A case of feline primary duodenal carcinoid with intestinal hemorrhage.

A 15-year-old neutered male Persian cat was presented with recurrent hematemesis and melena. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a mass in the proximal descending duodenal wall. Endoscopic examination revealed hemorrhage on the luminal side of the mass. Fine-needle aspiration of the mass was performed. Microscopic analysis revealed a cluster of cells with oval nuclei and indistinct cell borders, suggesting a neoplastic disease of neuroendocrine origin. The mass located near the major duodenal papilla was partially resected, and the bleeding was stopped by cauterization. However, the surgical procedures could not control the hemorrhage from the tumor mass, and the cat died of severe anemia. Immunohistopathological analysis revealed that the tumor was a duodenal carcinoid.

Clinical and pathological characteristics of acute myelogenous leukemia in a female koala with diabetes mellitus.

A female koala presented with hyperglycemia related to diabetes mellitus diagnosed at 9 years and treated with insulin. She presented with nasal hemorrhage, anemia, leukocytosis, and tachypnea at 10 years. A blood smear examination revealed scattered, atypical large myeloid cells and a clinical diagnosis of myelogenous leukemia was made. White blood cell count reached a maximum of 295 × 102/µl, with evidence of severe regenerative anemia and thrombocytopenia. Grossly, systemic lymph node enlargement, fragile liver with hemorrhage, and bloody ascites were observed. Histopathologically, atypical myeloid cells, including myelocytic and metamyelocytic cells, were scattered in the vasculature and surrounding tissues throughout the organs. The patient was infected with a koala retrovirus, which might have caused the myelogenous leukemia.

Sjögren's-like syndrome in a dog.

A neutered male Golden Retriever was referred with a 2-week history of dry mouth. Multiple and bilateral enlargement of the lacrimal and salivary glands showing heterogeneous internal enhancement was identified on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT). Ultrasonographic examination detected multifocal hypoechoic areas within the swollen submandibular salivary glands, which were histopathologically diagnosed as lymphoplasmacytic sialoadenitis. As both imaging and histopathological findings were in accordance with those in human Sjögren's syndrome, a provisional diagnosis of Sjögren's-like syndrome was made. Immunosuppressive drugs promptly improved clinical signs concurrently with the abnormal sonographic findings, indicating the feasibility of ultrasonography in monitoring therapeutic outcomes. Herein, we discuss a proposed criteria set for diagnosis of Sjögren's-like syndrome in veterinary medicine.

Pericardial Mesothelioma in a Dog: The Feasibility of Ultrasonography in Monitoring Tumor Progression.

A 6-year-old neutered male Yorkshire Terrier presented with recurrent pericardial effusion. Although clinical examinations including computed tomography were inconclusive, an exploratory thoracotomy revealed multiple small nodules and plaques on the inner surface of the pericardial sac (Day 1). A subtotal pericardiectomy was performed to prevent cardiac tamponade due to the increasing pericardial effusion, and the resected section of the pericardium was histopathologically diagnosed with mesothelioma. After surgery, chemotherapy with intrathoracic carboplatin was commenced. During the course of the treatment, a detailed follow-up ultrasonographic scan was performed to detect early lesions disseminated on the pleura, originating from the primary pericardial mesothelioma. On Day 101, the minute pleural nodules, which were disseminated lesions as predicted, were successfully imaged by ultrasonography. As the clinical stage advanced, the nodules were observed to gradually increase in size and number, implying tumor progression. These observations highlight the feasibility of ultrasonography in detecting minute disseminated lesions at an early stage, monitoring tumor progression, and thereby, predicting the prognosis of canine pericardial mesothelioma.

Detection on mRNA exepression and activity of phosphodiesterase in rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells / 解剖学报

Objective To study the main subtypes messenger ribonucleic acid(mRNA) and the basal enzyme activity of phosphodiesterase (PDE) in rat pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells (PMVECs) through the examination mRNA expression and activity of PDE in vitro. The data were offered to reveal the relationship between PDE distributions, activity change and to accumulate data for the possibility of drug regulation of its functional alteration. Methods The cells were cultured with tissue-sticking method;the gene expression of PDEs was detected by reverse transcript polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the activity of PDEs was calculated by cyclic nucleotides content change examined with high performance liquid chromatogram (HPLC) before and after the PDE reaction( n ＝3). Results The PMVECs identified by cell immunofluorescence with polyclonal antibody of CD31 were dissociated and cultured, mRNAs of PDE1A, 1C, 2A,3A, 3B, 4A, 4D, 5A, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 9A, 10A,11A were expressed in PMVECs, but there was no mRNA of PDE1B expressed in PMVECs. cAMP/cGMP-PDE in the extent of 5-20μl had a good linear correlation with its activity. Conclusion There are 17 kinds of PDE gene expression existing in PMVECs which contain of the basic enzyme with a higher activity.