Winter 2016 Saber Tails 65
Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America
IMPORTANT NOTICE • DNA/BLOOD BANK SUBMISSIONS
PBGVCA is asking all samples of blood go to CHIC.
When blood is do-
nated to CHIC, the dog receives a number and the dog and owner will be recognized in Saber
Tails
for the donation to health and research. To learn how to donate your PBGV’s blood to
CHIC, go to pbgv.org, click on ‘Health’ then ‘Health Committee.’ Under DNA/CHIC, you will
see a link to click on that will give you the information. There is no need to resubmit blood if
it’s already in the University of Missouri’s blood bank. Thank you to every participant for your
time and effort in this matter.
Grant 02011
Identification of Novel Drugs to Halt the Metastasis of Tu-
mors That Cause Cushing's Syndrome
Dr. Sara Galac, University of Utrecht
Cushing’s is an endocrine disease that is caused by exces-
sive secretion by the pituitary of a hormone called adreno-
corticotropic hormone. The abnormal hormone secretion
leads to excessive thirst and increased urination. Some
cases of Cushing’s are due to deadly adrenal tumors that
overstimulate this hormone secretion by the pituitary.
Surgery is a preferred treatment for this cancer; however,
it is a costly and specialized procedure. The two available
drugs are not very effective and not safe for use around
children and pregnant women.
Dr. Galac is investigating the therapeutic potential of com-
pounds called steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) inverse ago-
nists. Her previous studies demonstrated a link between
the malignancy of adrenal cancer and the expression of
SF-1. Furthermore, she found that suppressing the SF-1
factor activity stopped the growth of adrenal cancer cells
and reduced the signal that they send to the pituitary. Dr.
Galac hypothesizes that SF-1 inverse agonists represent a
perfect medical treatment of canine adrenal cancer.
In the current project, Dr. Galac tested the effectiveness
of several SF-1 inverse agonists in adrenal cancer tissue
taken from affected dogs who were undergoing surgery
as treatment. She found two SF-1 inverse agonists that
worked well. The researchers are hopeful that identifica-
tion of a new treatment for this cancer in dogs will also
help humans with adrenal cancers.
Grant 02145A
Prevention of Glaucoma and Goniodysgenesis through
Genetic Profiling of Disease
Dr. Cathryn Mellersh, Animal Health Trust
Glaucoma is a painful and blinding eye disease with few
treatment options. Glaucoma is a concern within the
PBGV community because one type of glaucoma, called
primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), is prevalent in the
PBGV population. In 2015, Dr. Mellersh’s lab identified the
gene mutation that leads to POAG in PBGVs and a DNA
test is available from the Animal Health Trust that will de-
termine whether a PBGV is clear of this mutation, a carrier
(will not develop the disease but can pass the bad gene
to offspring), or an affected dog destined to develop glau-
coma. However, POAG is not the only form of glaucoma in
dogs. In fact, the most common form of glaucoma across
all dog breeds is primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG).
PACG is mostly found along with goniodysgenesis, a
structural abnormality that affects the ability of fluid to
drain from the eye.
In her current project, Dr. Mellersh is trying to find the ge-
netic causes of goniodysgenesis and PACG. She collected
DNA from spaniels with normal eyes, with goniodysgene-
sis, or with PACG. This preliminary work found a significant
alteration in the DNA of a single chromosome in spaniels
with PACG. Further work is needed to identify the affected
gene and determine whether the DNA change causes the
disease.
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