Oral Pathology in Portuguese Dogs: An Eight-Year Biopsy-Based Retrospective Study.

The oral cavity of the dog can be the site of several types of pathology including both benign and malignant lesions. The aim of this study was to analyze the frequency and clinical-pathological characteristics of oral lesions present in a cohort of Portuguese dogs. A retrospective observational cross-sectional study on 704 canine oral lesions submitted for histopathological diagnosis to a Veterinary Pathology Center in the north of Portugal from 2010 to 2017 was performed. Gender, age, location of the lesion and the histopathological diagnosis was analysed. From the 704 cases included, 307 (43.6%) were females and 397 (56.4%) males. The mean age was 9.53 ± 3.6 years-old (range 3 to 240 months). The site most frequently affected was the gingiva (n = 283; 40.2%). 342 (48.6%) cases were malignant neoplasms, most represented by oral melanoma (n = 129; 37.7%). 256 (36.4%) cases were benign neoplasms, most represented by fibromatous epulis of periodontal ligament origin/peripheral odontogenic fibroma (FEPLO/POF) (n = 208;81.3%). 106 (15%) were non-neoplastic lesions, most represented by gingival hyperplasia (n = 25, 23.6%). This study provides useful information about frequency and distribution of oral lesions in dogs over a period of eight years allowing valuable comparison with other countries and other species. The most common benign tumours were FEPLO/POF while oral melanoma was the most common malignant tumour.

BUBR1 as a Prognostic Biomarker in Canine Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Chromosomal instability (CIN) plays a key role in the carcinogenesis of several human cancers and can be related to the deregulation of core components of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) including BUBR1 protein kinase. These proteins have been related to tumor development and poor survival rates in human patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). To investigate the expression of the SAC proteins BUBR1, BUB3 and SPINDLY and also Ki-67 in canine OSCC, we performed an immunohistochemical evaluation in 60 canine OSCCs and compared them with clinical and pathological variables. BUBR1, Ki-67, BUB3 and SPINDLY protein expressions were detected in all cases and classified as with a high-expression extent score in 31 (51.7%) cases for BUBR1, 33 (58.9%) cases for BUB3 and 28 (50.9%) cases for SPINDLY. Ki-67 high expression was observed in 14 (25%) cases. An independent prognostic value for BUBR1 was found, where high BUBR1 expression was associated with lower survival (p = 0.012). These results indicate that BUBR1 expression is an independent prognostic factor in these tumors, suggesting the potential use for clinical applications as a prognostic biomarker and also as a pharmacological target in canine OSCC.

Bacterial Isolates from Urinary Tract Infection in Dogs and Cats in Portugal, and Their Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern: A Retrospective Study of 5 Years (2017-2021).

There are growing concerns regarding the rise of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in companion animals. This study aimed to bring new insights into the current scenario of Portugal's antimicrobial resistance bacteria isolated from companion animals with urinary tract infections and is the first to be performed during a long period on a large scale. Of a total of 17472 urine samples analyzed, 12,166 (69.6%) (CI 12,200-12,200) were negative for bacterial growth, and 5306 (30.4%) (95% CI 5310-5310) had bacterial growth. Of the culture-positive samples, 5224 (96.6%) (95% CI 5220-5220) were pure cultures and 82 (3.2%) (95% CI 81.9-82.1) had mixed growth. Escherichia coli was the most frequently isolated bacteria (n=2360, 44.5%) (95% CI 2360-2360), followed by Proteus mirabilis (n=585, 11%) (95% CI 583-583), Enterococcus faecium (n=277, 5.2%) (95% CI 277-277) and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (n=226, 4.3%) (95% CI 226-226). The overall susceptibility rates were low for erythromycin (45.3%) and clindamycin (51.3%), and high for aminoglycosides (96.3%), carbapenems (92.4%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (81.2%), and quinolones (79.9%). E. coli also showed considerable resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. The rates of multidrug-resistant bacteria are still high compared to the northern countries of Europe. This study's findings show the emergence of antibiotic resistance in the antibiotic agents commonly used in the treatment of UTIs in dogs and cats in Portugal.

