Measurement of feline serum interleukin-5 level

A bioassay was developed to measure feline interleukin-5 (IL-5). Human IL-5 receptor alpha chain transfected murine Ba/F3 cells (Ba/F3-IL-5R) showed feline IL-5-dependent proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. IL-5 levels in serum samples from 54 cats with suspected allergic dermatitis and from 11 control cats could be successfully measured using Ba/F3-IL-5R cells. The number of eosinophils in peripheral blood was not correlated with serum IL-5 level.     

Measurement of daily water intake in the dog

Water intake was measured for 50 days in four Kelpie bitches, housed in a room kept at a temperature of 22–25^oC and a relative humidity of 55%. The mean daily water ingested (free and combined water) was 55-9 ± 3–70 ml/kg body weight while the mean daily intake (free, combined and metabolic water) was estimated to be 72-9 ± 3–70 ml/kg. The experimental findings are compared with those observed in the dog by other workers and it is emphasized that, in determining daily water ingestion for the differentiation of clinical polydipsia, feed dry matter intake should be correlated with volume of water drunk.     

Immune-mediated fever in the dog. Occurrence of antinuclear antibodies,rheumatoid factor,tumor necrosis factor and interleukin-6 in serum

Contents of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured in serum from 20 dogs with immune-mediated fever. Seven out of 20 patients were ANA positive, 1 out of 20 was positive to antibodies against extractable nuclear antigens (ENA), 1 out of 20 was positive to antibodies against deoxynucleoproteins (DNP), 2 out of 13 were RF positive and none out of 20 patients had antibodies against native DNA in the serum. TNF-alpha was not detected in any serum of 15 dogs with immune-mediated fever, while 10 out of 13 presented with elevated IL-6. The results varied between patients, but the IL-6 level was high in most of them. This indicate a role for IL-6 in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated fever in most cases.     

Measurement of telomerase activity in dog tumors

Telomeres are specific structures present at the end of liner chromosomes. DNA polymerase can not synthesize the end of liner DNA and, as a result, the telomeres become progressively shortened by successive cell divisions. To overcome the end replication problem, telomerase adds new telomeric sequences to the end of chromosomal DNA. The enzyme activity is undetectable in most normal human adult somatic cells, in which shortening of the telomere is thought to limit the somatic-cell life span. In contrast to normal somatic cells, many human tumors possess telomerase activity. The present study looked at whether telomerase activity might serve as a marker for canine tumors. Telomerase activity was measured using the telomeric repeat amplification protocol assay. Normal dog somatic tissues showed little or no telomerase activity, while normal testis exhibited a high level of telomerase activity. We measured telomerase activity in tumor samples from 45 dogs; 21 mammary gland tumors, 16 tumors developed in the skin and oral cavity, 7 vascular tumors and 1 Sertoli cell tumor. Greater than 95% of the tumor samples contained telomerase activity (3-924 U/2 micrograms protein). The results obtained in this study indicated that telomerase should be a useful diagnostic marker for a variety of dog tumors, and it may serve as a target for antitumor chemotherapy.     

The estimation of serum alkaline phosphatase in the dog

Abstract— Four readily available methods for the estimation of serum alkaline phosphatase have been compared using dog sera with varying levels of the enzyme's activity. It has been demonstrated that it is possible to adapt two of the newer methods which are available commercially to permit simple visual assessments to be made without using an absorbtiometer. Résumé— Quatre méthodes aisément disponibles pour l'évaluation de la phosphatase de sérum alcalin ont été comparées en utilisant des sérums de chien à des niveaux différents d'activité de l'enzyme. Il a été démontré qu'il est possible d'adapter deux des méthodes plus nouvelles disponibles dans le commerce pour permettre de faire des évaluations visuelles sans utiliser un absorptiomètre. Zusammenfassung— Vier leicht zugängliche Methoden zur Schätzung von Serum-Alkaliphos-phatase wurden unter Verwendung von Hundeserum mit unterschiedlichen Spiegeln in der Enzym-aktivität vergliechen. Es wurde die Möglichkeit erwiesen, zwei der neuesten, verfügbaren Methoden durch kommerzielle Anpassung zu verwenden, urn einfache, visuelle Bewertungen ohne Benutzung eines Absorptiometers zu gestatten.     

