Clinical and Histopathological Features of Renal Maldevelopment in Boxer Dogs: A Retrospective Case Series (1999-2018)

Pathology of Perinatal Disorders

Perinatal deaths including abortions, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths are an important economic and emotional challenge for companion animal owners, breeders, and veterinarians. A protocol for the investigation of perinatal deaths in dogs and cats is described, including examination of the placenta. Specific lesions of common infectious diseases leading to perinatal death are presented, as well as the more prevalent noninfectious causes. These include viruses, bacteria, protozoa, metabolic causes, "accidents of pregnancy," nutritional deficiencies, intoxications, hormonal causes, and heritable and nonheritable congenital defects.

Bayesian mixed model analysis uncovered 21 risk loci for chronic kidney disease in boxer dogs

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 10% of the human population, with only a small fraction genetically defined. CKD is also common in dogs and has been diagnosed in nearly all breeds, but its genetic basis remains unclear. Here, we performed a Bayesian mixed model genome-wide association analysis for canine CKD in a boxer population of 117 canine cases and 137 controls, and identified 21 genetic regions associated with the disease. At the top markers from each CKD region, the cases carried an average of 20.2 risk alleles, significantly higher than controls (15.6 risk alleles). An ANOVA test showed that the 21 CKD regions together explained 57% of CKD phenotypic variation in the population. Based on whole genome sequencing data of 20 boxers, we identified 5,206 variants in LD with the top 50 BayesR markers. Following comparative analysis with human regulatory data, 17 putative regulatory variants were identified and tested with electrophoretic mobility shift assays. In total four variants, three intronic variants from the MAGI2 and GALNT18 genes, and one variant in an intergenic region on chr28, showed alternative binding ability for the risk and protective alleles in kidney cell lines. Many genes from the 21 CKD regions, RELN, MAGI2, FGFR2 and others, have been implicated in human kidney development or disease. The results from this study provide new information that may enlighten the etiology of CKD in both dogs and humans.

Case report: BCL-2 and CD31 immunoexpression related to clinical and histopathological evaluation of renal dysplasia in a Welsh Corgi Puppy

A case of renal dysplasia (RD) in the Welsh Corgi dog has been reported. Clinically, the affected 3-month-old, female, Welsh Corgi dog showed unclear symptoms of chronic kidney disease. Grossly, both left and right kidneys revealed cystic hypoplasia. Histologically, the primary lesions included immature or fetal glomeruli/tubules, proliferative arterioles, persistent metanephric ducts, persistent mesenchyme, and atypical tubular epithelium were presented. A group of degenerative and inflammatory lesions consisting of interstitial nephritis, interstitial fibrosis, and mineralization of tubules were found. Immunohistochemically, the epithelial cells of immature (fetal) tubules had BCL-2 labeling whereas CD31 (PECAM-1) was labeled in the endothelial cells of the proliferative arterioles. The immunohistochemical findings were confirmed and consolidated with the routine histopathological findings. This study was the first demonstration of the clinical, histopathological, and immunohistochemical features of RD disease in a Welsh Corgi puppy.