George Lubas

Behaviour of mean erythrocyte volume during submaximal treadmill exercise in the horse

Abstract: The aim of this work was to study the role of spleen contraction in the modification of circulating erythrocyte mean volume during treadmill exercise in the horse. Red blood cells count (RBC), haematocrit (Hct), haemoglobin (Hgb), mean cellular volume (MCV), mean cellular haemoglobin (MCH), mean cellular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and red cell distribution width (RDW) were evaluated in five Haflinger mares performing a submaximal incremental test on the treadmill. Blood was collected every minute during the trial without stopping the treadmill. Significant changes of all measured parameters, except for MCH, have been observed. Hct values increased significantly from the 2nd minute from the start of the test. MCV and MCHC values were significantly different from their basal values from the 6th minute of exercise, with MCV being increased and MCHC decreased, suggesting cellular swelling. Hct modifications during brief submaximal exercise have been shown to be mainly and directly related to mobilization of the pool of red blood cells stored in the spleen. However, the evidence in this study of different times of onset of changes between Hct and erythrocyte indices (MCV and MCHC) suggests that exercise-induced alterations in red cell indices are not related to spleen emptying.

Haematological Alterations Observed in Equine Routine Complete Blood Counts. A Retrospective Investigation

Abstract: Results on more than 1000 complete blood counts (CBC) performed on hot-blooded horses, including Thoroughbred, Standardbred, and Arabian, have been reviewed. All the data were processed and stored at the Laboratory of Haematology, Department Veterinary Clinic, University of Pisa, over the last 2 years, and involved samples withdrawn from both inpatients and outpatients of the clinic. The CBC is routinely requested as a part of a complete clinical evaluation of horses as well as during the course of disease or as a routine check during the training process. The CBC, using K3-EDTA blood samples, included a three cell population count performed on an electronic impedance cell counter (Genius, SEAC, Calenzano, Fi, Italy), and the microscopic evaluation of a stained blood smear. In addition, the refractometric assessment of total plasma proteins and fibrinogen (by the heat precipitation method) was also performed using EDTA plasma. The incidence of haematological changes in red blood cells (RBCs), subtyped as polycythaemia and anaemia, were 16.2%. Anaemia totalled 15.1%, including mild (packed cell volume (PCV) 31–26%) at 10.2%, moderate (PCV 25–17%) at 4.1%, and severe (PCV <16%) at 0.8%. The incidence of white blood cell (WBC) changes, subtyped as leucocytosis and leucopenia, was 38.4%. Leucocytosis totalled 30.5%, including mild (WBC 10–15 000/ml) at 22.5%, moderate (WBC 15–20 000/ml) at 7.7%, and severe (WBC >20 000/ml) at 0.3%. The incidence of leucopenia was 7.9% (WBC <5500/ml). Interpretation of the full leucogram (including variation on several leucocyte types and fibrinogen values) gave an incidence of physiological leucocytosis at 9.9%, stress leucocytosis at 5.3%, and inflammatory leucocytosis at 37.3%. Thrombocytopenia was frequently observed at 7.2%, whereas thrombocytosis was observed in only 0.3% of cases. Horse CBCs display less characteristic blood pictures in comparison to other species due to their particular haemopoietic system, such as the long half-life of RBCs, the occurrence of a non-sinusoid spleen, the fate and distribution of WBCs, and the rather high clumping phenomena of horse platelets in EDTA glass vials.

Faecal microbiota in dogs with multicentric lymphoma

Malignant lymphoma B-cell type is the most common canine haematopoietic malignancy. Changes in intestinal microbiota have been implicated in few types of cancer in humans. The aim of this prospective and case-control study was to determine differences in faecal microbiota between healthy control dogs and dogs with multicentric lymphoma. Twelve dogs affected by multicentric, B-cell, stage III-IV lymphoma, and 21 healthy dogs were enrolled in the study. For each dog, faecal samples were analysed by Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and quantitative PCR (qPCR) for selected bacterial groups. Alpha diversity was significant lower in lymphoma dogs. Principal coordinate analysis plots showed different microbial clustering (P = .001) and linear discriminant analysis effect size revealed 28 differentially abundant bacterial groups in lymphoma and control dogs. The qPCR analysis showed significant lower abundance of Faecalibacterium spp. (q < .001), Fusobacterium spp. (q = .032), and Turicibacter spp. (q = .043) in dogs with lymphoma compared with control dogs. On the contrary, Streptococcus spp. was significantly higher in dogs with lymphoma (q = .041). The dysbiosis index was significantly higher (P < .0001) in dogs with lymphoma. In conclusion, both sequencing and qPCR analyses provided a global overview of faecal microbial communities and showed significant differences in the microbial communities of dogs presenting with multicentric lymphoma compared with healthy control dogs.