A retrospective study of the range of cutaneous clinical and histological features of erythema multiforme in five ferrets (Mustela putorius furo).

BACKGROUND: Erythema multiforme (EM) is an uncommon cutaneous reaction pattern characterised by panepidermal keratinocyte apoptosis with lymphocytic satellitosis, and is reported in domestic animal species, livestock and rarely ferrets. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyse the spectrum of cutaneous clinical and histological features in ferrets with EM and to evaluate history and treatment outcomes. ANIMALS: Five client-owned ferrets with biopsy-confirmed EM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective review of electronic medical records and histopathological reports from 2002 to 2021. Tissue blocks, haematoxylin and eosin re-cuts, and unstained slides were collected to review EM lesions and evaluate for infectious agents with special stains. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess cases for viral pathogens. RESULTS: Panepidermal cytotoxic dermatitis consistent with EM was identified in all cases and involved haired skin in four of five and mucous membranes in one of five ferrets. Skin lesions included variably pruritic alopecia, erythema, scaling, crusts and erosions/ulcerations. Histological features included primarily parakeratotic hyperkeratosis, panepidermal keratinocyte apoptosis, lymphocytic satellitosis and interface dermatitis. Superficial colonisation by bacteria, yeasts or by both was a common finding. Four of five ferrets had concurrent adrenal disease, one of which had resolution of skin lesions with deslorelin acetate treatment. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Awareness of the distinct clinical and histological features is key to the diagnosis of EM in ferrets. Clinical resolution was observed with gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists in two cases, suggesting that adrenal disease should be ruled out as a potential trigger of EM in ferrets.

Development of a human papillomavirus competitive luminex immunoassay for 9 HPV types.

In the clinical trials of the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (qHPV) vaccine, antibodies were measured by a competitive Luminex immunoassay (HPV-4 cLIA). A nine-valent HPV (9vHPV) vaccine targeting the types in the qHPV vaccine (HPV6/11/16/18), as well as 5 of the next most frequent HPV types found in cervical cancers worldwide (HPV31/33/45/52/58) is under development. To support the 9vHPV vaccine program, a nine-multiplexed cLIA (HPV-9 cLIA) was developed. Antibody titers were determined in a competitive format, where type-specific phycoerythrin (PE)-labeled, neutralizing mAbs (mAbs-PE) compete with an individual's serum antibodies for binding to conformationally sensitive, neutralizing epitopes on the VLPs. Neutralizing antibody levels were quantitated against a reference standard - a pool of sera from 6 Rhesus macaques that were immunized with the 9vHPV vaccine. Specificity of the mAbs was assessed by measuring their individual binding capacities to the type-specific and non-type-specific VLPs at alternative concentrations of the mAbs. Antibody assignments to the HPV-9 cLIA reference standard for HPV6/11/16/18 were determined to provide for a measure of consistency in serostatus assignment between the HPV-4 and HPV-9 cLIAs. Antibody assignments to the HPV-9 reference standard for HPV31/33/45/52/58 were obtained by calibration to HPV11 using a direct binding IgG assay. For each HPV VLP type, the cross-reactivity of the mAb-PEs in the HPV-9 cLIA was <1% (i.e., the mAb-PEs result in <1% non-specific binding). The antibody concentrations assigned to the HPV-9 cLIA reference standard for types 6/11/16/18/31/33/45/52/58 were 3,817, 2,889, 23,061, 5,271, 3,942, 2,672, 1,489, 1274, and 2263 mMU/mL, respectively.