p-S6 as a Prognostic Biomarker in Canine Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Scarce information exists on the role of mTOR pathway proteins and their association to aggressiveness and prognosis of patients with canine oral cancers. We aimed to investigate the activated form of mTOR and its downstream S6 protein in canine oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), and to evaluate potential associations between protein expression and clinic-pathologic variables and survival. For that we analysed p-mTOR and p-S6 protein expression by immunohistochemistry in 61 canine OSCCs. Multivariate analysis was conducted to examine their role in patients' cancer-specific survival (CSS). p-mTOR and p-S6 expression were present in almost all cases. High-expression of p-mTOR was observed in 44 (72.1%) cases using extent score and 52 (85.2%) cases using intensity score. For p-S6, high expression was observed in 53 (86.9%) cases using extent score and in 54 (88.5%) cases using intensity score. An independent prognostic value for p-S6 extension (p = 0.027), tumour stage (p = 0.013) and treatment (p = 0.0009) was found in patients' CSS analysis. Our data suggest that p-mTOR and p-S6 proteins are commonly expressed in canine OSCC and p-S6 expression is correlated with poor CSS in dogs with OSCC. More studies should be performed to identify possible therapeutic targets related with mTOR pathway for these patients.

Comparison of indirect and modified agglutination tests for detection of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in domestic cats.

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite with worldwide distribution. The accurate detection of this zoonotic agent in cats and other hosts has public health importance. Blood samples from 89 domestic cats were tested for antibodies to T. gondii using 2 commercial agglutination test kits, an indirect (IHAT; Toxo-HAI FUMOUZE; Fumouze Diagnostics) and a modified (MAT; Toxoscreen DA; bioMérieux) agglutination test. Antibodies were found in 16 of 89 (18%) cats by the IHAT and in 23 of 89 (26%) cats by the MAT, with an overall agreement between the 2 serologic tests of 92% (κ = 0.77; i.e., substantial agreement beyond chance). Considering the MAT as the gold standard, the IHAT showed perfect relative specificity (100%) and lower relative sensitivity (70%). The suboptimal sensitivity of the IHAT limits its use in epidemiologic studies in cats.

Establishment of Babesia vulpes n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Babesiidae), a piroplasmid species pathogenic for domestic dogs.

BACKGROUND: Canine babesiosis is a severe disease caused by several Babesia spp. A number of names have been proposed for the canine-infecting piroplasmid pathogen initially named Theileria annae Zahler, Rinder, Schein & Gothe, 2000. It was shown to be a member of the Babesia (sensu lato) group infecting carnivores and is also closely related to the Babesia microti group. Subsequently, the same parasite species was reclassified as a member of the genus Babesia and the name Babesia vulpes Baneth, Florin-Christensen, Cardoso & Schnittger, 2015 was proposed for it. However, both names do not meet the requirements of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (no accompanying descriptions, no deposition of type-specimens) and cannot be recognized as available names from the nomenclatural point of view. The purpose of this study was to further characterize this parasite in order to confirm its validity, to provide its description and to introduce zoological nomenclature for it with the name Babesia vulpes n. sp. RESULTS: Morphological description of the parasite in canine erythrocytes demonstrated that it takes the shape of small (1.33 × 0.98 µm), round to oval forms reminiscent of the pyriform and ring shapes of other small canine Babesia spp., such as Babesia gibsoni Patton, 1910 and Babesia conradae Kjemtrup, Wainwright, Miller, Penzhorn & Carreno, 2006. However, these parasite forms were overall smaller than those measured for the latter two species and no tetrad (Maltese cross) form was reported. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COX1) amino acid sequences substantiates the species identity of this parasite as previously demonstrated based on phylogenetic analysis of the 18S rRNA and ß-tubulin genes. The holotype of the parasite species was designated and deposited in an accessible public collection. CONCLUSIONS: This study ratifies the name Babesia vulpes n. sp. proposed for the parasite previously referred to as Theileria annae Zahler, Rinder, Schein & Gothe, 2000, Babesia annae (Zahler, Rinder, Schein & Gothe, 2000) or Babesia vulpes Baneth, Florin-Christensen, Cardoso & Schnittger, 2015, or mentioned as "Babesia microti-like piroplasm", "Babesia Spanish dog isolate" and Babesia cf. microti.