Ultrasonographic evaluation of ovarian morphology and blood flow in prepubertal and pubertal cats.

The aim of this study was to evaluate two-dimensional and Doppler ultrasonographic changes of feline ovaries before and during puberty. Nine, 3-month-old female cats were followed until puberty (Day 1). Two-dimensional and Doppler ultrasound evaluations of the ovaries were carried out on Days -50, -20, -7 and 1. Longitudinal and transverse sections of the ovaries were measured and all anechoic spherical structures were considered to be follicles. The number of follicles >1 mm and the maximum diameter of the largest follicle were recorded. Peak systolic velocity and end diastolic velocity of intraovarian arteries were also measured to automatically calculate the resistive index (RI). The mean ovarian longitudinal diameter increased gradually throughout the study from 8.6 to 10.7 mm (p < 0.05). While four cats presented multiple anechoic spherical structures <1 mm diameter throughout the study, the remaining five animals had these structures only on Days -50 and -20. On Days -20, -7 and 1, the mean number of follicles were 1.4 ± 0.7, 2.5 ± 0.8 and 4.8 ± 1 respectively (p < 0.01). The largest follicles at the same time points were 1.1 ± 0.2 mm, 1.9 ± 0.3 mm and 2.6 ± 0.5 mm respectively (p < 0.05). The RI of the intraovarian arteries declined throughout the study period (p < 0.01). It is concluded that, in female cats, ovarian dimensions, follicle number and intraovarian blood flow increased from 3 months of age to puberty.

Preliminary transcriptomic analysis of peripheral blood from German Shepherd dogs with degenerative joint disease for the identification of diagnostic biomarkers.

OBJECTIVE: Degenerative joint disease (DJD) includes a group of disorders characterised by the deterioration of the articular cartilage. In this study, we investigated the transcriptomic profile of peripheral blood in German Shepherd dogs with DJD to identify putative diagnostic biomarkers. METHODS: Differential gene expression (DGE) and gene ontology (GO) analyses of the bulk RNA-seq experiment were performed in a cohort of 12 adult dogs (five cases and seven controls, classified by clinical and radiographic analyses). RESULTS: Radiographs of cases revealed severe signs of progressive DJD. Two up-regulated (LOC106559672 and THBS4) and one down-regulated (LOC106559235) differentially expressed genes (adjusted p value < 0.05) were identified. The DGE with log2 fold change < -1.5 and > 1.5 and non-adjusted p < 0.01 were selected for GO analysis. No significant enrichment terms were observed in the selected threshold. CONCLUSION: The gene-encoding protein THBS4 is correlated with DJD severity and long noncoding RNA LOC106559235 is probably involved in the DJD process. The THBS4 gene should be considered a good biomarker for DJD in dogs. Future studies using independent cohorts will be necessary to validate the present results.

Myiasis cutáneo-ulcerosas en pequeños animales / Cutaneous myiasis in small animals

En nuestro país los estudios acerca de las myiasis cutáneo-ulcerosas son escasos e incompletos, y de las que afectan a pequeños animales sólo se tienen datos de infecciones inducidas en la provincia de Buenos Aires. En este estudio se detectaron 149 perros y 9 gatos afectados por larvas de Cochliomyia hominivorax, 11 perros y 10 gatos por larvas de Phaenicia sericata. Las lesiones variaron desde superficiales leves hasta cavernosas muy graves, las mismas se hallaron distribuidas en la cabeza (boca, ojos, nariz y orejas), tronco, miembros, genitales externos, ano, periné y base de la cola. Las larvas I, II y III fueron extraídas en su totalidad entre los días 1 y 7 postinfección, en un número que varió entre 1 y 250. Los adultos de C. hominivorax han sido asociados a pasturas y floresta, y se ejerce sobre ellos control y vigilancia en las áreas subtropicales para evitar pérdidas en la producción ganadera. Los hallazgos en pequeños animales de zonas templadas y vinculados a áreas urbanas, alertaría sobre los riesgos de dispersión de una parasitosis de consecuencias aún no evaluadas en nuestro país. Las myiasis por P. sericata están estrechamente relacionadas con tejidos necrosados o cadáveres, por lo tanto, los datos aquí aportados representan los primeros registros de la especie como agente causal de myiasis primaria en pequeños animales