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Captive tigers without clinical signs of disease tested positive for C felis. The PCR assay for C felis appeared to be more reliable than cytologic detection of piroplasms in tigers.

A 3-year-old indeterminate sex domestic mediumhair cat was presented to the Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for further evaluation of chronic polyuria and polydipsia, foul-smelling urine, and increased serum androgen concentrations. The cat had been surrendered to a shelter 4 months previously for undetermined reasons. Diagnostic tests performed before referral included a serum biochemistry panel, CBC, urinalysis, urine culture, and ACTH stimulation testing (cortisol, aldosterone, and sex hormone assay). Abnormalities included minimally concentrated urine (specific gravity. 1.018), decreased baseline and stimulated serum cortisol and aldosterone concentrations, increased baseline progesterone, and increased baseline and stimulated 17-OH progesterone and androstenedione concentrations.The cat had a small body frame, thickened skin, gynecomastia, a fully formed penis with barbs, and an intact but empty scrotum. Initial indirect systolic blood pressure was 180 mm Hg, and remained persistently elevated during hospitalization. Clinicopathologic abnormalities included increased serum urea nitrogen concentration (41 mg/dL, reference range 15-35 mg/ dL), hypernatremia (158 mmol/L, reference range 148-157 mmol/L), and hyperglobulinemia (5.2 g/dL, reference range 2.3-3.8 g/dL). Feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus status were both negative, and a CBC did not reveal abnormalities. Urine specific gravity was 1.007, with no abnormalities on urine dipstick or sediment examinations. A repeated ACTH stimulation test including sex hormone assay confirmed the previously noted abnormalities (Table 1). Endogenous ACTH concentration was increased (>1,250 pg/ mL, reference range 25-50 pg/mL).1 Abdominal radiographs did not reveal abnormalities and abdominal sonographic examination revealed anatomically normal adrenal glands and no identifiable internal genitalia.Baseline serum deoxycorticosterone (DOC), 11-desoxycortisol (11-DES), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), pregnenolone, and corticosterone concentrations were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry by specific assays validated to bioanalytical standards, and compared with 4 age-matched healthy cats (2 neutered males, 2 spayed females).a Serum concentrations of DOC (1,177 ng/dL [healthy control cats, 4.6-18.0]), 11-DES (3,647 ng/dL [healthy control cats, 9-29]), DHEA (155 ng/dL [healthy control cats, 9-47]), and pregnenolone (552 ng/dL [healthy control cats, 115-311]) were markedly greater than results for any of the 4 healthy cats, whereas serum corticosterone concentration (9 ng/dL [healthy control cats, 164-550]) was lower. Exploratory laparotomy was performed with the aim to identify internal testes that would explain the cat's foul-smelling urine and physical examination abnormalities. The vas deferens and spermatic cords were bilaterally identified traversing through the inguinal rings and into the scrotum, consistent with prior castration; the identity of this tissue was confirmed histopathologically. The ...

Prostaglandin E2 receptor subtype 4 agonists (EP4A) and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) stimulate bone formation, but their effects on bone resorption are controversial. To provide additional insight into the skeletal effects of EP4A and FGF2, their regulation of expression of genes associated with bone formation and resorption in aged ovariectomized (OVX) rats and in cultured mouse bone marrow cells was determined. RNA was isolated from lumbar vertebrae of OVX rats (16 months of age) treated daily for 3 weeks with FGF2 or EP4A and processed for quantitative real time-PCR analyses. mRNA expression for the receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) and cathepsin K (CTSK), but not osteoprotegerin (OPG), were upregulated by both FGF2 and EP4A. Addition of FGF2 and EP4A to the medium of cultured mouse bone marrow cells increased the formation of tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) positive cells, upregulated the expression of RANKL and CTSK, and downregulated expression for OPG. EP4A also increased the formation of actin rings, an indicator of osteoclast activation, in a dose dependent manner in osteoclasts cultured on bone slices and triggered the formation of pits as revealed by a pitting assay. Gene expression for osterix (OSX) and IGF-2, genes associated with bone formation, was significantly greater in FGF2-treated OVX rats compared with EP4A-treated OVX rats. These findings at the molecular level are consistent with previous tissue-level histomorphometric findings, and at the doses tested, support the contention that FGF2 has a stronger bone anabolic effect than EP4A. The results of these in vivo and in vitro analyses clarify the effects of FGF2 and EP4A on bone formation and resorption, and provide insight into differences in the efficacy of two potential bone anabolic agents for restoration of lost bone mass in the osteopenic, estrogen-deplete skeleton.