In past events, we have raised money or collected blood for a number of research studies and programs, including:

• Reprogramming Canine Stem Cells to Develop New Therapies,
  
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Deborah Guest
  Sponsored through Morris Animal Foundation
  
  Dogs suffer from many orthopedic, neurological and cardiovascular injuries and diseases that could be treated with cell replacement therapies. One potential therapy is the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are artificially produced by reprogramming adult cells back to an embryonic state, thereby giving them the ability to grow indefinitely in culture and the potential to turn into any cell type. These iPSCs have enormous therapeutic potential because they can be used to grow genetically identical cells for use in transplantations without risk of being rejected by the dog's immune system. To date, iPSCs have been successfully derived from adult human, mouse, monkey, pig, horse and sheep cells, but little has been done in dogs. The researcher will determine the factors and culture conditions required to generate canine iPSCs. This study will form the basis of future work to further characterize iPSCs and determine their potential to be used therapeutically in dogs and as a novel tool for studying canine inherited diseases.
  
  
• Assessing the Prevalence of Leptospirosis
  
  Principal Investigator: Dr. George E. Moore
  Sponsored through Morris Animal Foundation
  
  Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease caused by exposure to urine from an infected animal, usually wildlife. It can cause life-threatening kidney, liver and blood disease and affects humans and animals worldwide. Due to the exposure from wildlife surrounding urban areas, all breeds of dogs are susceptible to infection but canine leptospirosis may be more commonly recognized in sporting or hunting breeds. Although the risk of infection in dogs may have increased in the last decade, such assessments are complicated by lack of large-scale epidemiological data, limitations of diagnostic tests, differences between the various strains of the bacteria, and limited understanding of the specific immune response of infected dogs. This study will investigate the frequency and distribution of leptospirosis infection in dogs across the United States and determine the molecular characteristics of the different strains of the bacteria. While the molecular information will help improve diagnostic tests and vaccines, the epidemiological data will assist in managing the risk and spread of this deadly disease.
  
  
• Evaluating Metronomic Chemotherapy Using Tumor Biomarkers in Dogs with Soft Tissue Sarcoma
  
  Principal Investigator: Dr. Barbara Biller, Colorado State University
  Sponsored through Morris Animal Foundation
  
  Reasearch Result: New Drug Administration Option Improves Treatment Success and Decreases Side Effects
  
  Conventional chemotherapy drugs only modestly improve cancer survival rates but many cause notable side effects. Metronomic therapy, a novel method of administering chemotherapy that involves frequent, low-level doses of chemotherapy rather than higher doses given at longer intervals, may improve treatment response and decrease side effects. Researchers studied whether metronomic dosing of the drug cyclophosphamide is safe and effective in treating dogs with soft-tissue sarcomas. Twelve dogs were enrolled in the study and all but two (which experienced tumor growth and were removed to pursue other treatment options) successfully completed the treatment protocol. Though they are still analyzing the final data, scientists have seen encouraging results, including a decrease in the blood supply to the tumor in the treated dogs and no tumor growth in 8 of the 10 dogs treated during the four-week study period. Another important finding was that none of the dogs experienced significant side effects, such as the vomiting, diarrhea or low white blood cell counts frequently seen with conventional chemotherapy. The researchers are completing data analysis and preparing a manuscript for publication later this year. Results of this study indicate that metronomic chemotherapy could significantly decrease side effects and may increase survival rates of dogs with cancer.
  
  
• Canine Mammary Tumors Expressing Prolactin Result in Poor Clinical Outcomes
  Principal investigator: Dr. Michelle Kutzler, Oregon State University
  Sponsored through Morris Animal Foundation
  
  Breast cancer is the most common tumor of intact female dogs, with a two-year survival rate of about 25 to 40 percent. While canine breast cancer has many similarities to breast cancer in women, traditional chemotherapy and radiation are only minimally effective in dogs. Non-traditional chemotherapeutic agents, which affect hormone receptors, may hold promise for treating dogs. In particular, researchers will look at prolactin, a hormone that regulates mammary cells and appears to be linked to cancer cell development in humans and rodents. They will study archived biopsy samples of breast cancer tissue that were collected from female dogs over a 10-year period and determine how the survival time of these dogs relates to mammary prolactin production and prolactin receptor expression. This will give insight into the development and potential treatment for this cancer in dogs.



