Diagnosis of concurrent Rhodococcosis and adenocarcinoma in a cat

Rhodococcus equi infection in a cat with tumor of maxilla was diagnosed as adenocarcinoma. Diagnostic cytology of discharges from tumor demonstrated numerous macrophages within intracellular basophilic coccobacilli organisms which heighten the diagnosis of R. equi. Bacteria culture and identification assays confirmed a pure isolation of R. equi. The association of neoplasia development and R. equi infection is still poor and further investigation on the epidemiology and evaluation of virulence factors of the organism in feline species is warranted

Mammary gland tumours in the dog, a spontaneous tumour model of comparative value to human breast cancer

Mammary gland tumours are the most common neoplasia diagnosed in the female dog. These tumours occur spontaneously or naturally as in humans, 50% of which are commonly diagnosed as malignant. Metastasis to other tissues especially the lung is a common cause of death in these dogs. Treatment of canine mammary gland tumours (CMT) involves mainly surgical resection with wide margin followed by chemotherapy with cytotoxic drugs for those with lymph node and distant metastasis. With the dog continuously described as a very suitable and valuable large animal model of human breast cancer, it becomes very obvious that CMT can be a model to further understand the biology of cancer as well as screening for new therapeutic agents that could be used to treat human breast cancer and CMT more effectively. This review focuses on research work that has been done on CMT over the past years, describing the epidemiology, diagnostics and recent advances in therapy for CMT as well as discussing the significance of the dog CMT as spontaneous animal model for human breast cancer

Myxosarcoma in a dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus)

A 1.5 years old female Russian dwarf hamster (Phodopus sungorus) was presented with a large mass at right caudal ventral abdomen. Lumpectomy was performed to remove the growth mass and subjected to histopathological examination. The encapsulated mass was 3 cm x 4 cm, grossly solitary, non-ulcerated and pinkish in colour with presence of mucous-like substances on cut surface. Routine histopathology using hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed presence of pleomorphic, loosely arranged stellate to spindle shaped cells, angiogenesis, abundant neutrophils, necrotized tissues and high number of mitotic figures. Tumour tissue was positive for Alcian blue (pH 2.5) stain but negative for Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining which suggests presence of acid mucin which confirmed the diagnosis of myxosarcoma. One month post-surgery, the hamster showed absence for local recurrence of the tumour, but it died a few months later due to unrelated cause

Cutaneous fibroma in a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

This is a case report on the management of a common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) with cutaneous fibroma which was managed surgically. An adult common snapping turtle was presented with a pink pendulous mass at the plantar of the left forelimb. The mass was pedunculated, pinkish-red in colour, round to oblong shape, 4 to 5 cm in diameter with central ulceration site. Microscopic examination revealed well-circumscribed and non-encapsulated mass in the dermal layer with stellate to spindle-shape cells dispersed throughout the tumour mass consist of collagen stroma. A diagnosis of cutaneous fibroma was made. In this case, the mass was removed surgically. Post-operatively, the turtle was managed with enrofloxacin antibiotics and carprofen as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory treatment. The snapping turtle recovered uneventfully

Comparative aspects of microRNA expression in canine and human cancers

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have important roles in all biological pathways in multicellular organisms. Over 1,400 human miRNAs have been identified, and many are conserved among vertebrates and invertebrates. Regulation of miRNA is the most common mode of post-transcriptional gene regulation. The miRNAs that are involved in the initiation and progression of cancers are termed oncomiRs and several of them have been identified in canine and human cancers. Similarly, several miRNAs have been reported to be down-regulated in cancers of the two species. In this review, current information on the expression and roles of miRNAs in oncogenesis and progression of human and canine cancers, as well the roles miRNAs have in cancer stem cell biology, are highlighted. The potential for the use of miRNAs as therapeutic targets in personalized cancer therapy in domestic dogs and their possible application in human cancer counterparts are also discussed

Retrospective histopathological study of canine mammary gland tumours diagnosed from 2006 – 2012 in Universiti Putra Malaysia

Forty-eight canine mammary tumours (CMT) diagnosed at the Histopathology Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, were reviewed retrospectively. Two control groups, one comprising all other cases involving female dogs and another group comprising only cases of neoplasia involving female dogs diagnosed in the laboratory over the same period of time were used for comparisons in this study. Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression were used to determine association between the factors and the risk of CMT. Thirty-nine (81.3%) of the tumours were diagnosed as adenocarcinoma, 8.3% (n=4) each, were the diagnoses for squamous cell carcinoma and mixed cell tumour. Adenoma had 2.1% (n=1). The prevalence of canine mammary gland tumours in this study is 39%. When CMT cases were compared with all other cases, significant association was observed with adult dogs (p = 0.032, logistic regression 0.012) and intact dogs (p= 0.009, logistic regression, 0.003). When CMT cases were compared with neoplasia cases, significant association was observed with pure breeds (p = 0.025) and intact dogs (p = 0.000034, logistic regression 0.00042). This study found that pure breed dogs, intact dogs and older dogs (> 5years) have higher odds of having CMT in Malaysian dog population

