Immune-mediated anemias are caused by a spectrum of disorders that can selectively target erythroid cells in different stages of development, from mature RBCs to erythroid progenitors, resulting in different and distinct constellations of findings that help us diagnose these entities. Treatment and prognosis can be different for different entities, warranting an accurate initial diagnosis. The pathogenesis and laboratory findings for IMHA, PIMA, and PRCA will be discussed, together with a brief discussion of some differential diagnoses.
The presentation will discuss the interaction between the immunological factors of colostrum (antibodies, cells and their products, and microbiota) and the naive neonatal immune system, which results in the programming of the immune system at the onset of life, with short- and long-term consequences.
The microbiota, comprising trillions of microbes residing in the gut lumen, profoundly influences host health and disease. In my years of veterinary practice, I frequently encountered conditions caused by disruptions in microbiota and recognized the limitations of available treatments for these animals. Now, as a basic science researcher, I strive to understand the complexity of the host-nutrition–microbiota interplay, with the goal of contributing to the development of effective microbiota-based interventions. In this seminar, I will present recent advances in epithelial biology and intestinal immunity regulated by the microbiota including my own research and discuss their potential relevance to domestic animal species.
This seminar will review the immunomodulatory drugs we commonly use for immunomodulation in small animal practice. A review of the literature will provide the evidence for support of efficacy and use practices. A special emphasis on mycophenolate mofetil and upcoming studies will be included.
T cells undergo a complex program of development in order to become effective mediators of immunity. Cells at each stage of T cell development have the potential to become neoplastic while retaining many of the characteristics of their non-neoplastic counterparts. Identifying the normal counterpart of different T cell lymphomas can help explain the clinical signs associated with these diseases and give us insight into pathogenesis. Gene expression profiling has revealed the cell of origin of many human T cell lymphomas. Lymphoma arising from Th1, Th2 and follicular helper T cells, as well as granular leukocytes and a variety of other stages of T cell development have been identified. T cell lymphoma is more prevalent in dogs than in people, and we are beginning to identify the cell of origin of these different types as well, using gene expression and functional studies. Characterization of these tumor types in dogs and comparison with their normal counterparts have given us insight into T cell function. Comparison of canine T cell lymphomas with human disease can help position the dog as a model for novel therapies.
This presentation will consider pathomechanisms, diagnostic approaches, and treatment options for immune-mediated hemolytic anemia in dogs and cats, following guidelines for best practice published in our two Consensus Statements on this topic as well as more recent data emerging in the field. It will be suitable for general practitioners, residents, and all clinicians with an interest in clinical immunology. The presentation will adopt a practical, evidence-based approach.
The objective of this lecture is to provide a brief overview of how monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) serve as powerful and versatile tools in modern therapeutic development. Dr. Nikki M. Thellman will discuss the fundamentals of mAbs as therapeutics, focusing on how their structure and function enable precise targeting of disease-specific molecules. She will outline key steps in drug development unique to antibody therapeutics, including binding affinity and functional screening, as well as address the unique challenges mAbs present compared to small molecule drugs, such as immunogenicity. Additionally, Dr. Thellman will explain how the industry leverages advanced science and technology to engineer mAbs for animal health, specifically to minimize immune reactions.
Bartonellosis is associated with a wide range of disease syndromes in various mammalian species, including transient cat-scratch disease, fever with bacteremia, endocarditis, and others. Host immune function seems to play a role in the clinical presentation and progression of bartonellosis, though this is less well described in dogs and cats than in people. This presentation will focus on the Bartonella species that most commonly infect cats, dogs, and humans, reviewing the current state of knowledge from in vitro and in vivo research on the immune response to infection. We will discuss the molecular and immunological mechanisms of host invasion and intracellular persistence, as well as host immune escape and the consequences thereof.
Several diagnostic tests are available for diagnosis of immune mediated hematologic and other diseases in dogs and cats. This presentation will discuss commonly available immunodiagnostic tests and evaluate their utility in diagnosis of immune mediated diseases. Diagnostic tools including the direct antiglobulin test, antinuclear antibody, and flow cytometry will be evaluated in a case-based approach.
This presentation will provide an overview of the immune system, including contemporary views on innate and adaptive immunity and their crosstalk; pathogen recognition and clearance; regulation of the immune response; and autoimmunity. It is intended to provide an update for clinicians and specialists-in-training.
