Apocrine adenocarcinoma of possible sweat gland origin in a male rabbit

A five-year-old, male crossbreed rabbit was referred for acute caudal abdominal swelling. On physical examination, the rabbit was slightly depressed and showed an enlarged subcutaneous cyst in the caudal abdomen and an adjacent small, ulcerated solid mass. A drainage tube was placed in the cystic area, and surgical resection of the solid mass was performed. The histopathological diagnosis of the mass was apocrine adenocarcinoma. To the authors' knowledge, this report describes the first case of spontaneous apocrine adenocarcinoma of possible sweat gland origin in a male rabbit.     

Spontaneous uterine leiomyosarcoma in a golden hamster (Mesocrietus auratus)

Uterine leiomyosarcoma occurring spontaneously in a domestic golden hamster was examined histologically and immunohistochemically. The histological findings for this tumour were similar to those for leiomyosarcomas described in other species. Immunohistochemical examination demonstrated the positivity of neoplastic cells with alpha-smooth muscle actin and desmin. From the results mentioned above, the tumour of this case was revealed to be of smooth muscle origin. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a uterine leiomyosarcoma in domestic golden hamsters.     

Analysis of various antigens in golden hamster testis by monoclonal antibodies.

A total of 38 hybridomas producing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was established by immunizing BALB/c mice with extracts of the golden hamster testis. Six mAbs stained the acrosome of developing spermatids by immunofluorescence. Two mAbs (1A11 and 4D8) reacted with spermatid components other than acrosome. The mAbs 1C9 and 4D3 recognized a 103 kilodalton (kDa) protein on immunoblots, and were reactive to spermatocytes and early spermatids, but not to late spermatids and spermatozoa. This finding suggests that the protein functions for meiosis or early spermiogenesis. Four mAbs (3G2, 2E5, 2G3, and 3F10) stained all stages of spermatogenic cells. The remaining 24 mAbs showed a positive reaction to the basement membrane of the seminiferous tubule. Two of them, 3D6 and 3E5, recognized approximately 150 kDa major proteins, indicating that the antigen is an extracellular matrix.     

Suspected case of hyperadrenocorticism in a golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus).

Dermatologic disease is a common problem in pet rodents. This article describes the case of a pet golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) with dermatologic and other clinical signs (polyuria, polydypsia) similar to those found in other mammalian species with hyperadrenocorticism. Among other diagnostic tests, the urine cortisol/creatinine ratio was measured and was found to be increased, which appeared to support the diagnosis. Treatment with ketoconazole was initiated, without apparent success.     

Enzyme histochemistry of the olfactory and vomeronasal sensory epithelia in the golden hamster.

Histochemical activities of several enzymes were investigated in the olfactory epithelium (OE) and vomeronasal organ (VNO) of the golden hamster. Activities of adenosine triphosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase were intense in the OE, and the sensory (VSE) and respiratory epithelium (VRE) of the VNO. The activity of acid phosphatase was intense in both the OE and the VSE, while that of non-specific esterase was intense in the VSE alone. The activity of alkaline phosphatase was detectable only in the VRE. Activities of monoamine oxidase and acetylcholine esterase were negative in all of the OE, VSE and VRE. These similarities and differences in the histochemical distribution of enzymes between OE and VSE may reflect the common olfactory function and/or functional specialization in these epithelia. On the other hand, the VRE was considerably different from the OE and VSE in the enzymatic distribution. This may reflect the non-olfactory function of this epithelium.     

Gastritis-associated adenocarcinoma and intestinal metaplasia in a Syrian hamster naturally infected with Helicobacter species

The objective of this study was to evaluate stomachs of 2-year-old Syrian hamsters that were naturally colonized by multiple Helicobacter species including Helicobacter aurati. A previous report on 7- to 12-month-old Syrian hamsters described chronic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia, a putative preneoplastic lesion in the stomach, without cancer. This report describes an invasive adenocarcinoma at the pyloric-duodenal junction in one of nine hamsters at a site of helicobacter-associated inflammation and marked intestinal metaplasia. Ceca of nine of nine animals were culture positive and polymerase chain reaction positive for Helicobacter spp. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis of the stomach using a H. pylori polyclonal antibody detected positive-staining bacteria within the pyloric region of three of nine hamsters including the neoplastic glands. However, argyrophilic bacteria were demonstrated only within the stomach of the hamster with gastric adenocarcinoma. This is a first report of gastric adenocarcinoma in helicobacter-infected hamsters. Syrian hamsters appear suitable as potential model for studying development of helicobacter-associated gastric adenocarcinomas.     

