Effect of dietary omega-3 fatty acids on red blood cell lipid composition and plasma metabolites in the cockatiel, Nymphicus hollandicus.

Although dietary n-3 fatty acids have been extensively studied in poultry, they have not yet been prospectively investigated in psittacines, despite potential benefits for preventing and treating atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, and other chronic disease processes. The objectives of this study were to investigate the incorporation of dietary n-3 fatty acids into red blood cells (RBC) and to determine the effects of supplementation of psittacine diets with fish or flax oil on plasma lipids and lipoproteins in the cockatiel. Adult cockatiels were fed a custom-formulated diet containing either 4% (wt/wt, as-fed) beef tallow (CON), 3% fish oil + 1% tallow (FSH), or 3.5% flax oil + 0.5% tallow (FLX; n = 20 per diet group). Baseline measurements were obtained for RBC fatty acid composition, triacylglycerides (TAG), and cholesterol. After 8 to 13 wk on the study diets, plasma chemistry profiles, lipoprotein density profiles, and RBC fatty acid composition were determined. At 8 wk, total plasma cholesterol was least in FSH birds (P < 0.05) and TAG concentrations were less in FSH birds than FLX birds (P < 0.05). Total n-3 fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid, docosapentaenoic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid were markedly greater in the RBC of FSH birds than FLX or CON birds (P < 0.05). Alpha linolenic acid was greatest in FLX (P < 0.05). Initial and final BW, and nonlipid plasma chemistry values did not differ among diet groups. No adverse effects of dietary supplementation of cockatiels with 3.5% flax oil or 3% fish oil were observed during the 13-wk feeding period. Although fish and flax oils provided similar total n-3 PUFA to the diets, fish oil caused greater reductions in cholesterol and TAG, and greater total RBC n-3 incorporation. Thus, dietary modification of psittacine diets with long chain n-3 PUFA from fish oil appears safe and may be beneficial to these long-lived companion birds.

The use of megavoltage radiation therapy in the treatment of thymomas in rabbits: 19 cases.

An overall median survival time (MST) and prognostic factors in rabbits with thymomas treated with megavoltage radiation therapy (RT) were determined in this multi-institutional retrospective case analysis. Medical records for 19 rabbits with suspected or confirmed thymomas treated with RT were evaluated for data including signalment, haematological and serum biochemistry abnormalities, presence of pleural effusion, radiation plan, body weight, total radiation dose and institution administering RT. Statistical significance of these factors related to overall survival was assessed. An overall MST for all 19 rabbits was 313 days; exclusion of 3 rabbits that died acutely during the first 14 days of RT yielded a MST of 727 days. The only factor associated with a significantly decreased survival time was having a body weight lower than mean body weight of 1.57 kg. Radiation treatment-associated complications were infrequent and included radiation-induced myocardial failure, radiation pneumonitis and alopecia.

Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic integration of orbifloxacin in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) following oral and intravenous administration.

The pharmacokinetics of single-dose administration of orbifloxacin were determined in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) at dosages of 5 mg/kg intravenous (i.v. n = 12) and 7.5 mg/kg oral (p.o.; n = 5), 10 mg/kg p.o. (n = 5), 15 mg/kg p.o. (n = 12) and 20 mg/kg p.o. (n = 5) via HPLC. Orbifloxacin minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against 22 microbial isolates from various bird species were performed to calculate pharmacodynamic surrogate markers. The concentration-time data were analyzed using a naïve pooled data (NPD) approach and compartmental and noncompartmental methods. Steady-state volume of distribution (Vd(ss)) and total body clearance (Cl) after i.v. administration were estimated to be 1.27 L/kg and 0.60 L/h·kg, respectively. Following 15 and 20 mg/kg p.o. dose, bioavailability was 102% and 117%, respectively. The harmonic mean of the corresponding terminal half-lives (T(1/2) λ(z) ) across all the dose groups was 1.71 h. The C(max) /MIC(90) and AUC(0∞24) /MIC(90) for the 15 and 20 mg/kg p.o. doses were ≥5.22 and ≥8.98, and ≥25.80 and ≥39.37 h, respectively. The results of this study suggest that 20 mg/kg orbifloxacin p.o. would be a rational daily dose to treat susceptible infections in Japanese quail not intended for food consumption. For more sensitive bacterial organisms, 15 mg/kg p.o. may also be effective.

