Fabio Del Piero

• DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVP
• Professor (Full) at Louisiana State University

Several pulmonary lesions have been described in Virginia opossums ( Didelphis virginiana ), but fungal pneumonia in this species is largely unrecognized. We retrospectively analyzed gross and histologic pulmonary findings in 28 opossums from Louisiana. Lung sections were evaluated for fungal organisms, associated histologic changes, and other conc...

Atypical Bacillus cereus strains (currently classified as Bacillus tropicus) capable of causing anthrax-like disease in humans and animals have emerged in the last 2 decades. These emerging strains are characterized by the acquisition of virulence plasmids pBCXO1 and pBC210, which are homologous to the pXO1 and pXO2 virulence plasmids of Bacillus a...

Bunyamwera virus (BUNV) is the prototypical member of the Bunyamwera serogroup within the Orthobunyvirus genus. BUNV is transmitted by mosquito vectors of the genera Culex , Aedes and Anopheles and has historically circulated in East Africa, though the transmission has been observed in Argentina. BUNV has been identified as an agent of human and an...

An 18-y-old American Saddlebred mare was admitted with fever and acute onset of neurologic signs including grade 3 of 5 ataxia, difficulty in prehension, and dull mentation. Because of financial restraints, desired testing could not be performed; the horse’s condition declined despite supportive treatment, and euthanasia was elected. Postmortem exa...

A 2‐year‐old spayed female Siberian Husky was presented with a history of acute onset lethargy, collapse, haematochezia and vomiting. The patient was severely tachycardic and hypotensive. Point‐of‐care ultrasound revealed gallbladder wall thickening and peritoneal effusion consistent with haemorrhage on subsequent abdominocentesis. Despite attempte...

OBJECTIVE To compare small intestinal inflammation with gastric inflammation in horses with and without equine gastric glandular disease (EGGD), we evaluated endoscopic, macroscopic, and microscopic findings of the glandular stomach and microscopic findings of the small intestine. ANIMALS 36 horses. METHODS Horses underwent endoscopy and were sco...

Panulirus argus virus 1 (PaV1) is the first and only naturally occurring pathogenic virus described in the Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus. PaV1 infection in decapod species that commonly co-occur with P. argus, including the spotted spiny lobster Panulirus guttatus, has not been previously described. In 2016, 14 Caribbean and 5 spotted sp...

Preeclampsia (PE) is a devastating hypertensive disorder of pregnancy closely linked to obesity. Long-term adverse outcomes may occur in offspring from preeclamptic pregnancies. Accordingly, sex-specific changes in pubertal development have been described in children from preeclamptic women, but the underlying mechanisms remain vastly unexplored. F...

Actinobacillus equuli subsp. equuli is the etiological agent of sleepy foal disease, an acute form of fatal septicemia in newborn foals. A. equuli is commonly found in the mucous membranes of healthy horses’ respiratory and alimentary tracts and rarely causes disease in adult horses. In this study, we report a case of a 22-year-old American Paint g...

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) virus is the most common infectious cause of uveitis in cats. Confirmatory diagnosis is usually only reached at postmortem examination. The relationship between the histologic inflammatory pattern, which depends on the stage of the disease, and the likelihood of detection of the viral antigen and/or RNA has not b...

Background: Targeted osmotic lysis (TOL) is a novel technology that involves concomitant stimulation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and the pharmacological blockade of Na+, K+-ATPase causing lysis of highly malignant cancer cells. Hypothesis/Objectives. TOL offers an option for treating advanced carcinomas in companion animals. Animals....

ERas is a new gene of the Ras family found in murine embryonic stem (ES) cells. Its human ortholog is not expressed in human ES cells. So far ERas gene has only been found to be expressed in the tissues of adult cynomolgus monkeys and cattle; however, information about ERAS expression or its potential functions in equine tissues is lacking. This st...

In collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Pathologists.

In collaboration with the American College of Veterinary Pathologists

Chlamydia spp are reported to causes systemic disease in a variety of hosts worldwide including few reports in crocodilians. Disease presentations vary from asymptomatic to fulminant disease, some of which are zoonotic. The aim of this study was to describe the pathological, immunohistochemical, and molecular findings associated with the occurrence...

