Project description:Purpose: Photoperiod is known to cause physiological changes in seasonal mammals, including body weight, physical activity, and reproductive status. Because cats are seasonal breeders, we recently tested the effects of day length on resting metabolic rate, voluntary physical activity, and food intake. In that study, resting metabolic rate, physical activity, and food intake to maintain body weight were greater in cats exposed to long days vs. short days. Because photoperiod has also been demonstrated to affect adipose tissue gene expression in several species, including dairy cows, sheep, and Siberian hamsters, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of day length on the adipose transcriptome profile of cats as assessed by RNA-seq. Methods: Ten healthy adult neutered male domestic shorthair cats were used in a randomized crossover design study. During two 12-wk periods, cats were exposed to either short days (8 hr light:16 hr dark) or long days (16 hr light:8 hr dark). Cats were fed a commercial diet to maintain baseline body weight. Subcutaneous adipose biopsies were collected at wk 12 of each period for RNA isolation and Illumina sequencing. Results: A total of 578 million sequences (28.9 million/sample) were generated by Illumina sequencing. Using a raw p value of P<0.005, 170 mRNA transcripts were differentially expressed between short day- and long day-housed cats. Of the 170 transcripts highlighted, 25 annotated transcripts were up-regulated, while 116 annotated transcripts were down-regulated by long days. Another 29 un-annotated transcripts (name and function not known) were also different between groups. In general, adipose tissue of long day-housed cats had greater expression of genes involved with cholesterol trafficking, fatty acid synthesis and immune function, and lower expression of genes involved with cell cycle and growth, cell development and structure, and protein processing, when compared to short day-housed cats. Subcutaneous adipose tissue mRNA profiles of healthy adult neutered male cats exposed to short days (8 hr light: 16 hr dark) or long days (16 hr light: 8 hr dark) using Illumina sequencing.
Project description:Purpose: Photoperiod is known to cause physiological changes in seasonal mammals, including body weight, physical activity, and reproductive status. Because cats are seasonal breeders, we recently tested the effects of day length on resting metabolic rate, voluntary physical activity, and food intake. In that study, resting metabolic rate, physical activity, and food intake to maintain body weight were greater in cats exposed to long days vs. short days. Because photoperiod has also been demonstrated to affect adipose tissue gene expression in several species, including dairy cows, sheep, and Siberian hamsters, the objective of this study was to determine the effects of day length on the adipose transcriptome profile of cats as assessed by RNA-seq. Methods: Ten healthy adult neutered male domestic shorthair cats were used in a randomized crossover design study. During two 12-wk periods, cats were exposed to either short days (8 hr light:16 hr dark) or long days (16 hr light:8 hr dark). Cats were fed a commercial diet to maintain baseline body weight. Subcutaneous adipose biopsies were collected at wk 12 of each period for RNA isolation and Illumina sequencing. Results: A total of 578 million sequences (28.9 million/sample) were generated by Illumina sequencing. Using a raw p value of P<0.005, 170 mRNA transcripts were differentially expressed between short day- and long day-housed cats. Of the 170 transcripts highlighted, 25 annotated transcripts were up-regulated, while 116 annotated transcripts were down-regulated by long days. Another 29 un-annotated transcripts (name and function not known) were also different between groups. In general, adipose tissue of long day-housed cats had greater expression of genes involved with cholesterol trafficking, fatty acid synthesis and immune function, and lower expression of genes involved with cell cycle and growth, cell development and structure, and protein processing, when compared to short day-housed cats.
Project description:Purpose: Comparison of the effect on the host immune response of feline coronavirus infection with or without feline infectious peritonitis Results: FIP was associated with higher pro-inflammatory pathway enrichment; whilst non-FIP FCoV-positive cats showed lower enrichment of humoral immunity pathways, below that of uninfected cats in the case of immunoglobulin production pathways Conclusions: Reinforces host differences in disease susceptibility in addition to any viral factors, importance of cellular vs humoral response also highlighted.
Project description:Bacillus licheniformis-fermented products (BLFP) are probiotics with antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties that can improve growth performance. This study aimed to, firstly, compare the fecal microbiota of cats with chronic diarrhea (n = 8) with that of healthy cats (n = 4) from the same household using next-generation sequencing and, secondly, evaluate the effectiveness of oral administration of BLFP in relieving clinical signs and altering the intestinal microbiota in diarrheal cats. Six out of eight cats with diarrhea showed clinical improvement after BLFP administration for 7 days, and in two cats the stool condition was normal. A higher Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was noted in the feces of diarrheal cats without clinical improvement as compared with those in the healthy control group and in the diarrheal cats with clinical improvement after receiving BLFP. The phylum Bacteroidetes and class Bacteroidia decreased significantly in diarrheal cats regardless of BLFP administration. Blautia spp., Ruminococcus torques, and Ruminococcus gnavus, which belong to the Clostridium cluster XIVa and have been reported as beneficial to intestinal health, increased significantly in feces after BLFP treatment. Furthermore, a significant decrease in Clostridium perfringens was noted in diarrheal cats after BLFP administration. Overall, BLFP could be a potential probiotic to relieve gastrointestinal symptoms and improve fecal microbiota in cats with chronic diarrhea.
Project description:The purpose of this study was the identification of RNAs contained in the urinary exosome (UExo) from dogs and cats. The quality of total RNA in isolated urinary exosome (UExo)-derived total RNAs obtained from the column-based method (urine 1 mL) was checked by using a Bioanalyzer, and samples from normal renal function (NR) group and kidney disease (KD) group were pooled as one sample for each group. We collected NR dogs (n = 37), KD dogs (n = 47), NR cats (n=43), and KD cats (n = 45). For the next generation sequencing, libraries were prepared according to the manufacturer’s protocols and sequenced using 50-base reads acquired by using a HiSeq 2000 platform. The December 2011 (GRCm38/mm10) mouse (Mus musculus) genome data were used as reference. As a result, we could identify the miRNA from these samples.
Project description:Feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS) is a relatively common and debilitating disease characterized by bilateral inflammation and ulceration of the caudal oral mucosa, alveolar and buccal mucosa, and varying degrees of periodontal disease. The etiopathogenesis of FCGS remains unresolved. In this study, we performed bulk RNA-seq molecular profiling of affected tissues derived from a cohort of client-owned cats with FCGS compared to tissues from unaffected animals, to identify candidate genes and pathways that can help guide future exploration of novel clinical solutions. We complemented transcriptomic findings with immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization assays to better understand the biological significance of the results and performed RNA-seq validation of selected differentially expressed genes using qPCR assays to demonstrate technical reproducibility. Transcriptomic profiles of oral mucosal tissues in cats with FCGS are enriched with immune- and inflammation-related genes and pathways that appear to be largely influenced by IL6, and include NFKB, JAK/STAT, IL-17 and IFN type I and II signaling, offering new opportunities to develop novel clinical applications based on a more rational understanding of the disease.