parenchymal phase was observed in all malignant lesions, whereas only one of nine benign lesions had a filling defect. The diagnostic value of the presence of a filling defect for malignancy was statistically significant (100% sensitivity, 88.9% specificity, 94.1% positive predictive value, 100% negative predictive value), and was equal to that of hypoenhancement in the portal or delayed phase. The defect pattern (clear or irregular defect) was dependent ( P <0.05) on the types of malignancy (i.e., hepatocellular carcinoma and other types of malignancies). In the arterial phase, five of the six hepatocellular carcinomas had hypervascularity, whereas no other lesion was characterized by hypervascularity. In some dogs, additional lesions that could not be observed with conventional B-mode ultrasonography were detected in the parenchymal phase. The enhancement pattern of Sonazoid, especially in the parenchymal phase, has potential as a diagnostic tool for canine focal liver lesions.     

Characterization of canine BCL6 cDNA and detection systems for its protein expression

BCL6 is known to be a key molecule in germinal center (GC) formation of lymph nodes, and its expression profiles have been implicated in the prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in humans. The present study was carried out to characterize canine BCL6 cDNA and to indicate the technical methods for detection of the BCL6 protein in dog tissues. The deduced amino acid sequence of canine BCL6 showed close homology to that of human BCL6 (96.3%), especially in the zinc-finger motifs and POZ (poxvirus and zinc finger) domain with complete identity. Immunoblot analysis of a canine lymph node with an anti-human BCL6 monoclonal antibody revealed a band of 80 kDa. Immunohistochemical staining using the same antibody produced positive reactions in the cells exclusively localized in the GC of a canine lymph node. This study will be useful for the molecular classification of canine B-cell lymphomas with different prognoses.     

Bartonella species in wild rodents and fleas from them in Japan

The purpose of this study was to assess the role of fleas for transmission of Bartonella species among wild rodents in Japan. Flea samples were collected from wild rodents and examined genetically for Bartonella infection. Bartonella DNA was detected from 16 of 40 (40.0%) flea samples. Sequence analysis demonstrated that 3 of 16 (18.8%) of the Bartonella-positive animals were infested with fleas from which the closely related Bartonella DNA sequence was detected, indicating that the fleas acquired Bartonella from the infested rodents. The DNA was detected in hemolymph, the midgut and the ovary (only in female), indicating that Bartonella might be colonized through the midgut and distributed into the body.     

Plasma high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) in dogs with various diseases: comparison with C-reactive protein

High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), a nonhistone chromosomal protein, has recently been suggested as a late mediator of the inflammatory cascade. Blood HMGB1 levels are increased in a number of human diseases, and HMGB1 has been suggested to be a useful marker for disease severity and prognosis. The objective of this study was to assess the clinical usefulness of HMGB1 in dogs. Plasma HMGB1 levels, as well as C-reactive protein (CRP), a typical canine inflammatory marker, were measured in dogs with various diseases, especially systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), and dogs that had undergone surgery. HMGB1 gradually increased and attained a maximum level 72 hr after surgery, whereas CRP increased rapidly, peaking at 24 hr. Although both HMGB1 and CRP levels were significantly increased in dogs with various diseases compared with the control dogs, no correlation was found between the HMGB1 and CRP values. HMGB1 levels in the SIRS group were significantly elevated compared with those in the non-SIRS group. However, the increase in HMGB1 levels above the reference range was not indicative of SIRS. Instead, the presence of increased HMGB1 and CRP levels above the reference ranges significantly affects the poor outcome of SIRS. The present study indicates that HMGB1 is a novel canine inflammatory marker and is distinct from CRP. However, the additional clinical value of HMGB1 measurement remains unclear, and further studies are warranted.     

Hypereosinophilic syndrome in two cats

Two cats showing chronic vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss were found to have leukocytosis with marked eosinophilia. Both cats were diagnosed with hypereosinophilic syndrome by the findings of increased eosinophils and their precursors in the bone marrow, eosinophilic infiltration into multiple organs, and exclusion of other causes for eosinophilia. Although cytoreductive chemotherapy with hydroxycarbamide and prednisolone was performed, these two cats died 48 days and 91 days after the initial presentation.