2010 Annual Meeting
& President's Report
The annual meeting of SHR, Inc. was held at the MSU Livestock Pavilion, E. Lansing, MI at 3 PM Sat. Dec. 4, 2010. All officers and board members attended either in person or via teleconference or email. Various discussions and actions included:
The corporate records for the year June 2009 thru June 2010 were approved. All board members (Vicky Clarke, Linda Scanlon and Nancy Badra) and officers (Jim Steckley, Bill Schall and Linda Scanlon) agreed to continue in their positions and terms of office.
The Treasurer's report for the corporate year end of June 1, 2010 was approved.
The Secretaryfs report included updates to SHRfs website and providing health information when requested. Vicky Clarke has updated the SHR web site as needed.
President's report
Four new AKC/CHF approved grants were funded
- Grant No. 1131: Genetic Background and the Angiogenic Phenotype in Cancer, Jaime Modiano, University of Minnesota - Grant No. 1139: Immune Targeting of Canine Hemangiosarcoma Using a Canine Derived Single Chain Antibody Approach, Nicola Mason, University of Pennsylvania - Grant No.1355A: Expression of Vascular Endothelial Markers in Canine Hemangiosarcoma and their use in Diagnostic Cytology Using Immunocytochemistry, Anne Barger, University of Illinois - Grant No. 908: Serotonin Type 2A Receptor Antagonist Therapy for Preventing the Progression of Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease, Mark Oyama, University of Pennsylvania ?School of Veterinary Medicine
Cancer DNA studies:
Continuation of histological examination and banking of Saluki cancer samples, hopefully with paired blood samples for DNA extraction, with Dr. Barb Steficheck was approved. While I continue to hear of many Salukis affected with cancer, only 15 samples were received in 2010. We need to explore ways to make information on this project more widely available.
Continued collaboration with the Van Andel Cancer Institute was approved. The human cancer research institute, the Van Andel Research Institute, received a large grant from the National Institutes of Health enabling them to establish the Canine Hereditary Cancer Consortium (CHCC). Their goal is to conduct a broad cancer research program including hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, lymphoma, malignant histiocytosis and oral melanoma in dogs.
To further this endeavor, Saluki Health Research provided archived DNA collected over the last 15 years, from healthy older Salukis, as well as from those affected with hemangiosarcoma and other cancers. All diagnoses were confirmed with pathology reports, health histories and pedigrees.
At the 2010 SCOA National Specialty Show we collected over 135 blood samples and some saliva samples for use in CHCCfs research. Thanks, again, to Kathy Morton for her technical expertise. Once the DNA has been analyzed, there is the potential to investigate other health concerns such as heart disease, behavioral traits and even coat patterns in Salukis.
Autoimmune DNA studies:
Continuing collaboration with the English and Finnish researchers on autoimmune DNA exploration was approved. Dr. Rob Shiel, an Irish researcher, was interested in including Salukis in his Greyhound autoimmune thyroiditis study. To assist in this endeavor, we sampled 50 Salukis, both AKC and desert-bred dogs, at the SCOA National Specialty Show in 2009. These dogs could not have any common ancestors for at least three generations to ensure sampling of a diverse population. A thyroid profile was completed on each blood sample at the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, MSU. The results were sent to each owner and then to Dr. Shiel for inclusion in his study. Unfortunately for his study, but good for the health of our breed, no Salukis sampled had thyroglobulin autoantibodies or were hypothyroid. This again, showed that the incidence of hypothyroidism in Salukis is low.
The DNA was then forwarded to Dr. Lorna Kennedy, a researcher in the United Kingdom, for inclusion in her genetic studies. Genes in the major histocompatibility (MCH) area influence immune responses. She has examined the intrabreed and interbreed variation of the dog leukocyte antigen (DLA) allele and haplotype frequencies in dogs. Analyses of the data revealed low variation within a breed, but considerable variation from breed to breed, not only in allele frequency, but also in the number of alleles found per breed. She feels that the high interbreed and relatively low intrabreed variation of major MCH alleles and haplotypes found could provide an explanation of immune responses to vaccines, viruses and other infections as well as immune mediated conditions such as hemolytic anemia and thrombocytopenia.
Comparing the findings from North American purebred dogs to European DLA allele surveys showed common alleles consistent with known founder effects therefore decreasing diversity. More alleles were detected in European breeds, compared to their North American descendents, indicating that additional DLA class diversity was lost when European breeds were established in North America.
Dr. Kennedy was surprised to find great genetic diversity (heterogeneity or polymorphism) in the Saluki samples which is good for their health. She even identified new alleles and haplotype combinations. These results will be included with the Finnish researcher, Dr. Hannes Lohifs DNA study of European and desert-bred Salukis in the LUPA project.
Publications:
Scientific progress reports have been received for the SHR funded AKC/CHF research projects and have been posted on the website and published in ASA Newsletters and SCOA Newsletters. The results from the Saluki thyroid study were published in the refereed Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Feb. 1, 2010, Vol. 236, No.3. Criteria used to diagnose hypothyroidism in sighthounds and serum thyroid hormone concentrations in healthy Salukis. Abstract: Low serum thyroid concentrations have been reported in some sighthound breeds. In spite of this, a review of medical records of sighthound submissions revealed that an inappropriate diagnosis of hypothyroidism, based on low thyroid values, was frequently made. In a study involving 283 healthy Salukis (AKC and COO dogs), low serum thyroid concentrations, especially T4 values, were common. These findings suggest that breed specific reference ranges should be used when interpreting thyroid test results in sighthounds. Fund-Raising Activities: The July 2010 ASA Celebration Weekend silent auction and raffle were once again very successful. Thanks to the efforts of Chairman Cathy Chapman and her team of dedicated workers as well as the generosity of both the donors of the items and the bidders. $1610.33 was contributed to SHR. Saluki Health website, phone and email inquiries and information distribution continues. Continued discussions need to take place on what areas of research are important to the well being of Salukis and need to be funded; as well as what fund raising efforts and distribution of Saluki related information need attention. I look forward to getting input from the members of the board on especially, these matters.