Project description:Dogs infected with the cardiopulmonary nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum may suffer respiratory distress and/or bleeding disorders. Descriptions of clinical signs in foxes are rare, despite high prevalence. To evaluate the impact of infection on coagulation and immune response, serum proteins from eight experimentally infected foxes before and after inoculation (day 0, 35, 84, 154) were subjected to quantitative proteomic analysis and compared to available data from dogs. The number of differentially expressed proteins compared to uninfected baseline increased with chronicity of the infection. Bone marrow proteoglycan, chitinase 3-like protein 1 and pulmonary surfactant-associated protein B were among strongly upregulated proteins. Several proteins involved in coagulation were downregulated. Enriched pathways obtained from both up- and downregulated proteins included among others ‘platelet degranulation‘ and ‘haemostasis’, and indicated both activation and suppression of coagulation. Qualitative comparison to dog data suggests some parallel serum proteomic alterations. The comparison, however, highlights that foxes have a more balanced immunopathological response to A. vasorum infection compared to dogs, facilitating parasite survival in foxes. Our findings imply that foxes may cope better with an A. vasorum infection and that A. vasorum is likely more adapted to foxes as compared to dogs, explaining the relevant role of foxes as wildlife reservoir.
Project description:Hereditary hyperplastic gingivitis (HHG) is a progressive growth of gingival tissues in foxes resulting in dental encapsulation. It is an autosomal recessive condition displaying a sex-biased penetrance, with an association with superior fur quality. The goal of this study was to explore potential molecular or cellular mechanisms underlying HHG by analysis of global gene expression patterns from Affymetrix Canine 2.0 microarrays cross-referenced. HHG affected and unaffected Vulpes vulpes gingival samples were collected either during pelting season or in the late spring after whelping season. Diagnosis of HHG was made based on early markers of the disease where red, raised, granular gingival tissue was present at the dental margins on the crowns of the teeth. RNA was extracted and hybridization on Affymetrix Canine 2 microarray.
