Extravesicular, two-layer, side-to-side ureteroneocystostomy combined with tension-relieving techniques for feline proximal ureteral obstruction: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the surgical technique for extravesicular, two-layer, side-to-side ureteroneocystostomy combined with tension-relieving techniques (ETSUTT) for feline proximal ureteral obstruction and report clinical outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case series. ANIMALS: Ten privately-owned cats with ureteral obstruction near the ureteropelvic junction (UPJ). METHODS: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for cats with ureteral obstruction close to the UPJ that underwent ETSUTT (2018-2021). The ETSUTT procedure consisted of a modified extravesicular technique (two-layer, side-to-side ureteroneocystostomy) and tension-relieving techniques (renal descensus, ureterocystopexy, and nephrocystopexy). RESULTS: All cats survived through discharge. In all cats, postoperative blood urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations were decreased, compared with preoperative concentrations. Perioperative complications included ureteral catheter dislodgement (3), transient pollakiuria (2), and dysuria (1), but no specific treatments were required. Urinary tract infection was observed postoperatively in three of the 10 cats. The median follow-up was 648 days (min-max: 86-1229 days). Seven of the 10 cats were alive without recurrent ureteral obstruction at the end of this retrospective study. CONCLUSION: The ETSUTT procedure was successfully performed without major complications in cats with ureteral obstruction occurring near the UPJ. Use of ETSUTT provided a fair-to-good, long-term prognosis in cats that were otherwise difficult to manage. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: This novel procedure, ETSUTT, was feasible, safe, and could be a viable treatment option for feline proximal ureteral obstruction, including the UPJ, especially for obstructions caused by stricture.

Ureteral morphology and pathology during urolithiasis in cats.

Cats exhibit high susceptibility to urinary organ-related diseases. We investigated the healthy ureter morphologies and compared these with ureters that were surgically resected distal to a urolithiasis obstruction in cats. Healthy ureters (total length 9.88 ± 0.38 cm) developed adventitia composed of collagen fibers (ADCF), containing a longitudinal muscular layer, toward the distal segment. The healthy ureter was the smallest in the middle segment (4.71-6.90 cm from the urinary bladder) with significantly decreased luminal and submucosal areas compared to those in the proximal segment. Diseased cats exhibited a high incidence of calcium oxalate urolithiasis with renal dysfunction, regardless of age, sex, and body size. Diseased ureters showed increased perimeters, inflammation, and decreased nerves in ADCF. Collagen fibers were increased in the submucosal area, intermuscular spaces, and ADCF, particularly near the obstructed lesion. The mean resected ureter length was 5.66 ± 0.49 cm, suggesting a high obstruction risk in the middle segment. The middle segment also increased the cross-sectional area of the ureter and ADCF, regardless of the distance from the obstructed lesion. The ureters in several cases either lacked the transitional epithelium, or exhibited transitional epithelial hyperplasia, and some of these formed the mucosal folds. In conclusion, we demonstrated the following characteristics and histopathological features of cat ureters: decreases in the ureter size, lumen area, and submucosa area from proximal to middle segment in healthy; ADCF changes in urolithiasis, including increased connective tissues with inflammation and decreased nerves. These data are important to understand the pathogenesis of feline ureteral obstruction.

Corrigendum: Urinary Exosome-Derived microRNAs Reflecting the Changes in Renal Function in Cats.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00289.].

Urinary Exosome-Derived microRNAs Reflecting the Changes in Renal Function in Cats.

