Rodrigues Laís Limeira, Mesquita Leonardo Pereira, Costa Rafael Carneiro, Gomes Raquel Gonçalves, Biihrer Daniel Arrais, Maiorka Paulo César
Departament of Pathology, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, São Paulo, 05508-270, Brazil.
BMC Vet Res. 2018 Nov 27;14(1):370. doi: 10.1186/s12917-018-1700-0.
β-amyloid (Aβ) can accumulate in the brain of aged dogs, and within vessels walls, the disease is called cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). In humans, Alzheimer's disease and CAA are strongly correlated with cerebrovascular disease. However, in dogs, this association has not been extensively studied yet. The present report highlights the pathological and clinical features of a concomitant cerebrovascular disease and amyloid precursor protein (APP) accumulation in the brain of a dog.
A female, 16-year-old, Standard Poodle with a one-year history of cognitive deficits presented with an acute onset of right-sided postural reaction deficit and circling, left-sided head tilt, positional nystagmus, and ataxia. Due to poor prognosis the dog was euthanized, and pathological examination of the brain revealed an acute lacunar infarction within the thalamus extending to rostral colliculus. Additional findings included subacute and chronic areas of ischemia throughout the brain and areas of hemorrhage within the medulla. Immunolabeling revealed APP deposition within intraparenchymal vessels of frontal, temporal and occipital cortex, hippocampus, diencephalon, mesencephalon and myelencephalon, besides meningeal vessels walls. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunolabeling showed marked astrocytosis around the acute area of infarction and within chronic areas of ischemia. Histological examination of the brain along with immunohistochemistry results showed a concomitant APP, which is an Aβ precursor, accumulation within the neuroparenchyma and vessels (CAA) with histological evidences of a cerebrovascular disease in an aged dog.
This report shows that APP accumulation in the brain can occur concomitantly to a severe cerebrovascular disease in a dog. Further studies are necessary to elucidate if cerebrovascular disease is associated with Aβ accumulation in the brain of dogs.
β-淀粉样蛋白（Aβ）可在老龄犬大脑中积聚，在血管壁内积聚时，该疾病被称为脑淀粉样血管病（CAA）。在人类中，阿尔茨海默病与CAA均与脑血管疾病密切相关。然而，在犬类中，这种关联尚未得到广泛研究。本报告重点介绍了一只犬大脑中同时存在的脑血管疾病及淀粉样前体蛋白（APP）积聚的病理和临床特征。
一只16岁雌性标准贵宾犬，有一年认知功能障碍病史，现突发右侧姿势反应缺陷、转圈、左侧头部倾斜、位置性眼球震颤和共济失调。由于预后不佳，该犬被实施安乐死，大脑病理检查发现丘脑内急性腔隙性梗死延伸至嘴侧丘。其他发现包括全脑的亚急性和慢性缺血区域以及延髓内的出血区域。免疫标记显示，除脑膜血管壁外，额叶、颞叶、枕叶皮质、海马体、间脑、中脑和延髓的实质内血管均有APP沉积。胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）免疫标记显示，梗死急性区域周围及慢性缺血区域有明显的星形细胞增生。大脑组织学检查及免疫组化结果显示，在一只老龄犬中，作为Aβ前体的APP在神经实质和血管内同时积聚（CAA），并有脑血管疾病的组织学证据。
本报告表明，犬大脑中APP的积聚可能与严重的脑血管疾病同时发生。需要进一步研究以阐明脑血管疾病是否与犬大脑中Aβ的积聚有关。
