Measurements of plasma endothelin immunoreactivity in healthy cats and cats with cardiomyopathy.

Plasma concentrations of endothelin-1 (ET-1), the most potent endogenous pressor substance discovered to date, are abnormally high in humans with congestive heart failure (CHF), and they correlate with the degree of functional impairment. We sought first to validate a human sandwich ELISA kit that targets that portion of the amino acid sequence that is identical in cats. The assay demonstrated linearity (R2 = .

Kinetics of mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes in hepatic tissues from glucocorticoid-treated dogs.

Objective: To clone segments of the canine liver alkaline phosphatase (LALP) and corticosteroid-induced alkaline phosphatase (CIALP) genes and use those clones to determine the tissue source of CIALP, the kinetics of LALP and CIALP mRNA expression for glucocorticoid-treated dogs, and the correlation between LALP and CIALP transcript concentrations and isoenzyme activities.

Sample Population: Tissues obtained from 7 dogs treated with prednisone (1 mg/kg, SC, q 24 h) for up to 32 days and 1 untreated (control) dog.

Procedure: Gene segments of LALP and CIALP were obtained by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay.

Alkaline phosphatase expression in tissues from glucocorticoid-treated dogs.

Objective: To determine the effect of glucocorticoids on the induction of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) isoenzymes in the liver, kidneys, and intestinal mucosa, 3 tissues that are principally responsible for ALP synthesis in dogs.

Sample Population: Tissues from the liver, kidneys, and intestinal mucosa of 6 dogs treated with 1 mg of prednisone/kg/d for 32 days and 6 untreated control dogs.

Procedures: Using canine-specific primers for the ALP isoenzymes, a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay was designed to measure liver ALP (LALP) and intestinal ALP (IALP) mRNA and heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA) expression in tissues from the liver and kidneys and intestinal mucosa of glucocorticoid-treated and control dogs.

Genomic sequence and cardiac expression of atrial natriuretic peptide in cats.

Objective: To determine the nucleotide and amino acid sequence of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) in cats and its typical regions of cardiac expression.

Animals: 5 healthy adult mixed-breed cats.

Procedure: Total RNA was extracted from samples obtained from the left and right atrium, left and right ventricle, and interventricular septum of each cat.