Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Reduced NF-kappaB p65 in dog footpads with distemper virus infection
By Friess, M et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2005·Institut fü·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Reduced nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB p65 in the footpad epidermis of dogs infected with distemper virus.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs infected with the canine distemper virus (CDV) developed a condition known as hard pad disease, which causes thickening of the skin on their footpads. This thickening happens because the skin cells, called keratinocytes, are multiplying more than usual. Researchers found that in dogs with CDV, there were changes in certain proteins that control cell growth, which might explain why these dogs had such thickened footpads. Understanding this could help veterinarians find better ways to treat dogs suffering from this viral infection.
People also search for: dog distemper symptoms · hard pad disease in dogs · treatment for canine distemper
Abstract
Infection of canine footpads with the canine distemper virus (CDV) can cause massive epidermal thickening (hard pad disease), as a consequence of increased proliferation of keratinocytes and hyperkeratosis. Keratinocytes of canine footpad epidermis containing detectable CDV nucleoprotein antigen and CDV mRNA were shown previously to have increased proliferation indices. Because various proteins that play a role in the proliferation of epidermal cells are viral targets, the potential participation of such proteins in CDV-associated keratinocyte proliferation was investigated. Transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), cell cycle regulatory proteins p21, p27 and p53, and nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB transcription factor components p50 and p65 were studied in the footpad epidermis from the following groups of dogs inoculated with CDV: group 1, consisting of seven dogs with clinical distemper and CDV in the footpad epidermis; group 2, consisting of four dogs with clinical distemper but no CDV in the footpad epidermis; group 3, consisting of eight dogs with neither clinical distemper nor CDV in the footpad epithelium. Group 4 consisted of two uninoculated control dogs. The expression of TGF-alpha, p21, p27 and p53, and p50 in the basal layer, lower and upper spinous layers, and in the granular layer did not differ statistically between CDV-positive (group 1) and CDV-negative (groups 2-4) footpad epidermis. However, there were differences in the levels of nuclear and cytoplasmic p65 expression between group 1 dogs and the other three groups. Thus, footpads from group 1 dogs had more keratinocytes containing p65 in the cytoplasm and, conversely, fewer nuclei that were positive for p65. These findings indicate that p65 translocation into the nucleus is reduced in CDV-infected footpad epidermis. Such decreased translocation of p65 may help to explain increased keratinocyte proliferation in hard pad disease and suggests interference of CDV with the NF-kappaB pathway.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15629482/