Serum lipase determination in the dog: a comparison of a titrimetric method with an automated kinetic method

An enzymatic, kinetic method for determining serum lipase activity was evaluated and compared to a standard manual method for use in dogs. The kinetic method was a commercial kit adapted for use on a tandem access clinical chemistry analyzer and utilized a series of coupled enzymatic reactions based on the hydrolysis of 1,2-diglyceride by lipase. The manual method was the Cherry-Crandall technique based on the titration of base against the acid formed by hydrolysis of an olive oil substrate by lipase. The correlation between the two methods was very good (r = 0.94). The reference range for 56 clinically healthy dogs assayed by the kinetic method was 90 to 527 U/L. Diseases associated with a greater than twofold elevation in serum lipase activity as determined by the kinetic method included pancreatitis, gastritis with liver disease, and oliguric renal failure with metabolic acidosis. In some cases, pancreatitis was seen with other clinical problems, such as gastroenteritis, diabetic ketoacidosis, duodenal mass, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and septic peritonitis. Diseases associated with serum lipase activity within the reference range or elevated less than twofold included gastritis, gastric ulcer, cholestasis, phenobarbital-induced hepatopathy, colitis, copper hepatopathy, abdominal hematoma, apocrine gland adenocarcinoma, and thrombocytopenia with pneumonia.     

Serum contents of E-selectin,sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 in patients with acute coronary syndrome

AIM:To explore the serum levels of certain adhesion molecules and its significance in acute coronary syndrome(ACS). METHODS:The subjects included 40 patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI) and 40 patients with unstable angina pectoris (UAP). Among the 80 patients, 60 patients accepted a follow-up 4 months. At the same time we selected 40 controls from people who attended a routine health check in the university. Serum levels of E-selectin, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 were measured by ELISA.RESULTS:Serum levels of E-selectin, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1 were significantly higher in the ACS group(AMI or UAP) than in the control group. Four months later, the levels of E-selectin, sICAM-1 became significantly lower in the follow-up group than in the ACS group, while sVCAM-1 showed no significant difference. CONCLUSION:Serum levels of E-selectin, sICAM-1 may have certain diagnostic value for ACS, and can be a useful marker reflecting the stability of the disease.     

Marked hyperphosphatasemia associated with an acute leukemia in a Great Dane

This is the report of a 5‐year‐old male neutered Great Dane with an extreme leukocytosis (544.9 × 10⁹ cells/L; RI 5.2–13.9 × 10⁹ cells/L) characterized by highly atypical round cells. Cellular morphologic features such as cytoplasmic membrane blebs, a high nuclear‐to‐cytoplasmic ratio, and nuclear indentations and irregularities and large nucleoli, as well as immunocytochemistry for CD3 and CD79, myeloperoxidase cytochemistry, and clonality testing were not conclusive for myeloid or lymphoid origin. Marked alkaline hyperphosphatasemia was present at the first visit (2783.0 U/L; RI 6–80.0 U/L), followed by a 5‐fold increase (14,000 U/L) a week later, identified as being mostly contributed by the bone‐ALP isoform (11,062 U/L; RI 0–30 U/L). In addition, the atypical leukocytes were strongly positive for cytoplasmic ALP activity. In vitro lysis of a heparin blood sample resulted in a 1.7‐fold increase of ALP activity, supporting the origin of the hyperphosphatasemia at least in part from the leukemic cell population. To the authors’ knowledge, this is a unique case of alkaline hyperphosphatasemia, due at least to a leukemic cell population producing a bone‐ALP isoform, regardless of the exact nature of the leukemia.     

Serum C-reactive protein concentration as an indicator of remission status in dogs with multicentric lymphoma

BACKGROUND: The acute-phase protein C-reactive protein (CRP) is used as a diagnostic and prognostic marker in humans with various neoplasias, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if CRP could be used to detect different remission states in dogs with lymphoma. ANIMALS: Twenty-two dogs with untreated multicentric lymphoma. METHODS: Prospective observational study. Blood samples were collected at the time of diagnosis, before each chemotherapy session, and at follow-up visits, resulting in 287 serum samples. RESULTS: Before therapy, a statistically significant majority of the dogs (P = .0019) had CRP concentrations above the reference range (68%, 15/22). After achieving complete remission 90% (18/20) of the dogs had CRP concentrations within the reference range, and the difference in values before and after treatment was statistically significant (P < .001). CRP concentrations of dogs in complete remission (median, 1.91; range, 0.2-103) were significantly different (P = .031) from those of dogs with partial remission (median, 2.48; range, 0-89), stable disease (median, 1.77; range, 1.03-42.65), or progressive disease (median, 8.7; range, 0-82.5). There was profound variation of CRP measurements within each dog. CONCLUSIONS: CRP is useful in determining complete remission status after treatment with cytotoxic drugs. However, the individual variation between dogs means CRP concentration is not sufficiently different in other remission states to permit its use in monitoring progression of the disease. Greater reliability in determining remission status might be achieved by combining CRP concentration with other serum markers.     

