Time–course monitoring of serum amyloid A in a cat with pancreatitis

Abstract: Time‐course changes in the concentration of serum amyloid A (SAA), a major acute phase protein, were measured in a cat with pancreatitis over an 831‐day period and compared with changes in WBC count and feline trypsin‐like immunoreactivity (fTLI). SAA concentration was increased at the onset of the disease and gradually decreased over 5 days of treatment with an improvement in the clinical condition. In contrast, fTLI concentration and WBC count were not increased at the onset of the disease but increased gradually during the 5 days of treatment. Long‐term monitoring from days 68 to 831 revealed a good correlation between SAA concentration and the reoccurrence of clinical signs in the cat; however, WBC count did not increase even with the exacerbation of disease. These findings suggest that the SAA concentration may be a useful marker for evaluating response to treatment and disease exacerbation in feline pancreatitis.     

Comparison of serum lipid compositions, lipid peroxide, alpha-tocopherol and lipoproteins in captive marine mammals (bottlenose dolphins, spotted seals and West Indian manatees) and terrestrial mammals

Concentrations of serum lipid components, lipid peroxide (LPO) and α-tocopherol and electrophoretic patterns of lipoproteins in serum samples obtained from captive marine mammals and terrestrial mammals were compared. Serum concentrations of total cholesterol, free fatty acid, and phospholipid in fish-eating animals were significantly higher than those in manatees and cows. Serum LPO and α-tocopherol concentrations in the fish-eating animals were also significantly higher than those in manatees, cows and dogs. Different patterns of densitometric scans of low density lipoprotein (LDL) and a significantly lower percentage of LDL were demonstrated in the dolphins compared with the seals, cow and dogs. The concentration of LPO was significantly correlated with triglyceride and phospholipid concentrations in serum from the dolphins. These results suggest that triglyceride and phospholipid are susceptible to oxidative reaction in fish-eating animals. Evaluation of serum lipids, LPO and α-tocopherol concentrations is needed for nutritional husbandry for fish-eating animals.     

Spontaneous iron accumulation in hepatocytes of a 7-week-old female rat

Spontaneous iron accumulation in hepatocytes was observed in a 7-week-old female Han Wistar GALAS rat. Very fine yellowish brown pigments, which showed a positive reaction with Berlin Blue stain, were apparent in the cytoplasm close to the bile canaliculi, with a diminishing periportal-to-centrilobular gradient. There were also differences in distribution between and within lobes. Transmission electron microscopy revealed cytosolic ferritin and pericanalicular siderosomes in hepatocytes. No degeneration or necrotic changes were observed, and non-hepatocyte cells did not demonstrate any obvious accumulation of iron. There were no abnormalities in the animal other than this finding in the liver.     

The effect of dietary ratios of corn silage and alfalfa hay on carbohydrate digestion and retention time of feed particles in the gastrointestinal tract of steers

Four Holstein steers fitted with duodenal cannula were used in a 4 × 4 Latin square design to investigate the effect of the combination of corn silage (CS) and alfalfa hay (AH) in different ratios on the ruminal and intestinal digestion of carbohydrates and feed particle passage rate. Steers were fed mixed diets containing both CS and AH in ratios of 80:20, 60:40, 40:60 and 20:80 on a dry matter basis at 95% of ad libitum feed intake. The increase of AH proportion in diets increased dry matter intake and ruminal digestion of dry matter, non-fiber carbohydrate, neutral and acid detergent fiber linearly. Ruminal digestibility of neutral detergent fiber showed a quadratic response, and total digestibility increased linearly with increasing AH proportion. Digestibility of acid detergent fiber in the rumen was not affected by the dietary treatments, but the total tract digestibility increased as the AH proportion increased. Mean retention time of feed particles in total compartment increased when the AH proportion increased from 20% to 60%, but decreased with further increase of the AH proportion. These results indicate that moderate combinations of CS and AH have an associative effect on ruminal fiber digestion, modifying particle movement in the rumen.     

Clonality analysis of various hematopoietic disorders in cats naturally infected with feline leukemia virus

The clonality analysis of the bone marrow cells was carried out by detecting the integrated proviruses of feline leukemia virus (FeLV) to understand the pathogenesis of FeLV-associated hematopoietic disorders in cats. Bone marrow cells from 4 cases with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), 9 cases with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), 2 cases with pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) and 3 healthy carriers infected with FeLV were subjected to Southern blot analyses using an exogenous FeLV probe. Clonal hematopoiesis was found in all the cases with AML and in 6 of the 9 cases with MDS, but not in the cases with both PRCA and healthy carriers infected with FeLV. In the 2 cases with MDS, it was thought that the same clones of the hematopoietic cells might proliferate before and after the progression of the disease irrespective of the changes of the hematological diagnoses by cytological examination. This study indicates that MDS in cats is a disease manifestation as a result of clonal proliferation of hematopoietic cells and can be recognized as a pre-leukemic state of AML.     

Behaviour of nutrients released from crystalline minerals of artificial potassium silicate fertilizer and their supply to the Japanese mustard spinach (Brassica rapa var. perviridis)

Artificial potassium silicate fertilizer (PSF) is a typical slow-release potassium fertilizer. However, the exact minerals that are released by PSF and the nutrients that are made available to plants remain unclear. This study quantitatively investigated the behaviour of nutrients released from PSF by the batch-release test and their supply to plants by the plant growth tests, respectively, to determine the quantitative relationship between nutrients released from PSF and taken up by the plant. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that kalsilite, åkermanite, and potassium–magnesium silicate were the most abundant crystalline minerals in PSF. The XRD peaks of åkermanite and potassium–magnesium silicate were absent after citric acid extraction at a liquid/solid ratio of 20 to 100 (CA20 and CA100). Magnesium-use efficiencies in PSF (11%) and residue treatments after ammonium acetate extraction (AC, 10%) were higher than those in residue treatments after CA20 (1.8%) and CA100 (6.0%). Potassium (%) released by AC in the batch-release test (4.5%) was compatible with the difference of potassium-use efficiencies between the treatments of PSF (21%) and the AC-residue (16%). Likewise, potassium (%) released by CA20 (8.8%) was lower than the difference of potassium-use efficiencies between the treatments of PSF (21%) and CA20-residue (7.9%). This study suggests that potassium is rapidly released from potassium–magnesium silicate in PSF and is readily available to plants.