Sinonasal meningioma in a Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)

Meningiomas are the most common primary brain tumour in dogs and cats. However, whilst there are numerous reports of extracranial (spinal, orbital and sinonasal) meningiomas in the dog, there have only been a few case reports of spinal meningiomas, and no post-mortem confirmed orbital or sinonasal meningiomas in cats. In this report, a 20-year-old captive tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) with a history of chronic ocular inflammation resulting in enucleation, spontaneously developed tetanic convulsions (epileptic seizures) that over a 2-year period resulted in a gradually worsening condition and the animal was eventually euthanized. At autopsy, a focal, expansile, neoplastic mass was found in the caudal nasal cavity midline, abutting the cribriform plate and slightly compressing the calvarium. Histological analysis revealed nasal turbinates attached to a wellcircumscribed expansile multi-lobular mass consisting of interlacing whorls and streams of neoplastic cells supported by a variably fibrous to microcystic collagenous matrix displaying rare psammoma bodies. The diagnosis was sinonasal transitional meningioma. This is the first report of a captive wild felid with an extracranial meningioma, specifically a tiger with a sinonasal transitional meningioma.The Wellcome Trust.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vetsciam2023Centre for Veterinary Wildlife StudiesParaclinical Science

Markers of inflammation in free-living African elephants (Loxodonta africana) : reference intervals and diagnostic performance of acute phase reactants

INTRODUCTION: Acute phase reactants (APRs) have not been investigated in free-living African elephants (Loxodonta africana), and there is little information about negative APRs albumin and serum iron in elephants. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to generate reference intervals (RIs) for APRs for free-living African elephants, and to determine the diagnostic performance of APRs in apparently healthy elephants and elephants with inflammatory lesions. METHODS: Stored serum samples from 49 apparently healthy and 16 injured free-living elephants were used. The following APRs and methods were included: albumin, bromocresol green; haptoglobin, colorimetric assay; serum amyloid A (SAA), multispecies immunoturbidometric assay, and serum iron with ferrozine method. Reference intervals were generated using the nonparametric method. Indices of diagnostic accuracy were determined by receiver-operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: Reference intervals were: albumin 41-55 g/L, haptoglobin 0.16-3.51 g/L, SAA < 10 mg/L, and serum iron 8.60-16.99 μmol/L. Serum iron and albumin concentrations were lower and haptoglobin and SAA concentrations were higher in the injured group. Serum iron had the best ability to predict health or inflammation, followed by haptoglobin, SAA, and albumin, with the area under the ROC curve ranging from 0.88-0.93. CONCLUSIONS: SAA concentrations were lower in healthy African vs Asian elephants, and species-specific RIs should be used. Serum iron was determined to be a diagnostically useful negative APR which should be added to APR panels for elephants.University of Pretoriahttp://www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/vcpdm2022Centre for Veterinary Wildlife StudiesCompanion Animal Clinical StudiesProduction Animal Studie

Reference intervals for haematology, clinical chemistry and acute phase reactants in free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana)

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is listed as Vulnerable on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Populations on the African continent have been declining for decades, through loss of habitat, human-elephant conflict, and hunting and poaching for ivory and bushmeat. Elephants are very popular zoo animals and numbers held in captivity across the globe are well within the thousands. Reference intervals (RI) are a valuable tool in monitoring health and disease status of populations and provide assistance with making diagnoses and determining prognosis in diseased individuals. Most publications reporting reference values for elephants provide information on limited measurands or have used small sample sizes, were conducted with outdated methods, or sampled either culled or captive animals. Moreover, no RI study has been performed for the African elephant according to the guidelines for RI generation provided by the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP). The objectives of this study were therefore 1) to generate RIs for haematology, clinical chemistry and acute phase reactants (APR) in free-ranging African elephants, 2) to compare the established RIs to those already published, and 3) to assess changes in clinical chemistry of diseased animals, using these RIs. The ASVCP recommendations were followed throughout the process of RI generation. The reference sample population initially consisted of 79 apparently healthy free-ranging elephants from the Kruger National Park. Samples were collected from these elephants prior to the start of this study. Clinical chemistry analysis was performed on stored serum using the Large Animal Rotor on an Abaxis Vetscan VS2. Measurement of the acute phase reactants in serum was performed on the Roche Cobas Integra 400 Plus, using a colorimetric peroxidase assay for haptoglobin, the ferrozine zinc method for iron and an immunoturbidometric assay for serum amyloid A (SAA). Haematology analysis was performed at the time of sample collection using EDTA whole blood. Haematology samples were analysed with a Scil Vet ABC or a Horiba ABX Micros ESV 60 using the domestic horse setting. A manual packed cell volume was also performed. Blood smears were made for all animals, and these were examined, and a manual differential count performed, for this study. Statistical analysis was performed with the RefVal Advisor add on for Excel. Strict outlier identification and elimination was applied as the samples originated from a wild animal population and clinical examination was limited. Either parametric or non-parametric methods were used to generate the 95% reference intervals for the population, depending on the data distribution. The 90% confidence intervals (CI) of the lower and upper reference limits were calculated using a bootstrap method. An additional 17 samples from injured (all snare-related) animals were selected and analysed for the same clinical chemistry and APR measurands as described above and blood smears were evaluated for 200-cell differential count and morphological changes.MAST (MSc (Veterinary Science))--University of Pretoria, 2020.Companion Animal Clinical StudiesMSc (Veterinary Science)Unrestricte

