Extensive Dystrophic Pulmonary Calcification in a Welsh Pony Mare

A 12-year-old Welsh pony mare was presented to the Ontario Veterinary College Teaching Hospital for signs of intermittent lethargy and increased abdominal breathing effort of 6 months duration. After physical examination, blood work, bronchoscopy, bronchoalveolar lavage, and diagnostic imaging of the thorax and attempted lung biopsy, pulmonary mineralization of unknown origin was suspected. The pony was treated palliative for 7 months with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories and inhaled corticosteroids to treat accompanying airway inflammation before being euthanized because of poor prognosis and deterioration of clinical signs. On postmortem examination, the pulmonary architecture of the right and left cranioventral lung lobes, accessory lobe, and cranial potions of the left caudal lung lobe was replaced by hard mineralized tissue. No other organs other than a mediastinal lymph node and the lung were affected by mineralization. After decalcification, thick sheets of fibrous connective tissue organized into layers and lamellae replaced the normal architecture of the pulmonary parenchyma in more than 90% of the lung lobe examined on histopathology. The findings were consistent with generalized severe pulmonary fibrosis and dystrophic calcification.     

FGFs与哺乳动物肺器官发育

肺的发育是由多条信号共同调控完成的,成纤维细胞生长因子(FGFs)作为重要的细胞间信号分子,几乎参与了它的各个发育阶段,对肺分支的形态发生、细胞的增殖分化等起重要调控作用。本文就近年来FGFs成员在哺乳动物肺发育过程中的最新研究进展进行综述。     

Immune-mediated thrombocytopenia associated with angiostrongylus vasorum infection in a Jack Russell terrier

A twenty-month-old Jack Russell terrier was presented with a four-day history of thrombocytopenia, echymotic inguinal haemorrhages, coughing and reduced exercise tolerance. Clinical examination revealed several petechial haemorrhages on the gingivae and small echymotic haemorrhages in the inguinal region, along with mild bilateral epistaxis. Haematology confirmed a platelet count of 1.0 × 10/L. Thoracic radiographs revealed a wide-spread mixed alveolar-interstitial lung pattern, apparent throughout the entire lungfield, but particularly marked within the left lung lobes. A presumptive diagnosis of immune-mediated thrombocytopenia was made and the dog was treated with vincristine and immunosuppressive doses of prednisolone. Initially anaemia developed following gastrointestinal haemorrhage; however, after symptomatic treatment the dog showed a marked clinical improvement. Evaluation for an underlying cause of the disease revealed Angiostrongylus vasorum L1 larvae on faecal analysis and treatment with fenbendazole was commenced. The dog made a full clinical recovery with all treatment was withdrawn within five weeks of diagnosis. This is the second report of immune-mediated thrombocytopenia associated with Angiostrongylus vasorum infection and it is the first to be successfully managed. The report highlights that Angiostrongylus vasorum should be considered in young dogs presented with thrombocytopenia.     

A Case of Bronchioloalveolar Carcinoma in a Mare

A case of pulmonary carcinoma in a 23-year-old Quarterhorse mare is described. On physical examination, depression, poor body condition, tachypnea, bilateral serosanguineous nasal discharge and a wide area of reduced breath sounds in association with the right hemithorax were detected. Laboratory evaluation showed leukocytosis with neutrophilia and lymphopenia, hyperfibrinogenemia, hyperprotidemia, hypoalbuminemia, increased beta 2 and gamma globulin fractions, hypoxemia, and normocapnia. Radiography and thoracic ultrasonography revealed a large rounded mass extending from the 9th to the 14th right intercostal space, where neither bronchial nor vascular structures were detectable. Endoscopy showed a large amount of serosanguineous fluid within the tracheal lumen and a mass of reddish soft tissue completely obliterating the right caudal lobar bronchus. Histopathology of the endobronchial mass and of the transthoracic ultrasound-guided biopsy samples was consistent with a primary pulmonary epithelial tumor. Due to worsening of the clinical condition, the mare was euthanized. Postmortem examination confirmed the presence of a large 30-cm mass located in the right caudal pulmonary lobe, characterized by epithelial cells arranged in papillary projections and alveolar structures, findings consistent with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma.     

环境镉致绵羊肺损害的病理发生及特点

对甘肃白银矿区中毒绵羊的肺组织进行了元素分析及病理组织学和超微结构观察，并与人工实验中毒病例进行比较，确认肺脏的损害主要是由于环境污染镉在其蓄积所致。组织学变化的特征是慢性肺泡隔炎，细支气管炎，细支气管周围炎，小动脉管壁玻璃样变，血管周围炎，片状纤维结缔组织增生和纤维化。电镜观察发现，肺泡巨噬细胞出现明显的膜性损害，Ｉ型上皮变性和坏死，Ⅱ型上皮增生及肺泡隔大量胶原束形成。作者认为，肺脏是环境镉在绵     

藏羊肺组织形态测量指标及其与高原低氧的关系

比较观察和测量了高原藏羊和平原小尾寒羊的肺组织结构,并就藏羊肺组织形态测量指标与高原低氧的关系进行了初步探讨。结果表明,藏羊肺组织在肺泡大小、单位面积肺泡数和细小血管数、肺泡隔的厚度、肺泡隔内弹性纤维含量和毛细血管数量、终末细支气管的管径及细小动脉管壁中弹性纤维和平滑肌的含量等方面与小尾寒羊的肺组织相应值比较,表现有一定的差异和特点,这些差异和特点正是藏羊肺组织适应高原低氧的形态学特点。     

Lung toxicity of nitrogen mustard may be mediated by nitric oxide and peroxynitrite in rats

Nitric oxide (NO) has previously been shown to be responsible for nitrogen mustard (NM)-induced tissue toxicity. Excessive amounts of NO are known to be able to produce peroxynitrite, an important reactive nitrogen compound, by reacting with superoxide. Previous studies reported that NO synthase inhibitors are able to prevent NM toxicity. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether peroxynitrite is also responsible for NM-induced lung tissue damage in rats. Wistar rats were divided into four groups. NM was injected intratracheally and was treated with the selective inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor aminoguanidine (AG) (intraperitoneal) or the peroxynitrite scavenger ebselen (intragastric). Control animals were exposed to saline only. NM injection caused both oxidative and nitrosative stress, reflected by dramatically increased levels of the lipid peroxidation end product malondialdehyde (MDA), iNOS activation and urine nitrite-nitrate (NOx) values. Histopathological evaluation demonstrated lung damage with NM exposure. AG blocked iNOS activation and decreased urine NOx levels, and resulted in less histopathological changes in the lung. Although the histopathological outcome was found to be similar to AG, ebselen did not change urinary NOx or lung iNOS levels. Furthermore, ebselen was more able than AG to protect against MDA accumulation. In conclusion, the ability of ebselen to prevent against lung damage without blocking NO synthesis suggests that peroxynitrites may have an important role in the pathogenesis of NM toxicity in addition to NO.     

肺肠同制思路对饲料替抗的启示

目前养猪业的饲料替抗方向大多专注于猪只肠道,主要针对肠道抗菌、抑菌、免疫调节、菌群调理和消化率提升等方面进行研究与尝试,往往忽略了肠道与肺部之间的关联性。替抗的本质是通过调节健康、调理代谢来改善猪只的生产性能。文章主要从三个方面阐述了肠道与肺部的关系,即肺部供氧状态与肠道结构功能之间的关系,肠道菌群平衡、肠道代谢产物变化与肺部功能之间的关系以及两者之间神经联系等,并提出\"肺肠同制\"理念,以期为替抗工作提供新思路。