Development of cockleshell (Anadara granosa) derived CaCO3 nanoparticle for doxorubicin delivery

Despite the progress made in cancer treatment, difficulties are encountered with tumour targeting due to cancer structural complexity. The synthesis of homogenous calcium carbonate (CaCO3) nanoparticles could be a carrier for doxorubicin in the management of bone cancer due to its osteoconductive and physicochemical properties with simple synthesis method to produce large scale. Among the nanocarriers, CaCO3 nanoparticles have exhibited promising potential as targeting drug nanocarrier. The aim of this study is to synthesised and characterised doxorubicin-conjugated CaCO3 nanoparticle (CS-CaCO3NP-DOX), using a simple precipitation and mechanical approach to synthesise homogeneous CaCO3NP from cockleshell. The oven-dried nanoparticles were further characterised for its physicochemical properties before and after conjugating with doxorubicin. A homogenous aragonite, spherical, porous nanocarrier was obtained with a mean diameter of 24.9 nm and zeta potential of –21 mV. The energy dispersion X-ray analysis revealed high proportion of calcium as a major element in the nanoparticle. The spectrum peak suggests little alteration upon incorporation of doxorubicin. Higher loading content and encapsulation efficiency were recorded with CS-CaCO3NP. These properties underscore the potential of CS-CaCO3NP in the delivery of doxorubicin, thus giving it a high potential for application in the delivery of the anticancer in the management of cancers

Identification of anti-proliferative kinase inhibitors as potential therapeutic agents to treat canine osteosarcoma

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone tumour in dogs but various forms of therapy have not significantly improved clinical outcomes. As dysregulation of kinase activity is often present in tumours, kinases represent attractive molecular targets for cancer therapy. The purpose of this study was to identify novel compounds targeting kinases with the potential to induce cell death in a panel of canine osteosarcoma cell lines. The ability of 80 well-characterized kinase inhibitor compounds to inhibit the proliferation of four canine osteosarcoma cell lines was investigated in vitro. For those compounds with activity, the mechanism of action and capability to potentiate the activity of doxorubicin was further evaluated. The screening showed 22 different kinase inhibitors that induced significant anti-proliferative effects across the four canine osteosarcoma cell lines investigated. Four of these compounds (RO 31-8220, 5-iodotubercidin, BAY 11-7082 and an erbstatin analog) showed significant cell growth inhibitory effects across all cell lines in association with variable induction of apoptosis. RO 31-8220 and 5-iodotubercidin showed the highest ability to potentiate the effects of doxorubicin on cell viability. In conclusion, the present study identified several potent kinase inhibitors targeting the PKC, CK1, PKA, ErbB2, mTOR and NF-κB pathways, which may warrant further investigations for the treatment of osteosarcoma in dogs

In vitro evaluation of curcumin-encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles against feline infectious peritonitis virus and pharmacokinetics study in cats

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is an important feline viral disease, causing an overridden inflammatory response that results in a high mortality rate, primarily in young cats. Curcumin is notable for its biological activities against various viral diseases; however, its poor bioavailability has hindered its potential in therapeutic application. In this study, curcumin was encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles to improve its bioavailability. Curcumin-encapsulated chitosan (Cur-CS) nanoparticles were synthesised based on the ionic gelation technique and were spherical and cuboidal in shape, with an average particle size of 330 nm and +42 mV in zeta potential. The nanoparticles exerted lower toxicity in Crandell-Rees feline kidney (CrFK) cells and enhanced antiviral activities with a selective index (SI) value three times higher than that of curcumin. Feline-specific bead-based multiplex immunoassay and qPCR were used to examine their modulatory effects on proinflammatory cytokines, including tumour necrosis factor (TNF)α, interleukin- (IL-) 6, and IL-1β. There were significant decrements in IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα expression in both curcumin and Cur-CS nanoparticles. Based on the multiplex immunoassay, curcumin and the Cur-CS nanoparticles could lower the immune-related proteins in FIP virus (FIPV) infection. The single- and multiple-dose pharmacokinetics profiles of curcumin and the Cur-CS nanoparticles were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Oral delivery of the Cur-CS nanoparticles to cats showed enhanced bioavailability with a maximum plasma concentration () value of 621.5 ng/mL. Incorporating chitosan nanoparticles to deliver curcumin improved the oral bioavailability and antiviral effects of curcumin against FIPV infection. This study provides evidence for the potential of Cur-CS nanoparticles as a supplementary treatment of FIP