• Transcriptional Profiling of Canine Mast Cell Tumors
  Principal Investigator: Cheryl A. London, DVM, PhD
  Institution: The Ohio State University
  Sponsored through the Golden Retriever Foundation
  
  Reasearch Result: Mast cell tumors (MCTs) are one of the most common tumors in dogs. Although many MCTs are benign, others can behave in a highly aggressive manner (malignant), spreading to distant skin sites, lymph nodes and the spleen and ultimately resulting in death. Scientists at the Ohio State University were interested in establishing a more accurate method to distinguish MCTs more likely to behave in a malignant manner and, therefore, identify dogs in need of aggressive treatments. They theorized that certain genetic factors, specifically a subset of genes called microRNAs, would be differentially altered in the malignant tumors. Scientists successfully profiled microRNA changes in benign and malignant MCTs and have identified a set of microRNAs preferentially expressed at high levels in the malignant tumors. Further research is now needed to use this new information to develop earlier diagnostic tools and better treatments for this deadly cancer in dogs.



• Molecular Epidemiology of Ehrlichia and Bartonella spp. Infection in Golden Retrievers with Lymphoma
  Principal Investigator: Edward Breitschwerdt, DVM
  Institution: North Carolina State University
  Sponsored through the Golden Retriever Foundation
  
  Bartonella spp. are a group of related bacteria, most of which have only been discovered within the last 10 years. They are able to infect and survive inside cells, causing persistent infections in mammals. Infection with Bartonella spp., however, does not always cause disease manifestations and for this reason, a positive blood test documenting infection with Bartonella spp. does not necessarily mean that Bartonella is the cause of an animal's disease. However, in people, there is growing evidence implicating Bartonella spp. as a cause of a broad spectrum of disease syndromes, and there is some evidence to support the potential that chronic Bartonella infection may contribute to the development of cancer. The purpose of this study is look for evidence of Bartonella infection in Golden Retrievers with lymphoma, as compared to a healthy control group. We will use standard serologic tests which are currently available for Bartonella spp. testing of dogs, but we will also use a newer, more broadly reaching method of molecular testing. This will allow us to test for a larger number of Bartonella spp., and may potentially provide greater test sensitivity. As previous work from our laboratory has documented co-infection with B. vinsonii (berkhoffii) and Ehrlichia canis, another tick transmitted bacteria, we will test for both of these organisms in this study.



• The Broad Institute's Research on Osteosarcoma
  Institution: Dog Genome Project, Broad Institute
  
  The world of dog geneticists, oncologists, veterinarians and dog owners is about to change. The Canine Genome Sequencing Project, based in Boston at the Broad Institute at Harvard and MIT, finished sequencing the dog genome in 2005. Now, the Broad Institute is using this important new resource to find genes for canine diseases such as cancer, diabetes and epilepsy.
  
  The first disease they are investigating, with the help of the AKC Canine Health Foundation, is osteosarcoma (bone cancer). This devastating cancer is a significant health concern in large dog breeds, affecting roughly 10-15% of Rottweilers and 10-30% of track Greyhounds. Even with treatments such as amputation and chemotherapy, the survival rate is only 20% after 2 years. The researchers are searching for regions of the genome that differ between healthy dogs and dogs with osteosarcoma. This research will help develop genetic tests to identify carriers of osteosarcoma. Ultimately, they will also find the defective genes causing this disease, improving treatment and survival rates in dogs and in people with bone cancer.
  
  Latest Research Update: To date, researchers have collected ~500 blood samples from dogs diagnosed with OSA and ~1500 healthy dogs over 8 years old. They have localized genetic risk factors that are associated with OSA to three chromosomal regions in greyhounds as well as three chromosomal regions in the Rottweiler breed, and are currently narrowing in on the precise mutations that cause the disease using ten different breeds. The biological effects of the mutations will be studied to better understand the cause and progression of the disease.
  
  Breeds needed for this study: Rottweilers, Greyhounds, Mastiffs, Leonbergers, Golden Retrievers, Irish Wolfhounds, Great Pyrenees, Great Danes, Borzoi, and Scottish Deerhounds
  
  Main collaborators: Kenine Comstock (The University of Michigan), Jaime Modiano (University of Minnesota), Cheryl London (Ohio State University), Elizabeth McNeil (Michigan State University), Matthew Breen (North Carolina State University)



• Canine Health Information Center DNA Repository
  Institution: Canine Health Information Center
  
  The CHIC DNA Repository, co-sponsored by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and the American Kennel Club's Canine Health Foundation, collects and stores canine DNA samples along with corresponding genealogic and phenotypic information to facilitate future research and testing aimed at reducing the incidence of inherited disease in dogs. The objectives of this program is to:
  • Facilitate more rapid research progress by expediting the sample collection process
  • Provide researchers with optimized family groups needed for research
  • Allow breeders to take advantage of future DNA based disease tests as they become available
  • Foster a team environment between breeders/owners and the research community improving the likelihood of genetic discovery