Canine pyometra: a study of the urinary proteins by SDS-PAGE and Western blot.

Canine pyometra often causes glomerulonephritis by immune complex deposition in the glomeruli. Proteinuria, ranging from moderate to severe, may be present secondary to renal damage. To determine urinary protein excretion due to pyometra, sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was conducted on urine from 15 bitches with pyometra and 10 healthy bitches. To characterize urinary immunoglobin excretion, Western blot analysis of the urine samples using antibodies to canine IgG and IgA was also performed. Nine bands were detected by electrophoresis in bitches with pyometra, while only four were detected in the healthy animals. The urinary proteins from bitches with pyometra were primarily of glomerular origin; 58% were of medium-high molecular weight (MW), and the remainder were low MW. None of the healthy dogs had IgG or IgA in their urine, whereas three bitches with pyometra had IgG in their urine and another bitch with pyometra had both IgG and IgA. The low proportion of bitches with urinary immunoglobins was probably be due to early diagnosis of the disease. Although only a limited number of dogs was used, this study is apparently the first to characterize the electrophoretic pattern of urinary proteins and to quantify urinary excretion of IgG and IgA in bitches with pyometra.

Characterization of renal damage in canine leptospirosis by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Western blotting of the urinary proteins.

Canine leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that can cause interstitial nephritis. As a consequence of the renal damage, proteinuria may occur. To determine the urine protein pattern in the disease we performed sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) on the urine from 10 dogs with leptospirosis and 20 healthy dogs. Western blotting analysis of the urine samples with antibodies against canine IgG and IgA was also performed to identify these immunoglobulins in the urine. Urine electrophoresis showed three new bands in the dogs suffering from leptospirosis. Only two of the dogs with leptospirosis showed detectable concentrations of IgG and IgA in urine, while a third animal showed IgG alone. The study showed a 36.7% increase in the excretion of low molecular weight proteins in dogs with leptospirosis but almost no change in the high molecular weight protein pattern. These results, together with the low number of animal with detectable concentrations of IgG and IgA in the urine, support the view that canine leptospirosis is characterized by interstitial nephritis.

Temporal variations in blood glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity in sheep at pasture in a Mediterranean area.

The present study evaluates blood GSHPx activity in 18 sheep flocks at range, to identify those seasons with the highest risk of selenium deficiency. Samples were taken from 1108 15-day-old lambs during the two usual lambing periods in this geographical area (autumn-winter and spring-summer). The overall mean values in the first period (146.69 +/- 3.41 i.u./g Hb) was higher than in the second one (107.50 +/- 3.53 i.u./g Hb). This may be explained by the special features of the climate in the Mediterranean area, which allow an optimum growth of grass from October to May. Therefore, the lambs born in spring-summer are from pregnancies in months when feeding is based only upon grazing. However, lambs born in autumn-winter comes from ewes gestating during the summer, when supplementation with cereal grains is given. As a conclusion, lambs born in spring-summer in this area are at higher risk to selenium-deficiency related disorders.

Relationships between some soil parameters and the blood glutathione peroxidase activity of grazing sheep.

The relationships between some soil parameters and blood glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activity in 15-day-old lambs was studied on 18 sheep farms. Soil samples were analysed for the proportions of sand, silt and clay, pH, and the concentrations of calcium, phosphorus, iron, nitrogen and sulphates. On the farms where the lambs had adequate GSHPx activity (> or = 130 i.u./g Hb) the soils contained significantly more clay, phosphorus and sulphates, and significantly less iron and nitrogen, than on the farms where the lambs did not have adequate GSHPx activity.

Response to barium selenate supplementation in sheep kept at pasture in the Mediterranean area.

This work evaluated the efficacy of barium selenate supplements in the prevention of disorders related to Se deficiency in sheep maintained at pasture in the Mediterranean area. Ewes on five farms were divided into two equal groups of 1,750 animals: a) the treated group and b) the control group. The animals of the treated group were injected subcutaneously, in the first third of gestation, with a barium selenate compound at a dose of 1 mg Se/kg. The ewes in the control group did not receive any supplement of Se and/or vitamin E. The two groups were managed under the same feeding and husbandry practices throughout the experiment. After lambing, blood glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) and serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were measured in the lambs born to both group. Blood GSHPx activity was higher in the treated animals, with statistically significant differences due to the response to injection of barium selenate. Mean global serum activities of AST and CK tended to be higher in the control group, as a consequence of the protection given to the treated group by the supplement, but the differences were not statistically significant. This was possibly due to the absence of clinical cases of nutritional myodystrophy (NMD) in the animals of the control group. Therefore it can be stated that barium selenate supplementation can prevent Se deficiency in sheep herds maintained at pasture in this area.

Evaluation of total protein content in tears of dogs by polyacrylamide gel disk electrophoresis.

Concentration of total proteins was measured and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel disk electrophoresis was performed on tear and plasma samples obtained from 26 healthy dogs, and the results were compared. Mean +/- SEM concentration of total proteins in tears was 0.63 +/- 0.04 g/dl, and significant effects of age or gender were not found. The protein composition of tears in dogs was complex, and bands from light and heavy chains of immunoglobulins were identified by electrophoresis.

Clinical haematology of the great bustard (Otis tarda).

The haematological parameters of healthy great bustards (Otis tarda L.) have been determined. The values obtained were red cell count (3.0 x 10(12) +/- 0.2 x 10(12/)1), white cell count (33.0 x 10(9) +/- 2.6 x 10(9)/1), haematocrit value (0.51 +/- 0.01 1/1), haemoglobin (13.0 +/- 0.3 g/dl), mean corpuscular volume (178.7 +/- 12.5 fl), mean cell haemoglobin concentration (25.0 +/- 0.6 g/dl), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (42.5 +/- 3.2 pg), differential white cell count: heterophils (22.5 x 10(9) +/- 0.7 x 10(9)/1), lymphocytes (6.0 x 10(9)+/-0.7 x 10(9)/1), eosinophils (2.7 x 10(9) +/- 0.3 x 10(9)/1) and monocytes (1.8 x 10(9)+/-0.2 x 10(9)/1).

Results and histological development of various surgical techniques for correcting eversion of the third eyelid in dogs.

An experimental study was made of 20 dogs in order to compare various surgical techniques used to correct eversion of the third eyelid, namely resection of most of the cartilage, resection of the central portion of the cartilage, and cartilage homotransplantation. An analysis was made of histological results obtained 45 days after operation, the most satisfactory result being recorded for homotransplantation of the third eyelid cartilage.