CHEEK SWABS NEEDED OF AFFECTED PBGVS
The PBGVCA is excited about sponsoring and the PBGV Health and Rescue Foundation is pleased to be funding Canine Health Foundation Grant #305. The formal name of the study is "Histocompatibility Alleles Conferring Susceptibility to Canine Diabetes, Immune-Mediated Thyroiditis and Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia". The research is being done at the University of Utah by Dr Wayne Potts.
What does this mean to us?
The following is the Lay Abstract for this study. "Autoimmune diseases cause significant amounts of mortality and debilitating diseases in dogs. In humans, many autoimmune diseases occur only in individuals expressing one of the few predisposing histocompatibility genes (common genetic profile/gene(s)). For example, all cases of type I diabetes in humans are associated with only a few of the many allelic forms of class II histocompatibility genes. Consequently, if the frequencies of these few alleles were reduced by half, the incidence of diabetes would be reduced by half. Here we propose to characterize histocompatibility susceptibility alleles (common genetic profile/gene(s)) for three major, heritable canine autoimmune diseases-diabetes, immune-mediated thyroiditis, and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. If any of these three debilitating (or lethal) autoimmune diseases have a restricted number of susceptibility alleles it will allow (1) development of diagnostic tests for identifying individuals at risk for prophylactic therapy and research and (2) reducing the incidence of the disease by reducing the breeding of individuals carrying the predisposing histocompatibility alleles. For each of the three autoimmune diseases, we propose to collect DNA samples from approximately 100 purebred dogs diagnosed with the disease. Histocompatibility genes will be cloned and sequenced for each dog for a total of approximately 1100 sequences. Histocompatibility alleles (common genetic profile/gene(s)) will be tested for significant associations with each disease."
Why should we participate?
We know from our last health survey that hypothyroidism is our #2 most common disease thought to be genetic in origin, behind persistent pupillary membranes (PPM’s). We also are aware of individual PBGV’s affected with immune mediated hemolytic anemia and also diabetes. The benefit of this study is that the genetic profile of affected dogs is presumed to be similar and researchers are attempting to validate this. If proven, next steps will be to find a specific genetic marker and then testing procedures. In studies such as this it often takes many, many years to identify a profile. This may be one area where the work will be fruitful fairly quickly. While the diseases to be studied are those stated, other probable autoimmune diseases include immune mediated meningitis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and allergies. These diseases have huge consequences to the lives of affected dogs, expense to their owners, and long-term impact on the breed as a whole.
What can we do to participate?
Here is our chance to help our breed. The University of Utah is asking for cheek swabs on any PBGV affected with diabetes:
If you have a PBGV that has been diagnosed with diabetes, please download the consent form and instructions for each affected dog you may have. Please contact Lauren Kovaleff, lkova@Comcast.net or 925-646-4402. Lauren will mail to you the U of U packet with instructions for completion and return directly to University of Utah. The information on specific dogs will not be shared with anyone other than the researchers at the University.
Please do participate!! Without your help we will lose the opportunity to learn something about our breed.
Thank you in advance for working to control these diseases in our beloved PBGV's.
Lauren Kovaleff, Chairman University of Utah Autoimmune Study
PBGVCA Health and Genetics Committee
STUDY UPDATE
CLICK HERE for the Utah Grant , 18 Month Report Summary.
A LETTER FROM JULIA KUNI
Chair, Health & Genetics Subcommittee
The PBGVCA Health & Genetics Subcommittee urges each of you to commit to doing what you can to reach any owner you know with a diabetic PBGV and provide the support necessary to see that the owner obtains a cheek swab of that PBGV and submits it along with a completed application to the University of Utah.
As many of you know, PBGVCA and the PBGV Health & Rescue Foundation has been supporting and funding a research project about immune related diseases at the University of Utah. Researchers have had some difficulty obtaining necessary samples for the diseases being studied. They have received 5 DNA cheek swab samples for diabetic PBGV’s, and have told us that if we can furnish an additional 5 DNA diabetic PBGV samples, that we will be included as a focus group.
Dr. Wayne Potts, Head Researcher continues to anticipate that they may be able to identify a common gene sequence for canine autoimmune mediated disease, and hopes to validate a hypothesis that the sequence has common segments across at least 3 breeds. For more information about this project, go to www.pbgv.org or www.pbgvfoundation.org.
If you know of a diabetic PBGV, please help us be sure that this dog is represented in the research project. And encourage any breeders you know to do the same—they know a lot!
Thank you. Julia Kuni, Chair, Health & Genetics Subcommittee
