Internal Tandem Duplication of Exon 8 of Is Associated With Longer Total Survival in Canine Cutaneous Mast Cell Tumors.

Canine cutaneous mast cell tumors (ccMCTs) have a highly variable biological behavior and accurate prognostication is essential for therapeutic intervention. Internal tandem duplications (ITD) of exon 11 are the most commonly detected mutation in ccMCTs and are associated with poor prognosis and increased cellular proliferation. The prognostic value of detecting mutations in other exons of has not been systematically examined.

Resection of urachal anomalies in dogs with recurrent lower urinary tract disease.

Objective: To determine whether surgical removal of urachal anomalies improves the outcomes of dogs with recurrent lower urinary tract disease (LUTD) and bacterial urinary tract infection (BUTI).

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Animals: Thirty-three dogs with urachal anomalies and recurrent LUTD or BUTI.

Solution Equilibrium Titration for High-Throughput Affinity Estimation of Unpurified Antibodies and Antibody Fragments.

The generation of therapeutic antibodies with extremely high affinities down to the low picomolar range is today feasible with state-of-the art recombinant technologies. However, reliable and efficient identification of lead candidates with the desired affinity from a pool of thousands of antibody clones remains a challenge. Here, we describe a high-throughput procedure that allows reliable affinity screening of unpurified immunoglobulin G or antibody fragments.

Recurrence rates and clinical outcome for dogs with grade II mast cell tumours with a low AgNOR count and Ki67 index treated with surgery alone.

Grade II mast cell tumours (MCT) are tumours with variable biologic behaviour. Multiple factors have been associated with outcome, including proliferation markers. The purpose of this study was to determine if extent of surgical excision affects recurrence rate in dogs with grade II MCT with low proliferation activity, determined by Ki67 and argyrophilic nucleolar organising regions (AgNOR).

Characterization and screening of IgG binding to the neonatal Fc receptor.

The neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) protects immunoglobulin G (IgG) from degradation and increases the serum half-life of IgG, thereby contributing to a higher concentration of IgG in the serum. Because altered FcRn binding may result in a reduced or prolonged half-life of IgG molecules, it is advisable to characterize Fc receptor binding of therapeutic antibody lead candidates prior to the start of pre-clinical and clinical studies. In this study, we characterized the interactions between FcRn of different species (human, cynomolgus monkey, mouse and rat) and nine IgG molecules from different species and isotypes with common variable heavy (VH) and variable light chain (VL) domains.