Companion animals in comparative oncology: One Medicine in action.

Comparative oncology is poised to have a far-reaching impact on both animals and human beings with cancer. The field is gaining momentum and has repeatedly proven its utility in various aspects of oncology, including study of the genetics, development, progression, immunology and therapy of cancer. Companion animals provide many advantages over both traditional rodent models and human beings for studying cancer biology and accelerating the development of novel anti-cancer therapies. In this review, several examples of the ability of companion animals with spontaneous cancers to fill a unique niche in the field of oncology are discussed. In addition, potential caveats of the use of companion animals in research are reviewed, as well as ethical considerations and efforts to standardize veterinary clinical trials.

Post-transplant malignant neoplasia associated with cyclosporine-based immunotherapy: prevalence, risk factors and survival in feline renal transplant recipients.

The study objective was to compare the prevalence of malignant neoplasia in feline renal transplant recipients (n = 111) with a control population of cats that did not receive transplantation (n = 142); and to determine whether the development of post-transplant malignant neoplasia (PTMN) affects long-term survival. Twenty-five (22.5%) renal transplant recipients were diagnosed with PTMN, and of those 14 (56%) were diagnosed with lymphoma. The overall survival time in cats that developed PTMN following renal transplantation (median 646 days, IQR 433-1620 days) was not significantly different from the survival time in cats that did not develop PTMN (median 728 days, IQR 201-1942 days), although median survival after diagnosis of PTMN was only 13 days. Six control cats (4.2%) were diagnosed with malignant neoplasia. Compared to the control population, transplant cats had a 6.6 times higher odds of developing malignant neoplasia and a 6.7 times higher odds of developing lymphoma.

Smad-Runx interactions during chondrocyte maturation.

BACKGROUND: Intracellular signaling triggered by bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) results in activated Smad complexes that regulate transcription of BMP-responsive genes. However, the low specificity of Smad binding to regulatory sequences implies that additional tissue-specific transcription factors are also needed. Runx2 (Cbfal) is a transcription factor required for bone formation. We have examined the role of Smads and Runx2 in BMP induction of type X collagen, which is a marker of chondrocyte hypertrophy leading to endochondral bone formation. METHODS: Pre-hypertrophic chondrocytes from the cephalic portion of the chick embryo sternum were placed in culture in the presence or absence of rhBMP-2. Cultures were transiently transfected with DNA containing the BMP-responsive type X collagen promoter upstream of the luciferase gene. The cultures were also transfected with plasmids, causing over-expression of Smads or Runx2, or both. After 24-48 hours, cell extracts were examined for levels of luciferase expression. RESULTS: In the presence of BMP-2, chondrocytes over-expressing BMP-activated Smadl or Smad5 showed significant enhancement of luciferase production compared with that seen with BMP alone. This enhancement was not observed with over-expression of Smad2, a transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta)-activated Smad. Overexpression of Runx2 in BMP-treated cultures increased transcriptional activity to levels similar to those seen with Smads 1 or 5. When chondrocytes were simultaneously transfected with both Runx2 and Smad 1 or 5, promoter activity was further increased, indicating that BMP-stimulated Smad activity can be augmented by increasing the levels of Runx2. CONCLUSIONS: These results implicate the skeletal tissue transcription factor Runx2 in regulation of chondrocyte hypertrophy and suggest that maximal transcription of the type X collagen gene in pre-hypertrophic chondrocytes involves interaction of BMP-stimulated Smads with Runx2. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Many skeletal abnormalities are associated with impaired regulation of chondrocyte hypertrophy in growth plates. These studies demonstrate that both BMP-activated Smads and Runx2 levels can modulate chondrocyte transition to hypertrophy.

Utilization of bone morphogenetic protein receptors during chondrocyte maturation.

Cartilage from the upper, cephalic portion of embryonic chick sternums undergoes hypertrophy, while the lower, caudal portion of the sternum remains as cartilage. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) induce type X collagen (colX) in cultured upper but not lower sternal chondrocytes (LSCs). We have examined the utilization of BMP receptors (BMPRs) by upper sternal chondrocytes (USCs) and LSCs both by analyzing receptor expression and by overexpressing mutant BMPRs. Reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses indicate that both upper and lower chondrocytes produce messenger RNA (mRNA) for all three receptors: BMPR type IA (BMPR-IA), BMPR type IB (BMPR-IB), and BMPR type II (BMPR-II). Infection of USC with retroviral vectors expressing constitutively active (CA) BMPRs showed that CA-BMPR-IB, like exogenous BMP-4, induced both colX mRNA and elevated alkaline phosphatase (AP), while CA-BMPR-IA was markedly less potent. However, expression of activated receptors in LSC cultures resulted in only minimal induction of hypertrophic markers. Consistent with the results seen for CA receptors, dominant negative (DN) BMPR-IB blocked BMP-induced hypertrophy in USCs more effectively than DN-BMPR-IA. These results imply that the major BMPR required for BMP induction of chondrocyte hypertrophy is BMPR-IB, and that difference between permanent and prehypertrophic chondrocytes is not caused by absence of receptors required for BMP signaling.

