using-deuterium-oxide-as-non-invasive-non-lethal-tool-for-assessing

Using Deuterium Oxide as a Non-Invasive, Non-Lethal Tool for Assessing Body Composition and Water Consumption in Mammals

Body condition scoring systems and body condition indices are common techniques used for assessing the health status or fitness of a species. Body ...

University of Missouri

Bats are useful animal models for the study of unique physiological mechanisms such as echolocation and sensory integration as well as for research on white-nose syndrome. These studies may involve collecting blood samples from bats. This column describes safe techniques for restraint, weighing, fluid administration and blood collection from the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus).

Handling and blood collection in the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus).

Economical, injectable antibiotics are beneficial when clinical manifestations of an animal model prevent the use of oral antibiotics. Ceftiofur crystalline-free acid (CCFA) is an injectable, sustained-release form of ceftiofur, a third-generation cephalosporin that is labeled for use in swine, cattle, and horses. Because CCFA is an economical, injectable antibiotic that could be of value for use in research dogs, the objective of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetic properties of CCFA in apparently healthy dogs and to determine the minimal inhibitory concentrations of ceftiofur for veterinary pathogens cultured during 2011 through 2014 from the respiratory system, integumentary system, and urinary system of dogs. The study population comprised of 5 dogs (age, 1 y; weight, 24.7 to 26.9 kg) that were deemed healthy after no abnormalities were found on physical exam, CBC analysis, and clinical chemistry panel. Each dog received CCFA at 5.0 mg/kg SC, and blood samples were collected before administration of CCFA and at 1, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, 168, 192, 216, and 240 h after injection. The maximal plasma concentration (mean ± 1 SD) of CCFA was 1.98 ± 0.40 μ g/mL, time to reach maximal concentration was 22.3 ± 8.9 h, half-life was 56.6 ± 16.9 h, and AUC0-last was 124.98 ± 18.45 μ g-h/mL. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of ceftiofur ranged from ≤ 0.25 to ≥ 8.0 μ g/mL; ceftiofur was most effective against Pasteurella spp., Proteus spp., and Escherichia coli haemolytica and least effective against Bordatella bronchiseptica, Enterococcus spp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. 

Pharmacokinetics of Ceftiofur Crystalline-Free Acid in Clinically Healthy Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris).

Consumption of canned cat food is considered a risk factor for the development of feline hyperthyroidism. Because selenium and water are substantially higher in canned diets compared to dry diets, objectives of this study were to determine whether increased dietary selenium or water alters the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and leads to an increase in activity level. Employing a 28-day latin square design with a 14-day washout, six lean, neutered male domestic shorthair cats were fed (i) commercially available adult dry feline diet containing 0.8 ppm selenium (control), (ii) control diet with added sodium selenite to achieve a dietary selenium concentration of 1.125 ppm (selenium treatment) and (iii) the control diet with additional water to achieve a moisture content of 75% wt/wt (water treatment). Water consumption was determined using deuterium oxide washout. Actical activity monitors were placed on each cat's collar to allow quantification of the activity of each cat. Circulating serum T3 and T4 was measured on days 0, 14, and 28. On day 28, a thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test was conducted to determine treatment effects on serum concentrations of thyroid hormones. There was a significant increase in daily water consumption with dietary water treatment (192 ml ± 7.85 SEM) compared to the control (120 ml ± 20.4) and selenium (116 ml ± 14.6) treatments. Both water and selenium treatments were associated with greater (p < .05) activity over that of the control treatment by 20.5% and 11% respectively. Serum TT3 AUC concentrations (0-4 hr) of TRH stimulation tests were greater (p < .05) by 16% with water compared to control treatments. The results of this study indicate that dietary water content may alter the function of the thyroid axis and that this effect is associated with an increase in physical activity.

Effects of dietary selenium and moisture on the physical activity and thyroid axis of cats.