Enantioselective pharmacokinetics of racemic carprofen in New Zealand white rabbits.

The enantioselective pharmacokinetics of single dose (2 mg/kg) racemic carprofen (CPF) were evaluated in adult New Zealand white rabbits after intravenous (i.v.) and subcutaneous (s.c.) dose. Six rabbits were utilized in a two-way randomized crossover study and serial blood samples were collected. Plasma CPF concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. After i.v. and s.c. racemic CPF administration, plasma concentration-time curves were best described by a two-compartment open model and a one-compartment model, respectively. The S(+) CPF enantiomer predominated in plasma following both routes of administration. Mean observed clearance of R(-)-CPF (82.17 +/- 13.70 mL/h.kg) was more rapid than for S(+)-CPF (27.92 +/- 7.07 mL/h.kg; P < 0.001). T(1/2)lambda z was shorter for R(-)-CPF than S(+)-CPF after both i.v. (1.03 and 2.99 h, respectively) and s.c. (1.94 and 4.14 h, respectively) dosing. Mean AUC(0-->infinity) ratios for R(-):S(+)-CPF were approximately 1:3 for both routes of administration. Mean residence time of R(-)-CPF was shorter than of S(+)-CPF (1.06 +/- 0.29 h, 3.45 +/- 0.50 h; P < 0.001) and R(-)- and S(+)-CPF volumes of distribution at steady state were 85.00 +/- 14.42 and 94.39 +/- 18.66 mL/kg, respectively after i.v. administration. The mean s.c. bioavailability [F (%)] for both R(-)- and S(+)-CPF was high, 94.4 +/- 22.8 and 91.0 +/- 35.7%, respectively.

Atypical parasitic migration and necrotizing sacral myelitis due to Serratospiculoides amaculata in a prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus).

An adult, wild-caught, female prairie falcon (Falco mexicanus) was presented with the chief complaint of anorexia. Radiographic findings included increased densities within the air sacs, and coelomic endoscopy revealed numerous slender worms within the air sacs and on the serosal surfaces of the ovary, oviduct, liver, proventriculus, and ventriculus. The bird seemed to improve for a short period of time with antiparasitic therapy (ivermectin and fenbendazole) and supportive care. Twenty-one days after initial presentation, the bird became recumbent with increasing pelvic limb neurologic deficits and was euthanized. On histopathologic examination, mature nematodes and larvated eggs identified as Serratospiculoides amaculata were found within the subdural space of the distal thoracolumbar and synsacral spinal cord and within the coelomic cavity. This case suggests that S. amaculata can cause clinically significant lesions in its falconiform host with potentially fatal results.

The GATA-factor elt-2 is essential for formation of the Caenorhabditis elegans intestine.

The Caenorhabditis elegans elt-2 gene encodes a single-finger GATA factor, previously cloned by virtue of its binding to a tandem pair of GATA sites that control the gut-specific ges-1 esterase gene. In the present paper, we show that elt-2 expression is completely gut specific, beginning when the embryonic gut has only two cells (one cell cycle prior to ges-1 expression) and continuing in every cell of the gut throughout the life of the worm. When elt-2 is expressed ectopically using a transgenic heat-shock construct, the endogenous ges-1 gene is now expressed in most if not all cells of the embryo; several other gut markers (including a transgenic elt-2-promoter::lacZ reporter construct designed to test for elt-2 autoregulation) are also expressed ectopically in the same experiment. These effects are specific in that two other C. elegans GATA factors (elt-1 and elt-3) do not cause ectopic gut gene expression. An imprecise transposon excision was identified that removes the entire elt-2 coding region. Homozygous elt-2 null mutants die at the L1 larval stage with an apparent malformation or degeneration of gut cells. Although the loss of elt-2 function has major consequences for later gut morphogenesis and function, mutant embryos still express ges-1. We suggest that elt-2 is part of a redundant network of genes that controls embryonic gut development; other factors may be able to compensate for elt-2 loss in the earlier stages of gut development but not in later stages. We discuss whether elements of this regulatory network may be conserved in all metazoa.

