Endogenous mycotic endophthalmitis in a dog with candiduria and Evans syndrome

This report describes the clinical presentation, diagnosis, histologic lesions, and outcome of endogenous mycotic endophthalmitis secondary to candiduria in a three‐year‐old female spayed Dachshund. The dog was being treated for Evans syndrome for one month prior to being diagnosed with candiduria and fibrinous uveitis OS. The left eye was enucleated due to secondary glaucoma, and the fungal urinary tract infection was treated successfully. Uveitis developed in the contralateral eye with relapse of the urinary tract infection in the following weeks. The right eye was medically managed until secondary glaucoma developed and was subsequently enucleated. Histopathology of both eyes showed evidence of endophthalmitis with intralesional fungal organisms, consistent with Candida spp. Ocular candidiasis is rare in dogs. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of endogenous mycotic endophthalmitis with concurrent candiduria in a dog.     

Selection for breed-specific long-bodied phenotypes is associated with increased expression of canine hip dysplasia

Hip dysplasia (HD) is the most common skeletal disease in purebred dogs. Radiographic schemes developed to reduce prevalence through selective breeding have had limited success, but the role of selecting for morphological characteristics prized in the show-ring and dictated by breed standards has not been fully explored. This study correlated published scores of hip pathology with measurements of body length to height ratio from photographs of Best-of-Breed specimens from 30 breeds (n = 12/breed) to establish whether selection criteria could be compromising welfare by increasing susceptibility to HD.Relative body length correlated strongly with higher rates of HD by breed data from the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (Spearman r = 0.727, P < 0.001), the British Veterinary Association (r = 0.701, P < 0.001), and the Australian Veterinary Association (r = 0.577, P < 0.01). By favouring body shapes that are longer than they are tall, judges may be inadvertently selecting for conformational attributes predisposing dogs to HD, suggesting that ambiguity in breed standards and extreme relative body length phenotypes can engender serious welfare consequences and need to be re-evaluated.     

Impaired thermosensation in mice lacking TRPV3, a heat and camphor sensor in the skin

Environmental temperature is thought to be directly sensed by neurons through their projections in the skin. A subset of the mammalian transient receptor potential (TRP) family of ion channels has been implicated in this process. These "thermoTRPs" are activated at distinct temperature thresholds and are typically expressed in sensory neurons. TRPV3 is activated by heat (>33 degrees C) and, unlike most thermoTRPs, is expressed in mouse keratinocytes. We found that TRPV3 null mice have strong deficits in responses to innocuous and noxious heat but not in other sensory modalities; hence, TRPV3 has a specific role in thermosensation. The natural compound camphor, which modulates sensations of warmth in humans, proved to be a specific activator of TRPV3. Camphor activated cultured primary keratinocytes but not sensory neurons, and this activity was abolished in TRPV3 null mice. Therefore, heat-activated receptors in keratinocytes are important for mammalian thermosensation.     

Area-wide management of Aedes albopictus: choice of study sites based on geospatial characteristics, socioeconomic factors and mosquito populations

BACKGROUND: Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse), the Asian tiger mosquito, is an introduced invasive species in the United States that is responsible for a significant proportion of service requests to local mosquito control programs. This container‐utilizing mosquito is refractory to standard mosquito abatement measures in the United States. This study is part of a USDA‐ARS project to develop an area‐wide management strategy for Ae. albopictus. The goal was to identify three study sites, similar in socioeconomic parameters, geography and Ae. albopictus abundance, in urban and suburban areas in Mercer and Monmouth counties in New Jersey. Prior service requests and light trap counts and also detailed county maps were used to chose nine preliminary sites (four in Mercer and five in Monmouth) where weekly surveillance for Ae. albopictus was performed throughout the 2008 active season. RESULTS: Although outliers were detected, socioeconomic variables in the study sites within each county were fairly consistent. Ae. albopictus abundance was associated with poverty levels and had the highest maxima in Mercer, although average mosquito abundance was similar in urban Mercer and suburban Monmouth. CONCLUSION: Three study sites in each county were identified for future studies. The summer‐long surveillance also revealed socioeconomic variables critical for the development of integrated mosquito management. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Human intravenous immunoglobulin (hIVIG) inhibits anti-CD32 antibody binding to canine DH82 cells and canine monocytes in vitro

The IgG receptors CD16 and CD32 (Fc_γRIII and Fc_γRII) link the humoral immune response to effector cell immune responses by binding immune complexes. Human intravenous immunoglobulin (hIVIG) consisting of immunoglobulin from pooled donors is reported to block Fc_γRs and has been used to treat a variety of canine autoimmune disorders. Fc_γRs have been poorly described for canine monocytes; therefore, the objectives of this study were to: (1) identify canine monocyte/macrophage Fc_γR (CD16 and CD32) expression and (2) demonstrate in vitro hIVIG binding to these receptors. The canine monocyte/macrophage-like cell line (DH82) and monocytes isolated from peripheral blood of healthy dogs were evaluated by flow cytometry (FACS) for CD16 and CD32 expression using commercially available anti-CD16 and anti-CD32 antibodies directed against the human isoforms. The mean percentage of cells expressing CD16 was 55% of DH82 cells and 13% of blood monocytes and the mean percentage of cells expressing CD32 was 85% of DH82 cells and 73% of blood monocytes. Immunoprecipitation of canine DH82 cells lysate using the same anti-CD16 or anti-CD32 antibodies suggested that these anti-human antibodies recognize the canine homologues. To demonstrate Fc_γR blockade, cells were incubated with increasing concentrations of hIVIG and then incubated with anti-CD16 or anti-CD32 antibodies. The percentage of CD32 expression decreased in a concentration dependent fashion in DH82 cells and blood monocytes after incubation with increasing concentrations of IVIG, suggesting that hIVIG was binding to CD32 and inhibiting anti-CD32 antibody binding. The same results were not demonstrated with anti-CD16 antibody. We believe this is the first report to demonstrate Fc_γ receptors CD16 and CD32 expression on canine monocytes and in vitro CD32 binding by human IgG, which may represent one of the immunomodulatory mechanisms of hIVIG.     

IMAGING DIAGNOSIS—URINARY BLADDER DUPLICATION IN A CAT

A female kitten presented for chronic, intermittent, antibiotic‐responsive urinary incontinence and chronic kidney disease. Abdominal ultrasound identified bilateral pelvic/ureteral dilation and three closely apposed thin‐walled fluid‐filled structures in the caudal abdomen, extending toward the pelvic inlet. Excretory urography and negative contrast cystography identified contrast medium accumulation from the dilated ureters into two tubular soft tissue masses of the caudal abdomen, with subsequent gradual filling of a more cranially located urinary bladder. A retrograde vaginocystourethrogram identified a normal uterus, normal vagina, and a single urethra continuous with the cranially located urinary bladder. Antemortem diagnosis was suspicious for bilateral ectopic ureteroceles. Postmortem diagnosis, 35 months following initial presentation, determined the fluid‐filled masses to have abundant smooth muscle in the wall, including a muscularis mucosa connected by a common ostium, consistent with urinary bladder duplication. Urinary bladder duplication should be included as a differential diagnosis in cats with these clinical and imaging characteristics. In this case, differentiation of ectopic ureterocele from urinary bladder duplication required histological confirmation.