Sojka Peter A, Cushing Andrew, Martinelli Laura, Schwartz Heather, Zhu Xiaojuan, Ramsay Edward C
Avian and Exotics Department, Pieper Memorial Veterinary Hospital, Middletown, CT.
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
Am J Vet Res. 2025 Jun 16;86(9). doi: 10.2460/ajvr.25.01.0033. Print 2025 Sep 1.
To examine the normetanephrine- and metanephrine-to-creatinine urinary fractionation ratios of clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa) at various ages. We hypothesized that clouded leopards with large metanephrine- and/or normetanephrine-to-creatinine fractionation ratios would have a pheochromocytoma on postmortem examination. Those subjects with comparatively smaller fractionation ratios would not have a pheochromocytoma on postmortem examination.
Clouded leopards housed at a zoological institution or sanctuary were included in this study. Patients were examined within a hospital environment. All samples were obtained from January 2020 through August 2021. Urine was collected from patients by direct free catch, cystocentesis, or urinary catheterization and analyzed for metanephrine- and normetanephrine-to-creatinine fractionation ratios. Postmortem examinations were performed on animals that died naturally or were euthanized for various comorbidities to determine if a pheochromocytoma was present.
This experimental study included 1- to 16-year-old clouded leopards, 11 male and 6 female, managed under human care. The 2 clouded leopards in this study with normetanephrine- or metanephrine-to-creatinine fractionation ratios greater than 4 times the high end of the ranges identified in the subjects of this study had confirmed pheochromocytomas on postmortem examination.
Normetanephrine- and metanephrine-to-creatinine fractionation testing may be useful tools in the antemortem diagnosis of pheochromocytomas in clouded leopards.
Normetanephrine- and metanephrine-to-creatinine fractionation testing may provide a minimally invasive antemortem method of screening for pheochromocytomas in clouded leopards. Quantitative studies are needed to determine if this testing is consistently able to diagnose pheochromocytoma in live clouded leopards.
研究不同年龄云豹（豹猫属云豹种）尿中去甲变肾上腺素和变肾上腺素与肌酐的分级比率。我们假设，去甲变肾上腺素和/或变肾上腺素与肌酐分级比率高的云豹在尸检时会患有嗜铬细胞瘤。那些分级比率相对较低的个体在尸检时不会患有嗜铬细胞瘤。
本研究纳入了饲养在动物园或野生动物保护区的云豹。在医院环境中对这些动物进行检查。所有样本采集时间为2020年1月至2021年8月。通过直接自由采集、膀胱穿刺术或导尿术收集动物尿液，并分析其中去甲变肾上腺素和变肾上腺素与肌酐的分级比率。对自然死亡或因各种合并症实施安乐死的动物进行尸检，以确定是否存在嗜铬细胞瘤。
本实验研究涵盖了1至16岁的云豹，其中雄性11只，雌性6只，均处于人工饲养环境。本研究中2只去甲变肾上腺素或变肾上腺素与肌酐分级比率大于本研究对象中所确定范围上限4倍的云豹，在尸检时确诊患有嗜铬细胞瘤。
去甲变肾上腺素和变肾上腺素与肌酐分级检测可能是云豹嗜铬细胞瘤生前诊断的有用工具。
去甲变肾上腺素和变肾上腺素与肌酐分级检测可能为云豹嗜铬细胞瘤提供一种微创的生前筛查方法。需要进行定量研究以确定该检测是否始终能够诊断活体云豹中的嗜铬细胞瘤。
