Evaluation of trypsin-like immunoreactivity, pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity, cobalamin, and folate in zoo-housed African painted dogs (Lycaon pictus) at a North American zoological facility.

Objective: Assess markers for pancreatic function and gastrointestinal malabsorption in African painted dogs (Lycaon pictus), including canine trypsin-like immunoreactivity (cTLI), canine pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (cPLI), cobalamin, and folate at one North American facility.

Animals: 15 healthy African painted dogs held at one institution were sampled during routine health examinations.

Methods: Blood was collected at routine health examinations, and serum was separated and stored until testing.

The Ras activator RasGRP3 mediates diabetes-induced embryonic defects and affects endothelial cell migration.

Rationale: Fetuses that develop in diabetic mothers have a higher incidence of birth defects that include cardiovascular defects, but the signaling pathways that mediate these developmental effects are poorly understood. It is reasonable to hypothesize that diabetic maternal effects are mediated by 1 or more pathways activated downstream of aberrant glucose metabolism, because poorly controlled maternal glucose levels correlate with the frequency and severity of the defects.

Objective: We investigated whether RasGRP3 (Ras guanyl-releasing protein 3), a Ras activator expressed in developing blood vessels, mediates diabetes-induced vascular developmental defects.