Systematic review of ground reaction force measurements in cats.

Although orthopaedic abnormalities in cats are frequently observed radiographically, they remain clinically underdiagnosed, and kinetic motion analysis, a fundamental aspect of orthopaedic research in dogs and horses, is not commonly performed. More information obtained with non-invasive measurement techniques to assess normal and abnormal gait in cats would provide a greater insight into their locomotion and biomechanics and improve the objective measurement of disease alterations and treatment modalities. In this systematic review, 12 previously performed studies that investigated ground reaction force measurements in cats during locomotion were evaluated. The aims of these studies, the measurement methods and equipment used, and the outcomes of parameters used to assess both sound and diseased cats are summarised and discussed. All reviewed studies used pressure sensitive walkways to gain data and all provided an acclimatisation period as a prerequisite for measurements. In sound cats during walking, the forelimb peak vertical force was greater than in the hindlimb and the peak vertical force in the hindlimb was greater in cats than in dogs. This review confirms that ground reaction forces can be used to evaluate lameness and treatment effects in the cat.

Measurement of the tibial plateau angle in cats with and without cranial cruciate ligament rupture.

The objective of the present study was to determine the tibial plateau angle (TPA) in cats without stifle pathology and to compare it with cats suffering from an isolated cranial cruciate ligament rupture. Mediolateral radiographs of the stifle were taken and the tibial plateau angle was measured based on the method previously described by Slocum and Devine (1983) for dogs. Three observers with different levels of experience evaluated the radiographs of all of the cats in this study. The mean tibial plateau angle measured by all three observers in the cats with a rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) was 3.1 degrees greater than in cats without stifle pathology. Neither gender, age, body weight nor degenerative joint disease had an influence on measurement results. The authors found an inter-observer variability of +/- 5.3 degrees . Hence it can be concluded that cats with cranial cruciate ligament rupture have a greater TPA, and this at least lends some credence to the possibility of higher TPA being a predisposing factor for cruciate injury in this species.

A new superfamily of lymphoid and melanoma cell proteins with extensive homology to Schistosoma mansoni antigen Sm23.

A novel cDNA clone termed R2 was isolated by subtractive hybridization of a cDNA library of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)/phorbol myristate acetate-stimulated Jurkat cells and by rescreening a cDNA library of PHA-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes. It hybridizes to a single mRNA species of about 2.2 kb, which is inducible in lymphoid cells and codes for a protein of 267 amino acids which contains four potential transmembrane domains. A computer-aided comparison showed strong homology to four other membrane proteins, the pan B cell marker CD37, the pan leukocyte marker CD53, the melanoma antigen ME491 and, surprisingly, the Schistosoma mansoni antigen Sm23. The four human proteins share a number of additional similarities in their overall structure. These include identical spacing of the transmembrane domains, similar hydrophobicity plots, possible N-linked glycosylation sites of similar number and position as well as similar distribution of the cysteine residues. The majority of these characteristics are still conserved in the evolutionary most distant member of this family, the Schistosoma mansoni antigen Sm23. Here we introduce this new protein superfamily and characterize the inducible, lymphoid-specific member R2.

Molecular characterization and functional analysis of the leukocyte surface protein CD31.

The CD31 Ag is a surface glycoprotein of 130 kDa with a broad cellular distribution. We show that among peripheral human blood cells, it is expressed on monocytes, granulocytes, platelets, and a subpopulation of lymphocytes. Activation of granulocytes leads to down-regulation of CD31 molecule expression. Sequence analysis and quantitative measurements of the relatedness of the CD31 molecule to other known proteins demonstrate that it consists of six Ig constant domains and that each domain bears substantial similarity to Fc gamma R domains. We find, however, that the CD31 molecule does not bind Ig Fc domains. On human monocytes we demonstrate that CD31 mAb recognizing certain epitopes of the CD31 molecule induce the generation of reactive oxygen metabolites. No such effect was seen with human granulocytes. By using two CD31 mAb, termed 1B5 and 7E4, we analyzed the requirements for activation of the monocyte respiratory burst via CD31 Ag in more detail. We show that signal transduction occurs via formation of a CD31 Ag-mAb-Fc gamma R complex involving either Fc gamma RI (CD64) or Fc gamma RII (CDw32) molecules.

Activated human T lymphocytes express MHC class I heavy chains not associated with beta 2-microglobulin.

We present here the molecular characterization of a new activation-induced surface structure on human T lymphocytes, termed LA45, with high homology (93% at protein level) to MHC class I molecules. Antigen modulation and sequential immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that LA45 and HLA class I proteins do not crossreact with the corresponding antibodies. Furthermore, LA45 is not associated with beta 2-m. On the other hand, we could show that the separation of HLA-A,B,C and beta 2m molecules, induced by SDS-denaturation, leads to a conformational change in the heavy chain in such a way that it becomes reactive with LA45. The 90/45 kD LA45 proteins thus appear to be non-beta 2m-associated MHC class I alpha chains that are selectively expressed by activated but not by resting human T lymphocytes.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and CD7 expression in acute myeloid leukemias are not associated with a high frequency of immunoglobulin and/or T cell receptor gene rearrangement.

Within normal hemopoiesis, the intranuclear DNA polymerase TdT seems to be exclusively expressed by T and B lymphoid precursor cells. Double staining experiments showed that TdT can also be expressed in blast cells of certain acute myeloid leukemias. Recent reports described a very strong association between TdT expression and rearrangements of IgH and TcR genes in such AML specimens, suggesting a predominant lymphoid commitment of these TdT positive AML blasts. When submitting 24 serologically and morphologically well-characterized TdT positive AML specimens for additional genotypic analysis to determine the IgH and TcR gene configuration, we observed that only four had clonally rearranged IgH and/or TcR genes, whereas 20 had germ line configuration. This frequency is clearly lower than previously reported and not necessarily different from rearrangement frequencies reported for TdT negative AML (4-40%). It would seem to us, therefore, that the expression of TdT in otherwise well-defined AML blasts is not necessarily associated with a higher frequency of immunoglobulin and/or T cell receptor gene rearrangement.