Identifying Cellular Mechanisms of Inflammation During Canine Tick-Borne Diseases

Posted on by Janet Boyd

Tick-borne diseases are found in all 50 states of the United States and are the most common vector-borne disease diagnosed in people in the US. The predominant disease is Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi and related species (sensu lato). Other important canine tick-borne diseases include those caused by Anaplasma platys, Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Anaplasmosis), Babesia canis, Babesia conradea and Babesia gibsonii (Babesiosis), and Ehrlichia canis, Ehrlichia chaffiensis and Ehrlichia ewingii (Ehrlichiosis).

Many of these diseases also affect people. Dogs can serve as sentinel species for human disease and there are many areas where the immune responses and disease outcomes are very similar in people and dogs, meaning that important lessons can be learned by sharing information between human and animal health (One Health).

The researchers will further investigate the dog’s immune system to determine which immune cells are responsible for the cure or creation of canine tick-borne disease. Through understanding which cells are responsible for causing disease, the goal is to then specifically target the molecules they produce using immunotherapy or immune modulation to improve treatment of tick-borne diseases in all dogs.

Co-sponsored with the AKC Canine Health Foundation, Grant Number: 02383

RESEARCHERS

Christine A Petersen DVM PhD
University of Iowa
Amount: $5,000

Harnessing a Dog’s Own Immune System to Kill Lymphoma Tumor Cells

Posted on by Janet Boyd

Lymphoma is the most common malignancy of dogs representing up to 25% of diagnosed cancers. Dogs often develop an aggressive form of lymphoma that is rarely curable, with most unfortunately succumbing to disease within 12 months of diagnosis despite best available chemotherapies.

Dr. Wilson will develop a new treatment to re-train the dog’s own immune system to attack the most common type of canine lymphoma, B-cell lymphoma. In order to accomplish this they will obtain a small number of circulating white blood cells, called T cells, from the blood of affected dogs and insert a gene that will cause the T cell to express a receptor which recognizes the tumor “fingerprint”. After docking with the lymphoma, the T cell will be triggered to mount an immune response against the tumor cells with the specific fingerprint.

This therapy could be used alone or in combination with chemotherapy. Their preliminary data demonstrate that it is possible to genetically modify T cells. Further, they have been able to successfully harvest and grow T cells in the laboratory and return them safely to the dog. These infused cells can be found in the blood and tumor weeks after infusion, showing that it is possible for these cells to survive in the dog. If successful this study will be the first to develop an “in-dog” T-cell therapy targeting a tumor that has historically thought to be untreatable.

Co-sponsored with the AKC Canine Health Foundation, Grant Number: 01418

RESEARCHERS

Heather M Wilson-Robles DVM
Texas A&M Research Foundation
Amount: $2,000

Defining the Unique Genetic Markers in Dogs That Define Immune Function, Disease Resistance and Tissue Transplantation

Posted on by Janet Boyd

The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) genes encode proteins that are critical for a wide range of biological functions, from immune protection against infectious disease to the predisposition of an individual to develop diabetes and auto immune diseases.

The MHC genes in the dog are incompletely characterized, thereby severely limiting our ability to full define the cause of many canine diseases. Dr. Ramakrishnan has developed improved methods for identifying the different forms of canine MHC genes in a large number of dogs of diverse breeds.

In this study he will characterize the patterns of MHC genetic variation in over 1200 dogs from at least 50 breeds using a high throughput sequencing strategy. The distribution and frequency of different forms of each of these genes and their specific clustering among different breeds will greatly enhance our knowledge of the genetic diversity among breeds.

The methodology and data gained from this study will enhance the power of association studies between MHC types and canine diseases. Such a database will also enable tissue transplantation from unrelated but matched donors as a treatment for advanced malignancies (stem cell transplants) and other diseases (tissue transplantation). Fully defining the canine MHC will have broad impact across canine health, including oncology, immunology and infectious disease.

Co-sponsored with the AKC Canine Health Foundation, Grant Number: 01771

RESEARCHERS

Bevery Torok-Storb, PhD, DVM
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Amount: $2,000