Targeted osmotic lysis (TOL) is a novel technology that involves the concomitant stimulation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and pharmacological blockade of Na+, K+-ATPase (sodium pumps) causing selective osmotic lysis of highly malignant cancer cells that may offer an option for treating advanced carcinomas in companion animals. We hypoth...

An adult of unknown age, intact female bearded dragon (Pogona sp.) had multiple ulcerative foci in the skin, especially noted in the ventral neck and along the inguinal area. Due to the severity and extension of the epidermal/dermal lesions, as well as, the deleterious animal condition, the owners elected humane euthanasia and postmortem examinatio...

Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a debilitating neurologic disease affecting horses across the Americas. Gaps in understanding the inflammatory immune response in EPM-affected horses create difficulties with diagnosis and treatment, subsequently negatively impacting the prognosis of affected horses. The purpose of the current study was t...

A 4-year-old captive-bred male veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) presented with anorexia, weight loss, and stomatitis. Complete blood count revealed pancytopenia and a marked leukocytosis (197 x103/µL) composed of blast cells (195 x103/µL) that had oval to irregular nuclei with finely stippled chromatin and occasional nucleoli. The diagnosis...

Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy occurring in approximately 10% of women worldwide. While it is life threatening to both the mother and baby, the only effective treatment is delivery of the placenta and fetus, which is often preterm. Maternal obesity is a risk factor for PE, and the effects of both on offspring are long sta...

Simple Summary Current estimates have determined that one in five reptile species are already threatened with extinction. The aim of this study was to determine if pregnant mare serum gonadotropin could be used in leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) to stimulate the production of sperm and increase their testosterone concentrations. This inform...

Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Pathology. www.bjvp.org.br. All rights reserved 2007-2021. Sarandy et al.; Metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma associated with hypertrophic gastropathy resembling Ménétrier's disease in an adult Labrador Retriever dog Braz Abstract We describe a case of hypertrophic gastropathy (Ménétrier's like disease) with metastati...

A 2-year-old, female Poodle dog presented to the Emergency Service at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine with a history of lethargy and anorexia. At clinical examination the dog was anemic and febrile. The dog was bilaterally blind. The right eye was buphthalmic and the intraocular press...

Neurologic diseases are common in domestic cats, and infectious agents are suspected to be the primary cause in 30–45% of cases. Among infectious etiologies, those of bacterial origin are only sporadically characterized in the literature, with few of these reports correlating gross and histologic findings with confirmatory bacteriologic identificat...

In August of 2018, a series of large fish kills occurred on the Mississippi River in North Louisiana involving only silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix. Clinical signs observed in moribund animals included: erratic swimming behavior, such as spiraling and spinning at the surface. A moribund specimen was captured by dip net near the surface at L...

IMPACT: Our data demonstrate that VC2 oncolytic virotherapy has significant clinical potential. OBJECTIVES/GOALS: Use our novel oncolytic herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1), VC2, to understand how oncolytic virotherapy affects the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment as a mechanism of efficacy. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: We tested the efficacy...

A 4-mo-old northern red-shouldered macaw (Diopsittaca nobilis) was admitted to the veterinary hospital of the Arruda Câmara Zoo, in the State of Paraiba, Brazil, for investigation of an orbital mass. Given rapid progression and lack of response to treatment, the bird was euthanized, and an autopsy was performed. Histologically, the mass consisted o...

Here we describe an unusual and severe mixed parasitic infection in a cat that died during routine surgery. Gastric Physaloptera sp., cardiac Dirofilaria immitis, and intestinal Toxocara cati, Dipylidium caninum, Ancylostoma sp. and Taenia taeniaeformis were observed. Histologic lesions included chronic proliferative pulmonary endarteritis, mild in...

Oncolytic virotherapy (OVT) is now understood to be an immunotherapy that uses viral infection to liberate tumor antigens in an immunogenic context to promote the development of anti-tumor immune responses. The only currently FDA approved oncolytic virotherapy, T-Vec™, is a modified herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1). While T-Vec™ is associated wi...

In situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) are essential tools to characterize SARS-CoV-2 infection and tropism in naturally and experimentally infected animals and also for diagnostic purposes. Here, we describe three RNAscope®-based ISH assays targeting the ORF1ab, spike, and nucleocapsid genes and IHC assays targeting the spike a...

In this work, we report the synthesis of a new 1,3-thiazolium-5-thiolate derivative of a mesoionic compound (MIH 2.4Bl) and the characterization of its selective cytotoxicity on a panel of breast cancer cells lines. The cytotoxic effect of MIH 2.4Bl on breast cancer cell lines was determined by XTT and crystal violet assays, flow cytometry analysis...

Two cases of focal mucopurulent placentitis (FMP) associated with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia are reported herein. The first patient, a 12‐year‐old Quarter Horse mare, aborted at 287 days of gestation and the fetus and placenta were submitted for post‐mortem examination. Histopathological findings included chronic exudative allantochorionitis and...

Concurrent activation of voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and blockade of Na+ pumps causes a targeted osmotic lysis (TOL) of carcinomas that over-express the VGSCs. Unfortunately, electrical current bypasses tumors or tumor sections because of the variable resistance of the extracellular microenvironment. This study assesses pulsed magnetic fi...

Ocular diseases are an important category in equine medicine; however, most articles regarding histologic ocular lesions in horses are exclusive to a specific condition and do not provide a complete review of clinically significant ocular disease frequency in a diagnostic laboratory. We reviewed sections of equine eyes from 140 cases (98 enucleatio...

Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) can cause severe ocular infection and blindness. We have previously shown that the HSV-1 VC2 vaccine strain is protective in mice and guinea pigs against genital herpes infection following vaginal challenge with HSV-1 or HSV-2. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of VC2 intramuscular vaccination in mice agai...

Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) can cause severe ocular infection and blindness. We have previously shown that the HSV-1 VC2 vaccine strain is protective in mice and guinea pigs against genital herpes infection following vaginal challenge with HSV-1 or HSV-2. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of VC2 intramuscular vaccination in mice agai...

A concurrent outbreak of infection by canine parvovirus 2b (CPV-2b) and Clostridium difficile producing A and/or B toxins occurred in Asian small-clawed otters ( Amblonyx cinereus). The 5 clinically affected otters were 6- to 24-mo-old intact females that had severe diarrhea, dehydration, were acutely comatose, and died 1–4 d after the onset of cli...

E5 protein, the major oncoprotein of bovine Deltapapillomavirus (BPV), was found to be expressed in 18 of 21 examined urothelial cancers of cattle. E5 oncoprotein was found to interact with p62 which was degraded through the autophagosome-lysosome pathway as well as LC3-II and appeared to be involved in the phosphorylation of the α-subunit of eukar...

Liver cancer results in a high degree of mortality, especially among men. Since fatty liver disease is a risk factor for development of hepatocellular carcinoma, we investigated the role of dietary fat type in tumor promotion by high fat diets in mice after initiation with the chemical carcinogen diethyl nitrosamine. Tumor incidence and multiplicit...

The complement system has a well-defined role in deterring blood borne infections. However, complement is not entirely efficacious as several bacterial pathogens, including some obligate intracellular pathogens, have evolved mechanisms for resistance. It is presumed that obligate intracellular bacteria evade complement attack by residing within a h...

Fifteen adult koi (Cyprinus carpio) simultaneously developed white cutaneous proliferations affecting up to 30% of their bodies. Onset of lesions (September, 2014) was associated with return to a remodeled backyard water garden after temporarily being maintained in a plastic swimming pool. A single water temperature taken during the outbreak read 2...

Figure S1. Description of transgenic mice used for breeding. LysM‐Cre strain uses endogenous Lysozyme M (LysM) promoter to control the expression of Cre recombinase (Cre) transgene. The Rosa‐(mTom−PolyA)Fx/Fx/mEGFP reporter strain expresses mTom (or mEGFP) fluorescent protein in the absence (or presence) of Cre recombinase, respectively. The Rosa‐(...

