Novel Granulocytic Colony Stimulating Factor-based Therapy for Morbidity Reduction in Pancytopenic Dogs with Babesia gibsoni

ector borne pancytopenia is emerging as a life threatening entity in animals. In India babesiosis is one among the most prevalent tick-borne parasitic diseases of dogs caused by either Babesia gibsoni or Babesia canis. Bleeding due to thrombocytopenia and the concurrent anaemia and leukopenia were difficult to manage. This study assessed the efficacy of Filgrastim in pancytopenia associated with Babesia gibsoni in dogs presented to the Small Animal Medicine Referral Clinic, Madras Veterinary College. The therapeutic practices included Injection Filgrastim @ 10 µg/kg, SC, SID in combination with the standard triple therapy to manage the pancytopenia and the infection. Twenty numbers of PCR positive Babesia gibsoni dogs were used for this study. The animals were divided in to two groups based on therapeutic practices. First group consisted of dogs treated with triple therapy and the second group consisted of dogs treated and evaluated with Filgrastim along with triple therapy. The study showed that there was a significant increase in leukocyte count in Filgrastim treated group when compared to the other group. Integration of G-CSF along with standard triple therapy helped in better survival in pancytopenic dogs with Babesia gibsoni

Metabolism of echitamine and plumbagin in rats.

When administered to rats, echitamine was absorbed rapidly from the tissues and was detected in circulation within 30 min. The drug level reached a maximum value by 2 h and then decreased steadily. The drug had completely disappeared from the blood in 6 h. The presence of echitamine was observed within 2 h in urine and the maximum amount of drug was excreted between 2 and 4 h. About 90% of the drug was excreted in urine in 24 h and the drug could not be detected in urine after 48 h. Along with echitamine, its metabolites were also detected in the urine. Plumbagin was not detected in blood upto 24 h when administered into rats. The drug was detected in urine within 4 h after administration; a major portion of the drug was excreted in urine by 24 h and traces of the drug were observed in the urine even after 48 h.

Arginase from rat fibrosarcoma. Its possible role in proline, glutamate and polyamine metabolism.

The presence of arginase in rat fibrosarcoma not synthesizing urea, suggested that this enzyme may have additional functions. Ornithine carbamoyl transferase, a key enzyme of the urea cycle was absent in this tissue, when compared to normal tissues, lower amount of ornithine was found in the fibrosarcoma, but this tumour contained a higher level of proline. The radioactivity present in L-[U-14C] arginine was incorporated into putrescine, spermidine, spermine, proline glutamate and glutamine suggesting that arginine was a possible precursor and that arginase may have a role in the synthesis of these metabolites.

Argi nase from rat fibrosarcoma. Purification and properties.

Arginase from rat fibrosarcoma was purified about 1900-fold and its properties were compared with those of the enzyme from liver and kidney. Arginase from fibrosarcoma was a neutral protein of molecular weight 120,000 with a Km value of 11 mM for arginine. The activation energy was 7.2 kcal/mol and the pH optimum was 10. The fibrosarcoma enzyme was immunologically different from that of the liver. The arginase from fibrosarcoma closely resembled the arginase from the kidney in its electrophoretic, kinetic and immunological properties.