Patellar luxation is a common orthopedic problem in dogs. Medial luxation is more common than lateral luxation and is usually diagnosed in dogs of small breed. Diagnosis is based on clinical evidence of patellar instability; however, diagnostic imaging is required to assess the amount of skeletal deformity and then the most appropriate method of treatment. Surgical options include both soft tissue and osseous techniques, however, in most of the cases, a combination of more procedures is used to achieve the correction of the luxation. Complication rate is generally low and the most common complications include reluxation and implant-associated complications. Prognosis is generally favorable, with most of the dogs returning to normal limb function. This article describes patellar luxation features in dogs, including clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment options available.

Semen cryopreservation determines several sperm damages, including the loss of fertility-associated proteins. The purpose of the study was to compare the metabolite contents in bovine sperm and seminal plasma before and after cryopreservation, and between high- and low-fertility bulls in vitro. Forty-eight ejaculates, collected from eight bulls (six per bull), were analyzed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Cryopreservation resulted in an over-expression of lysophosphatidylcholine (0:0/18:2(9Z,12Z)) in seminal plasma. In addition, higher levels of glycine betaine and pyro-l-glutaminyl-l-glutamine were observed in cryopreserved compared to fresh spermatozoa. The fresh seminal plasma of high-fertility bulls showed an over-expression of l-acetylcarnitine, glycerol tripropanoate, 2,3-diacetoxypropyl stearate and glycerophosphocholine, and an under-expression of lysophosphatidylcholine and butyrylcarnitine, compared to low-fertility bulls. Higher levels of glycerophosphocholine and lysophosphatidylcholine (16:0/0:0) were recorded in fresh spermatozoa from high-fertility bulls. In high-fertility bulls, a greater content of glycerophosphocholine and lower levels of butyrylcarnitine, glycine betaine and l-carnitine were found in cryopreserved seminal plasma, and lower levels of glycine betaine were detected in cryopreserved spermatozoa. In conclusion, cryopreservation affects bovine semen metabolome at both plasmatic and cellular compartments, and metabolic profile differs between high- and low-fertility bulls.

Immune endothelial inflammation, underlying coronary heart disease (CHD) related phenotypes, could provide new insight into the pathobiology of the disease. We investigated DNA methylation level of the unique CpG island of HLA-G gene in CHD patients and evaluated the correlation with cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) features. Thirty-two patients that underwent CCTA for suspected CHD were enrolled for this study. Obstructive CHD group included fourteen patients, in which there was a stenosis greater than or equal to 50% in one or more of the major coronary arteries detected; whereas subjects with Calcium (Ca) Score = 0, uninjured coronaries and with no obstructive CHD (no critical stenosis, NCS) were considered as control subjects (n = 18). For both groups, DNA methylation profile of the whole 5’UTR-CpG island of HLA-G was measured. The plasma soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) levels were detected in all subjects by specific ELISA assay. Statistical analysis was performed using R software. For the first time, our study reported that 1) a significant hypomethylation characterized three specific fragments (B, C and F) of the 5’UTR-CpG island (p = 0.05) of HLA-G gene in CHD patients compared to control group; 2) the hypomethylation level of one specific fragment of 161bp (+616/+777) positively correlated with coronary Ca score, a relevant parameter of CCTA (p<0.05) between two groups evaluated and was predictive for disease severity. Reduced levels of circulating HLA-G molecules could derive from epigenetic marks. Epigenetics phenomena induce hypomethylation of specific regions into 5'UTR-CpG island of HLA-G gene in CHD patients with obstructive non critical stenosis vs coronary stenosis individuals.