Proliferative glomerulonephritis in experimental Leishmania donovani infection of the golden hamster

Extensive kidney involvement is reported in golden hamsters infected with Leishmania donovani. The lesion is characterised grossly by pale and enlarged kidneys, and histologically by thickening of the basal lamina of the glomerulus, distended convuluted tubules containing protein casts, constricted glomerular capillaries and infiltration of the interstitial tissues with mononuclear cells. Quantitative measurement of the glomerular cells labelled in vivo with tritiated thymidine showed a striking increase in the glomerular cell proliferation as the infection progressed. Using direct immunofluorescent technique, granular deposits of IgG, complement C₃ and fibrinogen were detected in the glomeruli of the infected animals. A positive protamine sulphate test, as well as histological evidence, showed that disseminated intravascular coagulation had occurred in the infection. Although the antigens have not been identified, antigen-antibody complexes are strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of the proliferative glomerulonephritis observed in this study.     

Allometric analysis of the postnatal development of the Syrian golden hamster pancreas

The objective of the present study was to analyse allometrically the growth of the Syrian golden hamster pancreas during days 2 to 70 of postnatal development. Body and pancreatic mass were determined, followed by stereological determination of the absolute volume of each morphological compartment of the pancreas. The marked pancreatic growth, by 4360%, was due to an increase in the absolute volume of all morphological compartments, mainly the acini which showed an increase of 10 431%. Bivariate allometric analysis of pancreatic mass and morphological compartmental volume in relation to body mass gain showed: (1) a biphasic pattern for pancreatic mass, acinar volume, excretory duct volume and stromal volume, with the first phase being observed from 2 to 21 days of age and the second from 21 to 70 days of age, with allometry coefficients of 1.537-0.513, 1.770-0.543, 1.651-0.506 and 0.967-0.258, respectively, and (2) a monophasic pattern from 2 to 70 days for intercalated duct volume and islet volume, with allometry coefficients of 0.913 and 1.727, respectively. These results show that during the growth of the pancreas in relation to that of the body some structures - acini and excretory ducts - follow the growth pattern of the organ, while others - intercalated ducts and islets - show a different pattern. This may be related to the genetic growth characteristics of each compartment itself or to some relationship between compartments during some stage of the ontogenetic development of this organ.     

Application study of intracytoplasmic sperm injection for golden hamster and cattle production

This paper describes several technical improvements and our results in hamster intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), hamster round spermatid injection (ROSI) and bovine ICSI. The hamster is the mammalian species in which ICSI was first tried to produce fertilized oocytes. However, until recently, no live offspring following ICSI have ever been obtained. We reported the birth of live offspring following hamster ICSI. Improved points to success were 1) performing hamster ICSI in a dark room with a small incandescent lamp and manipulating both oocytes and fertilized eggs under microscope with a red light source and 2) injecting sperm heads without acrosomes. Under controlled illumination, the majority of the oocytes injected with acrosomeless sperm heads were fertilized normally, cleaved, and developed into morulae. Nine live offspring (19%) were born by transfer of hamster ICSI-derived embryos. Furthermore, we reported the birth of live offspring following hamster ROSI. About 70% of oocytes injected with round spermatids broken before injection were fertilized normally and about half of them developed to morulae and blastocysts. Three (5%) live young were born by transfer of hamster ROSI-derived embryos. On the other hand, in cattle, the main improvements were 1) injection of spermatozoa immobilized by scoring their tail just before injection into oocytes, and 2) additional ethanol activation 4 h after ICSI. About 70% of oocytes injected were activated 4 h after ICSI, and about 30% of them developed to blastocysts. Twenty-four live calves (39%) were born by non-surgical transfer of ICSI-derived embryos. Those results shows that, at present, live offspring are able to be obtained following hamster ICSI, ROSI and bovine ICSI, but further improvement is required due to higher production efficiency of offspring.     

Immune and clinical parameters associated with Leishmania infantum infection in the golden hamster model

For experimental infections with viscerotropic strains of Leishmania, a suitable animal model is not yet defined. In the present work, we have reappraised the use of golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) as an experimental model for infection with Leishmania infantum. Groups of hamsters were challenged by the intracardial route with doses ranging from 10(3) to 10(5) infectious promastigotes and the animals were monitored for 1-year follow-up period. The outcome of the infection was assessed by clinical symptoms of leishmaniasis, parasite loads in both liver and spleen, humoral response to Leishmania antigens and antibody levels in kidneys. The humoral response was analysed using either crude antigens (by ELISA and Western blotting) or several recombinant Leishmania antigens (Hsp70, Hsp83, LiP2a, LiP2b, H2A, H3 and KMP-11). From the analysis of all these parameters, we established the existence of three groups of animals: symptomatic or susceptible, oligosymptomatic, and resistant. Given the parallelism existing between the outcomes of Leishmania-infection in hamsters, dogs and humans, we believe that our data illustrate that the hamster is an excellent experimental model to study visceral leishmaniasis and for the design of vaccine development.