新饲料添加剂N，O-羧甲基壳聚糖的急性毒性研究

【目的】研究N,O-羧甲基壳聚糖对鸡的急性毒性,评价该药的安全性;【方法】以最大浓度的N,O-羧甲基壳聚糖(10.5%),按20ml/(kg·bw)(2.1g/(kg·bw)/次)剂量24h内给鸡灌服;【结果】给药后连续观察7天,各组试验鸡全部存活,临床、剖检均未见到异常变化,测不出LD50,根据新药审批办法中关于急性毒性的要求,进行最大耐受量的测定。鸡灌服给予N,O-羧甲基壳聚糖的最大耐受量为10.5g/(kg·bw),相当于临床拟用量的3500倍;【结论】N,O-羧甲基壳聚糖毒副作用很小,临床可以安全应用。     

Celecoxib inhibits viability,induces apoptosis and inhibits autophagy in acute myeloid leukemia cell lines HL-60 and HL-60A

AIM: To investigate the effects of celecoxib on viability, apoptosis and autophagy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell lines HL-60 and HL-60A. METHODS: The HL-60 cells and HL-60A cells were cultured with various concentrations (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 μmol/L) of celecoxib. The inhibitory effect of celecoxib on the cell viability was evaluated by MTT assay. Apoptosis was analyzed by Annexin-V/PI staining. Apoptosis-related and autophagy-related proteins were determined by Western blot. RESULTS: IC₅₀ of celecoxib were 49.4 μmol/L, 32.0 μmol/L and 25.1 μmol/L for HL-60 cells treated with celecoxib for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h, respectively. For HL-60A cells, the corresponding IC₅₀ were 69.1 μmol/L, 42.5 μmol/L and 29.6 μmol/L, respectively. The results of flow cytometry analysis showed the proportions of Annexin-Ⅴ⁺ PI^-, Annexin-Ⅴ⁺ PI⁺ and Annexin-Ⅴ^-PI⁺ cells were increased in the HL-60 cells, and those of Annexin-Ⅴ⁺PI^- and Annexin-Ⅴ⁺ PI⁺ cells were increased in the HL-60A cells treated with celecoxib for 24 h. After treated with celecoxib, the induction of apoptosis was observed, the apoptosis-related proteins cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP were upregulated, the autophagy-related proteins LC3 II and P62 were both increased, and mTOR, p-mTOR, 4-EBP and p-4-EBP were not changed, indicating that celecoxib inhibited autophagy in the AML cells without the mTOR pathway involvement. CONCLUSION: Celecoxib inhibits the viability of HL-60 cells and HL-60A cells in a time-and dose-dependent manner by its effects of inducing apoptosis and necrosis. Celecoxib inhibits mTOR-independent autophagy in AML cells, indicating a possible way of using celecoxib for enhancing the antitumor activity of therapeutic agents to induce cytoprotective autophagy in the AML cells.     

Ethanol extract from Cortex Albiziae attenuates mouse acute liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride via modulation of NF-κB pathway

AIM:To investigate the protective effect of ethanol extract from Cortex Albiziae on acute liver injury, and to explore its possible mechanism. METHODS:Acute liver injury in mice was induced by single intraperitoneal injection of 25% carbon tetrachloride (olive oil solubilization). The effective parts of ethanol extract from Cortex Albizziae against acute liver injury were screened. The pathological changes of the liver tissues were examined by pathological sections with HE staining. The activity of total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) of the liver tissues were detected, the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were mea-sured by ELISA, and the protein expression levels of NF-κB p65, Bcl-2 and Bax in the liver cells of the mice in each group were determined by Western blot. RESULTS:Compared with model group, the serum levels of AST and ALT in low-dose n-butanol phase of ethanol extract from Cortex Albiziae (AB-L, 4 mg·kg^-1·d^-1) group and high-dose n-butanol phase of ethanol extract from Cortex Albiziae (AB-H, 8 mg·kg^-1·d^-1) group were significantly decreased. The necrosis extent and degree of the hepatocytes and infiltration of inflammatory cells were significantly lower than that in model group. Compared with model group, the serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 in AB-H group and AB-L group were significantly decreased (P<0.05). The protein level of NF-κB p65 in the nuclei of mouse liver cells in AB-H group and AB-L group were also decreased significantly (P<0.05). Compared with model group, the protein expression of Bax was decreased, the protein expression of Bcl-2 was increased, and the Bcl-2/Bax ratio was increased in AB-L group and AB-H group. CONCLUSION:The n-butanol phase of ethanol extract from Cortex Albiziae may protect the liver by reducing the activation of NF-κB p65, inhibiting the excessive release of inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α, and decreasing hepatocyte apoptosis via regulating Bcl-2 and Bax expression.