elt-2, a second GATA factor from the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

We have previously shown that a tandem pair of (A/T)GATA(A/G) sequences in the promoter region of the Caenorhabditis elegans gut esterase gene (ges-1) controls the tissue specificity of ges-1 expression in vivo. The ges-1 GATA region was used as a probe to screen a C. elegans cDNA expression library, and a gene for a new C. elegans GATA-factor (named elt-2) was isolated. The longest open reading frame in the elt-2 cDNA codes for a protein of M(r) 47,000 with a single zinc finger domain, similar (approximately 75% amino acid identity) to the C-terminal fingers of all other two-fingered GATA factors isolated to date. A similar degree of relatedness is found with the single-finger DNA binding domains of GATA factors identified in invertebrates. An upstream region in the ELT-2 protein with the sequence C-X2-C-X16-C-X2-C has some of the characteristics of a zinc finger domain but is highly diverged from the zinc finger domains of other GATA factors. The elt-2 gene is expressed as an SL1 trans-spliced message, which can be detected at all stages of development except oocytes; however, elt-2 message levels are 5-10-fold higher in embryos than in other stages. The genomic clone for elt-2 has been characterized and mapped near the center of the C. elegans X chromosome, ELT-2 protein, produced by in vitro transcription-translation, binds to ges-1 GATA-containing oligonucleotides similar to a factor previously identified in C. elegans embryo extracts, both as assayed by electrophoretic migration and by competition with wild type and mutant oligonucleotides. However, there is as yet no direct evidence that elt-2 does or does not control ges-1.

DNA-protein interactions in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo: oocyte and embryonic factors that bind to the promoter of the gut-specific ges-1 gene.

We describe an experimental system in which to investigate DNA-protein interactions in the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo. A homogeneous population of developmentally blocked mid-proliferation stage embryos can be produced by exposure to the deoxynucleotide analog fluorodeoxyuridine. These blocked embryos remain viable for days and express a number of biochemical markers of early differentiation, for example, gut granules, the gut esterase ges-1, and two regulatory genes, mab-5 and hlh-1. Using the techniques of gel mobility shift and DNase I footprinting, we show that nuclear extracts prepared from these embryos contain factors that bind to the 5'-promoter sequences of the C. elegans gut-specific ges-1 gene. In particular, we examine a putative gut "activator" region, which was previously identified by deletion-transformation analysis and which contains two copies of a consensus GATA-factor binding sequence. Factors that bind to double-stranded oligonucleotides containing the ges-1 GATA sequences are present predominantly in nuclear extracts of embryos but are found neither in cytoplasmic nor in nuclear extracts of unfertilized oocytes. Two proteins, of 43 and 60 kDa, can be uv-crosslinked to double-stranded oligonucleotides containing the ges-1 GATA sequences. The sizes of these proteins correspond to the sizes expected for the elt-1 protein and for the skn-1 protein, two regulatory factors present in early C. elegans embryos and possible candidates for ges-1 control. However, we show that homozygous deficiency embryos (mDf7/mDf7 embryos and eDf19/eDf19 embryos, both of which lack the elt-1 gene, and nDf41/nDf41 embryos, which have no skn-1 gene), still express the ges-1 esterase. We conclude that neither the elt-1 gene nor the skn-1 gene is necessary zygotically for ges-1 expression. We suggest that neither the elt-1 protein nor the skn-1 protein interacts directly with the ges-1 gene and that the observed binding proteins must correspond to products of other genes. More generally, the present experimental system should allow the biochemical study of any gene expressed during early C. elegans embryogenesis.