Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
PLoS One. 2023 Feb 3;18(2):e0274060. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274060. eCollection 2023.
To evaluate the association between plasma metabolites, biochemical analytes, diagnostic imaging findings, and the histologic diagnosis of hepatic lipidosis in bearded dragons. To assess the effects of gemfibrozil therapy on hepatic lipid accumulation and associated diagnostic tests.
Fourteen bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) with varying severity of hepatic lipid accumulation (with and without hepatic lipidosis) were included.
Animals underwent coelomic ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scans, and coelioscopic hepatic biopsies. Clinical pathology tests included lipidologic tests, hepatic biomarkers, and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics. Animals were medicated with gemfibrozil 6mg/kg orally once a day for 2 months in a randomized blinded clinical trial prior to repeating previous diagnostic testing.
Hounsfield units on CT were negatively associated with increased hepatic vacuolation, while ultrasound and gross evaluation of the liver were not reliable. Beta-hydroxybutyric-acid (BHBA) concentrations were significantly associated with hepatic lipidosis. Metabolomics and lipidomics data found BHBA and succinic acid to be potential biomarkers for diagnosing hepatic lipidosis in bearded dragons. Succinic acid concentrations were significantly lower in the gemfibrozil treatment group. There was a tendency for improvement in the biomarkers and reduced hepatic fat in bearded dragons with hepatic lipidosis when treated with gemfibrozil, though the improvement was not statistically significant.
These findings provide information on the antemortem assessment of hepatic lipidosis in bearded dragons and paves the way for further research in diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
评估血浆代谢物、生化分析物、诊断成像结果与鬃狮蜥肝脂肪变性的组织学诊断之间的关系。评估吉非贝齐治疗对肝脂肪堆积和相关诊断检测的影响。
14 只鬃狮蜥（Pogona vitticeps），其肝脂肪堆积程度不同（有或无肝脂肪变性）。
动物接受腹腔超声、计算机断层扫描（CT）和腹腔镜肝活检。临床病理学检测包括脂质学检测、肝生物标志物和基于质谱的代谢组学。在一项随机盲法临床试验中，动物每天口服吉非贝齐 6mg/kg 治疗 2 个月，然后重复先前的诊断检测。
CT 上的亨斯菲尔德单位与肝空泡化增加呈负相关，而超声和肝脏大体评估不可靠。β-羟丁酸（BHBA）浓度与肝脂肪变性显著相关。代谢组学和脂质组学数据发现 BHBA 和琥珀酸可能是诊断鬃狮蜥肝脂肪变性的生物标志物。吉非贝齐治疗组的琥珀酸浓度明显较低。肝脂肪变性的鬃狮蜥用吉非贝齐治疗后，生物标志物和肝脂肪减少有改善趋势，但无统计学意义。
这些发现为鬃狮蜥肝脂肪变性的生前评估提供了信息，并为该疾病的诊断和治疗的进一步研究奠定了基础。