This seminar will give an overview of our current understanding of the involvement of the GI immune system in diseases including CIE in dogs and cats as well as small cell lymphoma in cats. In addition, opportunities to investigate the innate immune system in the GI tract with the use of organoids will be discussed.
his presentation will present an overview of the role of nerve growth factor (NGF) in various biological processes, with an emphasis on its pronociceptive role in osteoarthritis pain. The utility of NGF sequestration (using monoclonal antibodies) will be discussed, and efficacy and adverse event data discussed with particular reference to work in cats and dogs. Developing approaches to the production of anti-NGF mAbs will be discussed.
This presentation will describe the clinical signs associated with a potential underlying immunodeficiency indications for immunologic testing, interpretation of results for the young and adult horses, and limitations in diagnostics and diagnosis of immunodeficiencies.
Co-Chairs of the Consensus Statement panel on Diagnosis and Treatment of Immune Thrombocytopenia in Dogs and Cats will present an overview of key diagnostic P(E)CO format questions (Patient population, Exposure/Evaluation, Comparator, Outcomes) focused on the workup of dogs and cats with ITP. In this session we will provide guidelines for useful tests for diagnosis of ITP and prediction of ITP disease severity. We will also summarize quantitative and qualitative evidence for comorbidities as a cause for ITP and the subsequent screening guidelines we have developed for routine ITP workup in small animal patients. All recommendations were generated by a systematic review of available primary veterinary literature and revised with an extensive Delphi process.
Immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA) and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) are important autoimmune diseases of dogs, which each cause severe morbidity. Both diseases are typically treated with glucocorticoids, but these drugs cause serious adverse effects, creating a need to try to individualize treatment for affected dogs. Here, we conducted extensive clinical and immunophenotyping of dogs with IMHA and IMPA, searching for markers that can be used to predict response to treatment and severity of glucocorticoid-related adverse effects. Our results reveal several novel molecular markers, including members of the NF-kB family in dogs with IMPA, that associate strongly with disease onset, and which might represent new markers of disease severity and/or potential therapeutic targets. In this seminar, I will outline our methodological approaches to identify and validate these markers, as well as discussing their potential importance in the clinic.
Dr. James Swann qualified as a veterinarian from the University of Cambridge in 2010 before completing his residency in small animal internal medicine at the Royal Veterinary College in London to become board-certified in 2016. He then completed his doctoral studies at the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, University of Oxford, investigating the impact of chronic inflammatory arthritis on hematopoiesis, and received his DPhil in 2020. He is a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation fellow in the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative. Dr. Swann is interested in whether pre-cancerous stem cells change their gene expression in response to inflammation, which might allow them to outcompete normal cells in the bone marrow. He is utilizing cutting-edge techniques such as CRISPR editing of blood stem cells to investigate the molecular pathways responsible for these biological changes. This project has the potential to identify molecular pathways activated by inflammation that might promote AML development, offering new targets for therapeutic interventions.
The erythrocyte is uniquely susceptible to oxidative injury for a number of reasons, but namely due to its proximity to oxygen as its main function. Due to this, the RBC has intricate mechanisms to neutralize or reduce this oxidative stress, but in disease states these efforts can be blunted or depleted. This lecture will review the pro- and anti-oxidant balance of the red blood cell, and will discuss the small animal disease states most likely to impact this balance and lead to cellular injury.
This presentation will describe certain diseases of B cells in dogs, including small cell B cell neoplasms and polyclonal B cell lymphocytosis of English bulldogs, and the utility of flow cytometry and clonality testing in diagnosing lymphoid malignancies.
Dr. Goggs, a member of the ACVIM ITP Consensus Committee will present an overview of the therapeutic recommendations for management of immune thrombocytopenia that were generated by a systematic review of available primary veterinary literature and revised with an extensive Delphi process. This session will provide real-world illustrations of the application of the new guidelines in a case-based format.
VCCIS presents its first scientific presentation at the 2021 ACVIM Forum hosted by guest speaker Dr. James B Bussel, MD, who presented "Immune thrombocytopenia across species – a 2021 update on pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of human ITP.”
Some infections and immune mediated diseases can share similar clinical signs and laboratory abnormalities. This seminar will explore the use immunosuppressive therapies in dogs and cats when the underlying disease process has not been established as either infectious or immune-mediated. In addition, immunosuppressive medications can lead to adverse effects including secondary infections. The seminar will discuss management of a patient that has received immunosuppressive and developed a secondary infection.