Increased incidence of kidney disease (KD) is a common concern in human and companion animals. Cats, in particular, are highly susceptible to KD. Novel KD biomarkers would help to address these problems. Therefore, we are focusing on microRNA, a highly conserved nucleic acid, as a KD biomarker for various animals. We previously reported that altered levels of urinary exosome (UExo)-derived microRNAs indicate renal pathologies in dogs. This study comprehensively examined UExo-derived microRNAs, which reflected the KD status in cats. The examined cats were divided into two groups: normal renal function (NR) and KD. Based on our previous data in dogs and cats, as well as the present data on UExo-derived microRNAs in cats by next-generation sequencing, let-7b, let-7f, miR-10a, miR-10b, miR-21a, miR-22, miR-26a, miR-27b, miR-146a, miR-181a, miR-191, and miR-486a were identified as biomarker candidates. In summary, the levels of UExo-derived let-7b, miR-22, and miR-26a significantly decreased in cats with KD from the early stages of the disease. UExo-derived miRNA levels normalized to urinary creatinine or total RNA of miR-21a was significantly higher in the KD group. Importantly, the ratio of UExo-derived miR-21a to let-7b showed a significant and strongest correlation with serum creatinine (ρ = 0.751), blood urea nitrogen (ρ = 0.754), and urinary creatinine (ρ = -0.421) among all examined indices. Further, the ratio of miR-181a to let-7b or miR-10b significantly correlated with the progression of renal dysfunction in the KD group. Thus, we identified that UExo-derived microRNAs in cats, and their raw and normalized levels could indicate altered renal function.

Urinary exosome-derived microRNAs reflecting the changes of renal function and histopathology in dogs.

MicroRNAs act as post-transcriptional regulators, and urinary exosome (UExo)-derived microRNAs may be used as biomarkers. Herein, we screened for UExo-derived microRNAs reflecting kidney disease (KD) status in dogs. Examined dogs were divided into healthy kidney control (HC) and KD groups according to renal dysfunction. We confirmed the appearance of UExo having irregular globe-shapes in a dog by immunoblot detection of the exosome markers, TSG101 and CD9. Based on our previous data using KD model mice and the data obtained herein by next generation sequencing of UExo-derived microRNAs in dogs, miR-26a, miR-146a, miR-486, miR-21a, and miR-10a/b were selected as candidate microRNAs. In particular, UExo-derived miR-26a and miR-10a/b were significantly decreased in KD dogs, and miR-26a levels negatively correlated with deteriorated renal function compared to the other miRNAs. UExo-derived miR-21a levels corrected or not to that of internal control microRNAs in UExo, miR-26a and miR-191, significantly increased with renal dysfunction. In kidney tissues, the decrease of miR-26a and miR-10a/b in the glomerulus and miR-10b in the tubulointerstitium negatively correlated with deteriorated renal function and histopathology. Increased miR-21a in the tubulointerstitium rather than in the glomerulus correlated with deteriorated renal histopathology. In conclusion, microRNAs reflecting the changes in renal function and histopathology in dogs were identified in this study.

Intra-arterial infusion of thrombin: animal experiments.

PURPOSE: Thrombin inhibits cadherin on vascular endothelial cells, rapidly and reversibly increasing endothelial permeability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of trans-arterial infusion with thrombin. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ten rabbits with right thigh tumor were randomly divided into two groups: A thrombin group and a control group. In the thrombin group, a suspension of thrombin (300 IU), cisplatin (3 mg), lipiodol (0.3 ml) and iopamidol (0.3 ml) was infused into the right femoral artery. In the control group, a suspension of cisplatin, lipiodol and iopamidol was infused. Platinum concentrations in plasma were measured five and ten minutes after administration. Platinum concentrations were also measured in tumor specimens excised 30 minutes after infusion. RESULTS: At both five and ten minutes after infusion, platinum concentrations in plasma were significantly lower for the thrombin group than for the control group. Platinum concentration in tumor tissue was significantly higher for the thrombin group than for the control group. CONCLUSION: The present results suggest that transarterial infusion with thrombin may offer a number of pharmacological advantages.

Formal total syntheses of (+)-prelaureatin and (+)-laurallene by diastereoselective brook rearrangement-mediated [3 + 4] annulation.

The formal syntheses of (+)-prelaureatin (1) and (+)-laurallene (2), halogenated eight-membered-ring ethers, are described. The key step of our strategy relies on diastereoselective construction of a trans-alpha,alpha'-disubstituted oxocene structure through a Brook rearrangement-mediated [3 + 4] annulation with acryloylsilane 9 and 6-oxa-2-cycloheptenone derivative 22'.