Figure S2 . Flow cytometry for BAL cells harvested from LysM‐Cre+\ROSA‐mTom/mEGFP‐ (Left panel), LysM‐Cre‐\ROSA‐mTom/mEGFP+ (middle panel), and LysM‐Cre+\ROSA‐mTom/mEGFP+ (right panel). For all figures, the Y‐axis is measuring mTom (red) and the X‐axis mEGFP (green). Genotypes are indicated below the flow cytometry output. Histograms indicate the p...

Figure S3. Morphometric analysis of alveolar topology. Representative raw (left) and analyzed photographs (right) depicting methodology used to determine alterations in alveolar topology. Each individual red line (right column) represents an alveolus. The total number of red lines was calculated in all the 12 images and data was analyzed as describ...

Herpes simplex virus is a common causative agent of oral and genital diseases. Novel vaccines and therapeutics are needed to combat herpes infections especially after the failure of subunit vaccines in human clinical trials. We have shown that the live-attenuated HSV-1 VC2 vaccine strain is unable to establish latency in vaccinated animals and prod...

Macrophages (MΦ) are key sentinels of respiratory exposure to inhaled environmental stimuli. In normal “healthy” tissues, MΦ are believed to be a dormant cell type that, upon exposure to stress‐causing stimuli, may get activated to exhibit pro‐ or anti‐inflammatory roles. To test whether stress present in chronic bronchitic (CB) airways triggers MΦ...

Simultaneous electrical or physiological stimulation of voltage‐gated sodium channels (VGSCs) and concomitant pharmacological blockade of sodium, potassium‐ATPase (sodium pumps) causes lysis of cells that overexpress VGSCs. Lysis does not occur in tissues that express normal levels of VGSCs. Metastatic carcinomas overexpress VGSCs. Pulsed magnetic...

Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular pathogen and the cause of Q fever in many animal species and humans. Several studies have reported the association between C. burnetii and abortion, premature delivery, stillbirth, and weak offspring. However, no solid evidence indicates that C. burnetii causes endometritis, subfertility, and retained...

The continued growth of the aquaculture industry and surging demand for barramundi (Lates calcarifer) has led to increased interest in farming this fish species in the USA. Regrettably, little is known about the fish-pathogenic microbes affecting barramundi, which limits aquaculture productivity outside its home range. Herein, we report on multiple...

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) has a global impact on the equine industry as the causative agent of equine viral arteritis (EVA), a respiratory, systemic, and reproductive disease of equids. A distinctive feature of EAV infection is that it establishes long-term persistent infection in 10 to 70% of infected stallions (carriers). In these stallions, E...

Vaccination remains the best option to combat EHV-1 infection and several different strategies of vaccination have been investigated and developed over the past decades. Herein, we report that the live-attenuated Herpes Simplex Virus Type-1 (HSV-1) VC2 vaccine strain, which has been shown to be unable to enter into neurons and establish latency in...

Background The appearance of severe Zika virus (ZIKV) disease in the most recent outbreak has prompted researchers to respond through the development of tools to quickly characterize transmission and pathology. We describe here another such tool, a mouse model of ZIKV infection and pathogenesis using the MR766 strain of virus that adds to the growi...

West Nile virus (WNV) causes significant mortalities in captive reared American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Alligators can amplify the virus, serve as a reservoir host, and represent a source of infection for humans. A killed WNV vaccine is commercially available for use in alligators. In 2014, a case of suspected WNV infection from an...

We describe the histopathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular features of a case of meningoencephalitis in a Thomson's gazelle ( Eudorcas thomsonii) naturally infected with zebra-borne equid herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and the implications for the molecular detection of zebra-borne EHV-1. A 4-y-old female Thomson's gazelle was submitted for postmor...

The objective of this prospective, blinded study was to compare plasma biochemical values and gross and histologic evaluation of kidney and liver from American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) fed extruded diets with protein derived from animal or plant sources. Alligators in two treatment groups were fed an extruded diet with protein derive...

