Cutaneous apocrine gland neoplasia in 16 captive African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus).

This retrospective study documents the occurrence of single and multiple cutaneous apocrine gland tumours (CATs) on the dorsal midline of 16 captive African wild dogs (AWDs, Lycaon pictus) derived from 161 submissions to diagnostic laboratories in South Africa, France and Germany between 1997 and 2022. Animals included in the study came from zoological institutions in South Africa (n = 2), France (n = 5) and Germany (n = 1) and ranged from 5 to 14 years of age. Fifteen affected animals were female (94%) and one was male. CATs presented as raised, hairless, multilobular, grey firm masses, consistently located along the dorsal midline. Apart from a single cutaneous apocrine adenoma and a cystadenoma occurring concurrently with two non-cystic adenocarcinomas, neoplasms were consistent with malignant cutaneous apocrine adenocarcinomas with lymphatic spread and visceral metastases. Advanced age and female sex were identified as risk factors. A genetic component or association with the increasing use of GnRH agonist contraceptives was suspected but could not be established. This study highlights the need for close clinical monitoring of AWDs over the age of 5 years for the development of CATs along the dorsal midline and supports early surgical intervention. More research is needed to determine the role of inbreeding, endocrine changes and husbandry factors that may play a role in the development of CATs on the dorsal midline of AWDs.

AMYLOIDOSIS IN CARACALS (CARACAL CARACAL).

Nine cases of amyloidosis in caracals (Caracal caracal) from three different institutions in Europe were reviewed and evaluated histopathologically. The six males and three females died between 2008 and 2018 at an age of 6 yr ± 2.5 mo (median ± interquartile range). In two out of nine (2/9) animals, amyloidosis was an incidental postmortem finding; the animals died of bronchopneumonia and gastric ulceration due to Helicobacter spp., respectively. Seven (7/9) animals suffered from acute renal failure due to amyloidosis, one of them additionally of cardiac decompensation. The predominant clinical signs were weight loss, lethargy, dys- or anorexia, dehydration, increased BUN and creatinine, and azotemia. The main gross lesion was a pale renal cortex on cut surface; in two animals, the kidneys appeared enlarged. Histologically, glomerular amyloid was present in every animal (9/9), and was the predominant renal manifestation of amyloidosis. Additional findings included splenic amyloid (8/8), amyloid in the lamina propria of the intestine (5/5), and amyloid in the lingual submucosa (4/4). Gastric mineralization was present in four animals suffering from renal failure. In the animal dying from bronchopneumonia, severe pancreatic amyloid deposits mainly affecting the exocrine pancreas (1/5) were identified. Immunohistochemistry was employed to identify amyloid AA in eight cases; only in the caracal dying from bronchopneumonia AA was amyloid confirmed. In several organs, especially in those where only small amyloid deposits were detected, a Congo red stain was often necessary to confirm the deposition. The etiology of the amyloidosis remains unknown. Three caracals were related within two generations, another three within four generations, so one might hypothesize a familial trait. In conclusion, amyloidosis should be considered as a significant disease in the caracal. Particularly in cases with renal disease, it should be included as a major differential diagnosis.

Adenoviruses of the most ancient primate lineages support the theory on virus-host co-evolution.

The scarcity or complete lack of information on the adenoviruses (AdVs) occurring in the most ancient non-human primates resulted in the initiation of a study for exploring their abundance and diversity in prosimians and New World monkeys (NWMs). In order to assess the variability of these AdVs and the possible signs of the hypothesised virus-host co-evolution, samples from almost every family of NWMs and prosimians were screened for the presence of AdVs. A PCRscreening of 171 faecal or organ samples from live or dead, captive or wild-living prosimians and NWMs was performed. The PCR products from the gene of the IVa2 protein were sequenced and used in phylogeny calculations. The presence of 10 and 15 new AdVs in seven and ten different species of prosimians and NWMs was revealed, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the tentative novel AdVs cluster into two separate groups, which form the most basal branches among the primate AdVs, and therefore support the theory on the co-evolution of primate AdVs with their hosts. This is the first report that provides a comprehensive overview of the AdVs occurring in prosimians and NWMs, and the first insight into the evolutionary relationships among AdVs from all major primate groups.