Distocia en una serpiente ratonera amarilla Coelognathus flavolineatus, Schlegel 1837 - Relato de caso

<p>La distocia en reptiles, es una patología caracterizada por la dificultad de llevar a cabo el proceso de parto u ovoposición, la literatura es escasa en lo que concierne a distocias en serpientes, por tanto, existen vacíos frente a este tema. Se describe el caso de una serpiente Coelognathus flavolineatus de 10 años de edad que presentaba dificultad en la ovoposición. Fueron evaluados parámetros sanguíneos, radiográficos y ecográficos, así como cultivo bacteriano y antibiograma, con el fin de identificar las posibles causas y complicaciones que desencadenaron el proceso de distocia en la serpiente. En cuanto al tratamiento de la distocia, se realizó una punción aspirativa del huevo a través de la cloaca, extrayéndose su contenido, posteriormente se procedió a extraer los restos y se tomaron hisopados de la mucosa del tracto reproductivo. Las muestras seleccionadas fueron sometidas a cultivo, donde se aislaron cepas de Salmonella del grupo F-67 y Escherichia coli y en menor proporción cepas de Morganella morganii, Pseudomona aeruginosa, Flavobacterium y Proteus, cuales se atribuyen como agentes infecciosos involucrados en la distocia en la serpiente.</p>

Contrast echocardiography for analysis of heart anatomy in tortoises

OBJECTIVE

The cardiac anatomy in tortoises depicted on B-mode and color-Doppler should be better differentiated by additional contrast-echocardiography.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

An intravenous contrast agent (INN-sulphur hexafluoride [SonoVue®]) was injected in four tortoises (three Testudo hermanni, one Agrionemys horsfieldii), via the coccygeal vein, with parallel B-mode echocardiographic examination. The results of the contrast-enhanced echocardiography were compared with the contrast-free B-mode recordings and color-Doppler ultrasound.

RESULTS

The use of SonoVue® enabled clearer distinction of the cardiac structures, differentiation of the arising major arteries, identification of wash-out-shunts, and visualization of blood flow patterns throughout the tortoise heart.

CONCLUSION AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE

This study enables the accurate depiction and differentiation of cardiac anatomy in tortoises through the use of a combination of B-mode, color-Doppler and contrast-echocardiography. Basic knowledge of blood flow in the reptile heart is essential to understand echocardiographic anatomy. Blood-flow-patterns and anatomy of the tortoise heart as found in this study will help to establish a basis for further echocardiographic examinations of these animals.

[Myocardiosis in a 6-month-old Lawson's Dragon (Pogona henrylawsonii)]

In a 6-month-old, chronically inappetent Lawsons's Dragon (Pogona henrylawsonii) with stunted growth a hyperdense cardiac region was found using radiology and computed tomography. At necropsy a profound necrosis of the myocardium with dystrophic calcification was diagnosed. In contrast to the frequently seen metastatic mineralisation of soft tissues, mainly due to poor husbandry, primary tissue destruction is the cause for dystrophic calcification. In reptiles, this is a rarely described form of calcification. Possible causes are infectious processes, nutritional or metabolic insufficiencies, intoxications or genetic components. In the presented case the aetiology could not be determined. In conclusion, dystrophic calcifications should be considered as a differential diagnosis in reptiles with soft tissue mineralisation.

Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detecting herpesvirus exposure in Mediterranean tortoises (spur-thighed tortoise [Testudo graeca] and Hermann's tortoise [Testudo hermanni])

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed for the detection of antibodies to a herpesvirus associated with an upper respiratory tract disease in Mediterranean tortoises [spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) and Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni)]. This serodiagnostic test was validated through a hyperimmunization study. The mean of the A(405) readings of the plasma samples collected at time zero of the hyperimmunization study plus three times the standard deviation was used as the cutoff for seropositivity in tortoises. ELISA results were compared to serum neutralization (SN) values for the same samples by using the McNemar test. The results obtained by SN and ELISA were not significantly different (P > 0.05). This new ELISA could be used as an important diagnostic tool for screening wild populations and private and zoo collections of Mediterranean tortoises.

Identification of constitutive and ras-inducible phosphorylation sites of KSR: implications for 14-3-3 binding, mitogen-activated protein kinase binding, and KSR overexpression

Genetic and biochemical studies have identified kinase suppressor of Ras (KSR) to be a conserved component of Ras-dependent signaling pathways. To better understand the role of KSR in signal transduction, we have initiated studies investigating the effect of phosphorylation and protein interactions on KSR function. Here, we report the identification of five in vivo phosphorylation sites of KSR. In serum-starved cells, KSR contains two constitutive sites of phosphorylation (Ser297 and Ser392), which mediate the binding of KSR to the 14-3-3 family of proteins. In the presence of activated Ras, KSR contains three additional sites of phosphorylation (Thr260, Thr274, and Ser443), all of which match the consensus motif (Px[S/T]P) for phosphorylation by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Further, we find that treatment of cells with the MEK inhibitor PD98059 blocks phosphorylation of the Ras-inducible sites and that activated MAPK associates with KSR in a Ras-dependent manner. Together, these findings indicate that KSR is an in vivo substrate of MAPK. Mutation of the identified phosphorylation sites did not alter the ability of KSR to facilitate Ras signaling in Xenopus oocytes, suggesting that phosphorylation at these sites may serve other functional roles, such as regulating catalytic activity. Interestingly, during the course of this study, we found that the biological effect of KSR varied dramatically with the level of KSR protein expressed. In Xenopus oocytes, KSR functioned as a positive regulator of Ras signaling when expressed at low levels, whereas at high levels of expression, KSR blocked Ras-dependent signal transduction. Likewise, overexpression of Drosophila KSR blocked R7 photoreceptor formation in the Drosophila eye. Therefore, the biological function of KSR as a positive effector of Ras-dependent signaling appears to be dependent on maintaining KSR protein expression at low or near-physiological levels.