Reference intervals for hematology and clinical chemistry for the African elephant (Loxodonta africana)

The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is listed as vulnerable, with wild populations threatened by habitat loss and poaching. Clinical pathology is used to detect and monitor disease and injury, however existing reference interval (RI) studies for this species have been performed with outdated analytical methods, small sample sizes or using only managed animals. The aim of this study was to generate hematology and clinical chemistry RIs, using samples from the free-ranging elephant population in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Hematology RIs were derived from EDTA whole blood samples automatically analyzed (n = 23); manual PCV measured from 48 samples; and differential cell count results (n = 51) were included. Clinical chemistry RIs were generated from the results of automated analyzers on stored serum samples (n = 50). Reference intervals were generated according to American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology guidelines with a strict exclusion of outliers. Hematology RIs were: PCV 34–49%, RBC 2.80–3.96 × 1012/L, HGB 116–163 g/L, MCV 112–134 fL, MCH 35.5–45.2 pg, MCHC 314–364 g/L, PLT 182–386 × 109/L, WBC 7.5–15.2 × 109/L, segmented heterophils 1.5–4.0 × 109/L, band heterophils 0.0–0.2 × 109/L, total monocytes 3.6–7.6 × 109/L (means for “regular” were 35.2%, bilobed 8.6%, round 3.9% of total leukocytes), lymphocytes 1.1–5.5 × 109/L, eosinophils 0.0–0.9 × 109/L, basophils 0.0–0.1 × 109/L. Clinical chemistry RIs were: albumin 41–55 g/L, ALP 30–122 U/L, AST 9–34 U/L, calcium 2.56–3.02 mmol/L, CK 85–322 U/L, GGT 7–16 U/L, globulin 30–59 g/L, magnesium 1.15–1.70 mmol/L, phosphorus 1.28–2.31 mmol/L, total protein 77–109 g/L, urea 1.2–4.6 mmol/L. Reference intervals were narrower than those reported in other studies. These RI will be helpful in the future management of injured or diseased elephants in national parks and zoological settings.The University of Pretoria (UP), the African Wildlife Health and Management Research Theme Fund of the Faculty of Veterinary Science UP, dnata4good-UP’s Wild over Wildlife (WoW) program, the South African government through the South African Medical Research Council and the National Research Foundation South African Research Chair Initiative.https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science#am2022Centre for Veterinary Wildlife StudiesCompanion Animal Clinical StudiesProduction Animal Studie

Bilirubin and related tetrapyrroles inhibit food-borne mutagenesis: a mechanism for antigenotoxic action against a model epoxide

Bilirubin exhibits antioxidant and antimutagenic effects in vitro. Additional tetrapyrroles that are naturally abundant were tested for antigenotoxicity in Salmonella. Un-/conjugated bilirubin (1 and 2), biliverdin (4), bilirubin and biliverdin dimethyl esters (3 and 5), stercobilin (6), urobilin (7), and protoporphyrin (8) were evaluated at physiological concentrations (0.01-2 μmol/plate; 3.5-714 μM) against the metabolically activated food-borne mutagens aflatoxin B1 (9) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6- phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (10). Compound 8 most effectively inhibited the mutagenic effects of 9 in strain TA102 and 10 in TA98. Compound 7 inhibited 9-induced mutagenesis in strain TA98 most effectively, while 1 and 4 were promutagenic in this strain. This is likely due to their competition with mutagens for phase-II detoxification. Mechanistic investigations into antimutagenesis demonstrate that tetrapyrroles react efficiently with a model epoxide of 9, styrene epoxide (11), to form covalent adducts. This reaction is significantly faster than that of 11 with guanine. Hence, the evaluated tetrapyrroles inhibited genotoxicity induced by poly-/heterocyclic amines found in foods, and novel evidence obtained in the present investigation suggests this may occur via chemical scavenging of genotoxic metabolites of the mutagens investigated. This may have important ramifications for maintaining health, especially with regard to cancer prevention