Origin of serum alkaline phosphatase in the dog.

The origin of canine serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was investigated by various means. On the basis of electrophoretic migration, neuraminidase treatment, thermal denaturation, and chromatographic fractionation, canine serum was found to contain ALP principally of hepatic origin. There was evidence of only a minor portion of ALP being of osseous origin. Intestinal ALP was not detected in canine serum when monitored by immunochemical technique, L-phenylalanine inhibition, and thermal denaturation.     

Flunixin pharmacokinetics and serum thromboxane inhibition in the dog

Flunixin meglumine administered orally to beagle dogs at doses of 0.55, 1.10 or 1.65 mg/kg bodyweight was rapidly absorbed to produce maximum mean plasma concentrations of 2.40 +/- 0.70, 4.57 +/- 1.12 and 7.42 +/- 2.07 micrograms/ml, respectively. Thereafter, the plasma concentrations of flunixin fell rapidly to values less than 0.10 micrograms/ml from 24 hours after drug administration at all dosage levels. The maximum mean inhibition of serum thromboxane B2 was 91.5 per cent after the lowest dose of flunixin and 98.8 per cent for both the intermediate and high dose rates. At plasma concentrations of flunixin above 2 micrograms/ml there was more than 90 per cent inhibition of thromboxane.     

Measurement of femoral angles in four dog breeds

Objective— To develop a standard method of measurement for femoral angles and report values for normal Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Rottweilers.
Study Design— Retrospective evaluation of canine pelvis and femoral radiographs.
Sample Population— Radiographs of Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Rottweilers (n=100 for each breed).
Methods— Anatomic lateral distal and proximal femoral angle, mechanical lateral distal and proximal femoral angle, and femoral angle of inclination were measured from radiographs.
Results— For the 4 breeds (Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, and Rottweilers, respectively) anatomic lateral distal femoral angles were 97°, 97°, 94°, and 98°; mechanical lateral distal femoral angles were 100°, 100°, 97°, and 100°; anatomic lateral proximal femoral angles were 103°, 98°, 101°, and 96°; mechanical lateral proximal femoral angles were 100°, 95°, 97°, and 93°; and inclination angles were 134°, 134°, 132°, and 137°. Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, and Rottweilers had significantly higher values for both anatomic and mechanical lateral distal femoral angle than German Shepherds. Anatomic and mechanical lateral proximal angles were greatest for Labrador Retrievers and lowest for Rottweilers.
Conclusion— Anatomic and mechanical femoral joint angles vary between breeds of dogs.
Clinical Relevance— Values for femoral joint angles may be clinically useful for angular limb deformity diagnosis, treatment, and assessment.     

Rapid turbidimetric determination of serum pancreatic lipase in the dog

A rapid and highly reproducible turbidimetric method for the determination of serum pancreatic lipase activity in the dog is described. Values of 0 to 50 IU/L of serum were obtained in 35 healthy mature dogs, and the maximum values of 325 to 800 IU/L were observed in 8 dogs with induced pancreatitis.     

犬脾细胞白介素-18(IL-18)基因的克隆与序列分析

为了研究白细胞介素-18(IL-18)的活性和功能，将犬脾细胞经ConA诱导，用TRIzol裂解，提取总RNA，通过反转录聚合酶链反应(RT-PCR)扩增出犬IL-18的cDNA，然后连接到pMD18-T载体上，转化DH5a感受态细胞，获得阳性重组质粒。核苷酸序列结果表明，我们得到了长686bp的基因，含有一个582bp的开放阅读框架，编码193个氨基酸。与已知犬序列同源性可高达99．6％，与已知猪序列的同源性为89．8％，所克隆基因为今后进一步研究IL-18基因的功能奠定了基础。     