West Nile Virus (WNV) causes significant mortalities in captive-reared American alligators ( Alligator mississippiensis ). Alligators can amplify the virus, serve as a reservoir host, and represent a source of infection for humans. A killed WNV vaccine is commercially available for use in alligators. In 2014, a case of suspected WNV infection from...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

This 436-paged book "Bovine Pathology: A Text and Color Atlas" is a comprehensive single resource to identifying bovine diseases encountered in beef and dairy cattle, feedlot cattle, and their calves. With summary text describing key features, this book correlates clinical information with pathology and differential diagnoses. It has 17 chapters wh...

A fatal epizootic of salmonellosis occurred in farmed juvenile American alligators in Louisiana. Six animals were examined. Gross lesions included severe fibrinonecrotizing enterocolitis, necrotizing splenitis, coelomic effusion, and perivisceral and pulmonary edema. Microscopic examination revealed severe necrotizing enterocolitis and splenitis wi...

Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis, a respiratory and reproductive disease of equids. EAV infection can induce abortion in pregnant mares, fulminant bronchointerstitial pneumonia in foals, and persistent infection in stallions. Here, we developed two RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) assays (conventional and...

CASE DESCRIPTION An adult sexually intact female Harris hawk ( Parabuteo unicinctus ) housed at a wildlife hospital was evaluated because of acute collapse during an educational exhibition. CLINICAL FINDINGS Physical examination and hematologic analysis revealed no abnormalities; radiography revealed findings consistent with a previous tibiotarsal...

A 24-year-old Thoroughbred mare had a history of weight loss, progressive bilateral hindlimb weakness, and ataxia. An infectious neurologic disease was suspected and the mare was euthanized due to poor prognosis. At necropsy, a yellow firm mass replaced the majority of the skeletal muscles of the left thigh. Numerous similar nodules were in several...

Scientific analysis of the genus Rickettsia is undergoing a rapid period of change with the emergence of viable genetic tools. The development of these tools for mutagenesis of pathogenic bacteria will permit forward genetic analysis of Rickettsia pathogenesis. Despite these advances, uncertainty still remains regarding the use of plasmids in study...

Background: Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) is a common disorder of equine athletes. The role of polymorphisms in genes encoding hemostasis-regulatory proteins in horses with abnormal hemorrhage is unknown. Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the genes encoding 2 ectonucleotidases, CD39/NTPDase-1 and CD39L1/NTPDase-2,...

Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsial species are obligate intracellular tick-borne pathogens that are responsible for important human diseases. Previous reports have demonstrated the feasibility of using recombinant surface cell antigen Sca5/OmpB to elicit protective immunity against homologous challenges using murine models of Mediterranean spott...

We used an extracellular pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae to determine the role of NLRP12 (NOD-like receptor (NLR) family pyrin domain containing 12) as this bacterium is associated with devastating pulmonary infections. We found that human myeloid cells (neutrophils and macrophages) and non-myeloid cells (epithelial cells) show upregulation of NLRP1...

Stem cell-based tissue regeneration offers potential for treatment of craniofacial bone defects. The dental follicle, a loose connective tissue surrounding the unerupted tooth, has been shown to contain progenitor/stem cells. Dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) have strong osteogenesis capability, which makes them suitable for repairing skeletal def...

Cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) are known as the primary vector and reservoir of Rickettsia felis, the causative agent of flea-borne spotted fever; however, field surveys regularly report molecular detection of this infectious agent from other blood-feeding arthropods. The presence of R. felis in additional arthropods may be the result of chance...

It is important to know normal anatomy and morphology of tissues in the central nervous system (CNS) so that one can adequately detect and describe abnormalities. Gross abnormalities found during the postmortem examination can be very helpful in determining causes of sickness and death in horses. Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) occurs sporadical...

Case summary A feral domestic shorthair cat was euthanized owing to acute onset and progression of neurological signs attributed to ethylene glycol toxicity. At post-mortem examination two nodules were identified within the fundus of the stomach. Examination of the gastric nodules revealed an intact mucosal surface, each with multiple red slender n...

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary malignant bone tumour in dogs and humans. MicroRNAs are short non-coding RNA molecules involved in post-transcriptional gene expression. Here, we compared the effects of miR-196a deregulation in human and canine OS cells after having observed a more uniform distribution and stronger down-expression in th...