NC State Veterinary Medicine Research Roundup, September 2022
With published research on such diverse topics as treating equine eye inflammation with gene therapy to using stem cell grafting to regenerate diseased organs, NC State researchers continue to produce new findings that will improve both animal and human health. Here is a sample of their work.
Diagnosing Canine Brain Tumors
A multi-institutional team of researchers, including four from the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, has determined that recently established criteria for diagnosing canine glioma enjoys a strong consensus among pathologists. The team members from NC State are Gregory A. Krane, Debra A. Tokarz, Matthew Breen and Christopher L. Mariani. A paper about their research has been published in the journal Veterinary and Comparative Oncology. The findings could eventually aid in diagnosing tumors in both dogs and humans. An article about this research, which includes the abstract, has been published on the NC State website:
Studying the Connection Between Leaky Gut and Osteoarthritis
Researchers including NC State’s Duncan Lascelles from the Thurston Arthritis Research Center at UNC-Chapel Hill are part of a five-year, $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate the link between multi-joint osteoarthritis and intestinal permeability, also known as leaky gut. The grant was awarded to team leader Amanda Nelson, a rheumatologist from UNC-Chapel Hill. Lascelles is an internationally recognized leader in the study of pain in companion animals. Watch the video about the project below.
Using Gene Therapy to Treat Equine Eye Inflammation
A team of medical researchers that includes NC State’s Brian Gilger, Elizabeth Crabtree, Katy Uribe, Sara Smith, Darby Roberts and Jacklyn Salmon took part in a study to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of a single dose of AAV8-Equine-IL10 gene therapy for inhibiting experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). The results demonstrated safety and efficacy of AAV8-Equine-IL10 to prevent EAU and support continued exploration of AAV gene therapy for the treatment of equine and perhaps human recurrent uveitis.
The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Read it here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0270972
Grafting Stem Cells Into Organs to Treat Genetic-Based Disease
An international team of researchers, including Kyle Mathews, Jorge Piedrahita, Christopher Adin and Sean Simpson from NC State, participated in a study to determine the efficacy of transplanting stem cells into diseased organs.The study demonstrated that patch grafting enables transplantation of large numbers of donor cells, including organoids, to solid organs and can overcome genetic-based disease states.
The study was published in the journal Biomaterials.
Read it here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961222002873?via%3Dihub
Studying Outcomes of Radiation Treatment for 101 Dogs with Oral Melanoma
This retrospective study evaluates radiation treatment outcomes for 101 dogs to determine whether radiation dose intensity (weekly vs. biweekly) affected either disease progression or overall survival. This study included CVM researchers Michael Nolan, Tracy Gieger and Alexie Baja. When accounting for other factors, radiation dose intensity had no measurable impact on survival.
The study was published in the journal Veterinary and Comparative Oncology.
Read it here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/vco.12815
Confirming Wildfire Burns and Smoke Inhalation Increase Blood Clotting Factors in Cats
A research team that included NC State’s Yu Ueda investigated the relationship between smoke inhalation and burn injuries in cats and the development of blood platelet priming and activation, which leads to blood coagulation and clotting. Increased blood clotting has been observed in both domestic cats and humans resulting from injuries and smoke inhalation from wildfires. The study concluded that platelet priming is present following naturally occurring wildfire smoke exposure and thermal burn injuries in a population of domestic cats.
The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
Read it here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.892377/full
Investigating the Presence of Ectoparasites in Free-Range Poultry
Open-environment poultry farms that allow chickens to forage outdoors are becoming increasingly common. This study, which included researcher Rocio Crespo from NC State, examined birds that were captured and surveyed for ectoparasites, such as lice, fleas and mites, on 17 farms across the states of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and California. The team determined that the diversity of ectoparasites on these open environment poultry farms indicates a need for additional research on ectoparasite prevalence and intensity in these poultry farming systems.
The study was published in the Journal of Medical Entomology.
Read it here: https://academic.oup.com/jme/article-abstract/59/5/1837/6648880?redirectedFrom=fulltext
Developing Inhalable Vaccines for Respiratory Diseases
Respiratory diseases are a global burden, with millions of deaths attributed to pulmonary illnesses and dysfunctions. Conventional vaccines and treatments have been developed, but they present major limitations regarding pulmonary bioavailability and product stability. To overcome such limitations, a team of 20 NC State researchers led by Ke Cheng developed room-temperature-stable inhalable powdered drug carriers. The team’s findings suggest that the inhaled drug-delivery system they developed is superior to current vaccine systems.
The study was published in the journal Matter.
Testing to Detect Cognitive Dysfunction in Dogs
Canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) is a common neurodegenerative disease considered similar to early Alzheimer’s disease in humans. While CCD can’t be cured, early detection makes it possible to provide treatment that slows the progress of the disease and preserves quality of life for a longer period. In humans there has been some success with early detection using electroencephalographic (EEG) exams. A research study by an international team including Natasha Olby and Alejandra Mondino from NC State tested whether the EEG could aid with canine diagnosis. The results of the tests indicate that EEG could successfully aid in the diagnosis of canine cognitive disease.
The study was published in the journal Research in Veterinary Science.
Read it here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0034528822001874?via%3Dihub
