Endocrinopathy and Aging in Ferrets

Abstract

Ferrets have become more popular as household pets and as animal models in biomedical research in the past 2 decades. The average life span of ferrets is about 5-11 years with onset of geriatric diseases between 3-4 years including endocrinopathies, neoplasia, gastrointestinal diseases, cardiomyopathy, splenomegaly, renal diseases, dental diseases, and cataract. Endocrinopathies are the most common noninfectious disease affecting middle-aged and older ferrets. Spontaneous neoplasms affecting the endocrine system of ferrets appear to be increasing in prevalence with a preponderance toward proliferative lesions in the adrenal cortex and pancreatic islet cells. Diet, gonadectomy, and genetics may predispose ferrets to an increased incidence of these endocrinopathies. These functional proliferative lesions cause hypersecretion of hormones that alter the physiology and metabolism of the affected ferrets resulting in a wide range of clinical manifestations. However, there is an apparent dearth of information available in the literature about the causal relationship between aging and neoplasia in ferrets. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the anatomy and physiology of endocrine organs, disease incidence, age at diagnosis, clinical signs, pathology, and molecular markers available for diagnosis of various endocrine disorders in ferrets.

Multiple endocrine neoplasia–like syndrome in 24 baboons (Papio spp.)

“…20 In ferrets, the presentation of tumors in different endocrine organs has a close resemblance to MEN-like syndrome reported in humans and other domestic animals. 25 Together, these reports strengthen the likelihood of numerous species being affected by some form of genetically based MENlike syndromes, much like that in humans. Our study suggests that MEN1-like syndrome does exist in captive baboons.…”

“…Since the early 1990s, lines of MEN mouse and rat models have been generated and characterized, significantly contributing to our understanding of the important biochemical, physiological, and pathological processes of cancer onset and spread in intact living organisms. 13 In veterinary medicine, for the lack of confirmatory testing for genetic mutations, these cases have often been called as MEN-like syndromes, and few have been diagnosed or suspected in a variety of species including horses, 18,19 cats, 20,21 bulls, [22][23][24] ferrets, 25,26 dogs, [27][28][29][30] and nonhuman primates. 17,31 A 10-year retrospective analyses of 72 horses with endocrine neoplasia described the coexistence of hyperplasia and neoplasia of the thyroid and adrenal glands, similar to MEN syndrome of humans.…”

“…Importantly, the MEN1 and RET genes in ferrets have been sequenced. The ferret MEN1 gene had 97.7% and 99.4% homology to the human and dog MEN1 genes, respectively; the ferret RET gene had 97.6% and 100% homology to human and dog RET genes, respectively 25. Colgin et al 17 reported a case of…”

Seasonal weight changes in laboratory ferrets

“…adulthood) [8,20,23,29]. Ferrets are defined as old after the age of 3-4 years and are at greater risk of geriatric diseases but also natural weight loss [29,36].…”

One What? Why GI Researchers Should Know and Care About the One Health Initiative

“…Cancers in pets are one of the few large groups of diseases that have caught the attention of the human health system (and the National Institutes of Health). Companion animals develop GI cancers—oral cancers are common in cats; both cats and dogs develop hepatocellular, colorectal, and gastric cancers; and insulinomas are common in ferrets 12, 13, 14, 15. There is increasing use of dogs as part of comparative oncology efforts, particularly the National Cancer Institute Comparative Oncology Program, which is designed to understand tumor biology and test new chemotherapeutic agents and other therapies 16 …”