重组猪乳铁蛋白(rPLF)对断奶仔猪血清IL-1、IL-2水平的影响

通过两个试验探讨了重组猪乳铁蛋白(rPLF)对断奶仔猪血清免疫因子IL-1和IL-2水平的影响.两试验都按体重将90头28日龄断奶仔猪分成3个处理组:对照组(基础日粮)、抗生素组(基础日粮 20 mg/kg黄霉素 110 mg/kg金霉素)和rPLF组(基础日粮 730 mg/kgrPLF),试验期30 d.试验1采用杜长嘉断奶仔猪;试验2采用杜长大断奶仔猪,分两期试验(断奶后1～15 d和16～30 d).试验结束后,各处理组分别取3头体重相近的小母猪屠宰,测定血清中IL-1和IL-2的浓度.结果表明,与对照组相比,rPLF能显著提高杜长嘉仔猪血清中IL-2的水平,达46.64%(P＜0.01);显著提高杜长大仔猪断奶前期和后期血清中IL-2水平(P＜0.05);IL-1也有提高趋势.两试验结果揭示,rPLF能通过提高断奶仔猪血清中IL-1和IL-2的水平而增强断奶仔猪的免疫力.     

Relationship between serum and brain concentrations of phenytoin in the dog

The concentrations of phenytoin (DPH) in the CNS of adult dogs given the drug by IV injection, continuous IV infusion, or repeated daily oral administration and of newborn pups given DPH by IV injection were consistently proportional to serum concentrations of the drug at the time of blood sample collections. Adult dogs injected IV with [14C]DPH failed to show predilection of the drug for the 13 anatomic brain sections sampled. The pharmacokinetics of DPH were studied in adult and neonatal dogs given 15 mg of the drug/kg of body weight as a single IV injection. The mean half-life of the drug in adult dogs injected IV was 4.5 hours. The serum half-life of injected DPH was lowest in pups 30 days of age when compared with that in other age groups. The serum half-life of injected DPH was increased in adult dogs under pentobarbital anesthesia.     

Measurement of the femoral neck anteversion angle in the dog using computed tomography

Simple and accurate limb and pelvic conformation evaluation using computed tomography (CT) can be useful in planning canine hip dysplasia (CHD) treatment and in helping to understand the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis and CHD. The objectives of this study were to describe a new method for femoral neck anteversion angle (FNA-angle) measurement in CT, and to compare it to the established radiographic standard biplanar method. The hips of 23 Estrela Mountain Dogs were evaluated using radiography and CT and their FNA-angles were determined by performing two CT examinations and with one radiographic measurement session. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the repeatability (agreement between the two CT sessions, ICC=0.92) and reproducibility (agreement between each CT and radiographic session, ICC=0.91 in both cases) of the CT FNA-angle measurement method. This study suggests that CT FNA-angle measurement method is reliable and can be used in CT hip studies with confidence.     

Pharmacokinetics, tolerance and serum thromboxane inhibition of carprofen in the dog

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) carprofen was administered to dogs as a mixed-micelle solution at a dose rate of 0–7 mg/kg intravenously, as a palatable paste at a dose rate of 0–7 mg/kg orally, and as an oral tablet formulation at a dose rate of 0–7 mg/kg and 4-0 mg/kg orally for pharmacokinetic studies. It was also administered as an oral tablet formulation at a dose rate of 9-0 mg/kg orally daily for 14 days in a tolerance study. The pharmacokinetics following intravenous administration at a dose rate of 0–7 mg/kg indicate that carprofen has a small volume of distribution (Vd area = 0–09-0-25 litres), a slow systemic clearance (Cls = 1–34-5-57 ml/min) and an elimination half-life of 3–20-11-77 hours. Both oral paste and tablet preparations were highly bioavailable and absorption was proportional to dose rate at 0–7 mg/kg and 4-0 mg/kg bodyweight. Given once daily at dose rates likely to be used clinically it is unlikely to accumulate in the plasma. Carprofen administered as a palatable paste at a dose rate of 0–7 mg/kg did not inhibit serum thromboxane generation and this drug may therefore have a mode of action different from most NSAIDs. Carprofen was well tolerated when administered as an oral tablet formulation at a dose rate of 9.0 mg/kg daily for 14 days in healthy beagle dogs.