A BMP responsive transcriptional region in the chicken type X collagen gene.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) were originally identified by their ability to induce ectopic bone formation and have been shown to promote both chondrogenesis and chondrocyte hypertrophy. BMPs have recently been found to activate a membrane serine/threonine kinase signaling mechanism in a variety of cell types, but the downstream effectors of BMP signaling in chondrocyte differentiation remain unidentified. We have previously reported that BMP-2 markedly stimulates type X collagen expression in prehypertrophic chick sternal chondrocytes, and that type X collagen mRNA levels in chondrocytes cultured under serum-free (SF) conditions are elevated 3- to 5-fold within 24 h. To better define the molecular mechanisms of induction of chondrocyte hypertrophy by BMPs, we examined the effect of BMPs on type X collagen production by 15-day chick embryo sternal chondrocytes cultured under SF conditions in the presence or absence of 30 ng/ml BMP-2, BMP-4, or BMP-7. Two populations of chondrocytes were used: one representing resting cartilage isolated from the caudal third of the sterna and the second representing prehypertrophic cartilage from the cephalic third of the sterna. BMP-2, BMP-4, and BMP-7 all effectively promoted chondrocyte maturation of cephalic sternal chondrocytes as measured by high levels of alkaline phosphatase, diminished levels of type II collagen, and induction of the hypertrophic chondrocyte-specific marker, type X collagen. To test whether BMP control of type X collagen expression occurs at the transcriptional level, we utilized plasmid constructs containing the chicken collagen X promoter and 5' flanking regions fused to a reporter gene. Constructs were transiently transfected into sternal chondrocytes cultured under SF conditions in the presence or absence of 30 ng/ml BMP-2, BMP-4, or BMP-7. A 533 bp region located 2.4-2.9 kb upstream from the type X collagen transcriptional start site was both necessary and sufficient for strong BMP responsiveness in cells destined for hypertrophy, but not in chondrocytes derived from the lower sterna.

Observations on the feeding behaviour of parasitic third-stage hookworm larvae.

The feeding behaviour of parasitic 3rd-stage larvae (L3) of the hookworms Ancylostoma caninum, A. ceylanicum and Necator americanus was examined. Less than 11% of A. caninum L3 recovered from the small intestines of dogs infected orally were feeding at 4-48 h post-infection (p.i.), and none of the A. ceylanicum L3 recovered from the intestines of orally infected hamsters had resumed feeding. All L4 of both species recovered at 36 and 48 h p.i. had resumed feeding. On the other hand, approximately 16% of the A. ceylanicum L3 recovered from the skin of percutaneously infected hamsters at 18 h were feeding, and the percentage feeding increased to nearly 58% at 44 h p.i. Necator americanus L3 recovered from the skin of percutaneously infected neonatal hamsters resumed feeding at 6-12 h p.i. and reached 90-94% by 18 h. Feeding began to decline at 66 h, and reached 29% at 120 h p.i. This decrease was associated with the migration of larvae from the skin to the lungs. By 192 h p.i. over 95% of the larvae had reached the small intestine, and all had moulted to the L4. The results indicate that parasitic L3 resume feeding in the skin during percutaneous infections, and suggest that feeding by hookworm L3 correlates with the resumption of development.

Resumption of feeding in vitro by hookworm third-stage larvae: a comparative study.

Third-stage infective larvae of the canine hookworm Ancylostoma caninum resume feeding in vitro in response to several stimuli. Experiments were conducted to characterize the in vitro feeding behavior of several hookworm species. Reduced glutathione and, to a lesser extent, canine and human serum stimulated third-stage larvae of Ancylostoma duodenale to resume feeding. Glutathione-induced feeding reached a maximum by 16 hr and was concentration-dependent between 0- and 15-mM glutathione. Oxidized glutathione and the reducing agents dithiothreitol and L-cysteine failed to induce feeding, suggesting that reducing conditions alone were not stimulatory. Serum incubated with glutathione was the most efficient stimulus for Ancylostoma ceylanicum, Ancylostoma braziliense, and Ancylostoma tubaeforme larvae, whereas Uncinaria stenocephala larvae responded best to canine serum alone. Necator americanus larvae did not resume feeding in response to glutathione, serum, glutathione plus serum, or linoleic acid (0.1-10 mM). These differences in feeding behavior suggest that generalizations concerning hookworm biology must be interpreted cautiously.