Objectives The aim of this report is to describe the identification of a novel vitamin D metabolite, a C-3, alpha-epimer of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (3-epi-25(OH)D), in serum and plasma extracts of cat blood and compare its abundance in cat, dog and rat serum to 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D), a conventional marker of vitamin D status. Methods Serum 25(OH)D and 3-epi-25(OH)D concentrations were measured in healthy cohorts of cats (n = 8), dogs (n = 8) and rats (n = 17) using validated reverse and normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography methods. The methods were verified using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrophotometry. Dietary intake and dietary concentrations of vitamin D were also measured for evaluation of species differences and effect of dietary change on vitamin D metabolite concentrations. Differences between cat serum and plasma metabolite concentrations were determined. Results Detectable concentrations of 3-epi-25(OH)D were observed in all cats and rats. No 3-epi-25(OH)D was detected in dogs, where our limit of detection was 5 ng/ml. There were significant differences ( P <0.05) in serum concentrations of 25(OH)D and 3-epi-25(OH)D among species, with cats having the greatest concentrations of both metabolites. Serum and plasma results were not significantly different. A diet change, which resulted in an increase in vitamin D intake among the cats, affected serum concentration with an increase ( P = 0.004) in 3-epi-25(OH)D but no significant change in 25(OH)D. Conclusions and relevance Serum and plasma of cats contain 3-epi-25(OH)D in varied and extraordinary concentrations, much greater than in rats and certainly than that of dogs, a species for which the metabolite was not detected. Importantly, this finding indicates a C-3 epimerization pathway is quantitatively significant for vitamin D metabolism in domestic cats, making 3-epi-25(OH)D assays essential for the evaluation of vitamin D status in cats and positioning the cat as a novel model for study of this pathway.

Previously undescribed vitamin D C-3 epimer occurs in substantial amounts in the blood of cats.

The ability to recognize individuals within an animal population is fundamental to conservation and management. Identification of individual bats has relied on artificial marking techniques that may negatively affect the survival and alter the behavior of individuals. Biometric systems use biological characteristics to identify individuals. The field of animal biometrics has expanded to include recognition of individuals based upon various morphologies and phenotypic variations including pelage patterns, tail flukes, and whisker arrangement. Biometric systems use 4 biologic measurement criteria: universality, distinctiveness, permanence, and collectability. Additionally, the system should not violate assumptions of capture-recapture methods that include no increased mortality or alterations of behavior. We evaluated whether individual bats could be uniquely identified based upon the collagen-elastin bundles that are visible with gross examination of their wings. We examined little brown bats (), northern long-eared bats (), big brown bats (), and tricolored bats () to determine whether the "wing prints" from the bundle network would satisfy the biologic measurement criteria. We evaluated 1,212 photographs from 230 individual bats comparing week 0 photos with those taken at weeks 3 or 6 and were able to confirm identity of individuals over time. Two blinded evaluators were able to successfully match 170 individuals in hand to photographs taken at weeks 0, 3, and 6. This study suggests that bats can be successfully re-identified using photographs taken at previous times. We suggest further evaluation of this methodology for use in a standardized system that can be shared among bat conservationists.

Article	Year
Handling and blood collection in the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus). Lab animal\| PubMed ID: 24845004	2014
Pharmacokinetics of Ceftiofur Crystalline-Free Acid in Clinically Healthy Dogs (Canis lupus familiaris). Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS\| PubMed ID: 27025816	2016
Effects of dietary selenium and moisture on the physical activity and thyroid axis of cats. Journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition\| PubMed ID: 28984032	2018
Previously undescribed vitamin D C-3 epimer occurs in substantial amounts in the blood of cats. Journal of feline medicine and surgery\| PubMed ID: 29172936	2018
Bat wing biometrics: using collagen-elastin bundles in bat wings as a unique individual identifier. Journal of mammalogy\| PubMed ID: 29674784	2017

Sarah E. Hooper

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