Winter 2016  Saber Tails 65    

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

IMPORTANT NOTICE • DNA/BLOOD BANK SUBMISSIONS

PBGVCA is asking all samples of blood go to CHIC. 

When blood is do-

nated to CHIC, the dog receives a number and the dog and owner will be recognized in Saber 

Tails

 for the donation to health and research. To learn how to donate your PBGV’s blood to 

CHIC, go to pbgv.org, click on ‘Health’ then ‘Health Committee.’ Under DNA/CHIC, you will 

see a link to click on that will give you the information. There is no need to resubmit blood if 

it’s already in the University of Missouri’s blood bank. Thank you to every participant for your 

time and effort in this matter.

Grant 02011

Identification of Novel Drugs to Halt the Metastasis of Tu-

mors That Cause Cushing's Syndrome

Dr. Sara Galac, University of Utrecht

Cushing’s is an endocrine disease that is caused by exces-

sive secretion by the pituitary of a hormone called adreno-

corticotropic hormone. The abnormal hormone secretion 

leads to excessive thirst and increased urination. Some 

cases of Cushing’s are due to deadly adrenal tumors that 

overstimulate this hormone secretion by the pituitary. 

Surgery is a preferred treatment for this cancer; however, 

it is a costly and specialized procedure. The two available 

drugs are not very effective and not safe for use around 

children and pregnant women.

Dr. Galac is investigating the therapeutic potential of com-

pounds called steroidogenic factor 1 (SF-1) inverse ago-

nists. Her previous studies demonstrated a link between 

the malignancy of adrenal cancer and the expression of 

SF-1. Furthermore, she found that suppressing the SF-1 

factor activity stopped the growth of adrenal cancer cells 

and reduced the signal that they send to the pituitary. Dr. 

Galac hypothesizes that SF-1 inverse agonists represent a 

perfect medical treatment of canine adrenal cancer. 

In the current project, Dr. Galac tested the effectiveness 

of several SF-1 inverse agonists in adrenal cancer tissue 

taken from affected dogs who were undergoing surgery 

as treatment. She found two SF-1 inverse agonists that 

worked well. The researchers are hopeful that identifica-

tion of a new treatment for this cancer in dogs will also 

help humans with adrenal cancers.

Grant 02145A

Prevention of Glaucoma and Goniodysgenesis through 

Genetic Profiling of Disease

Dr. Cathryn Mellersh, Animal Health Trust

Glaucoma is a painful and blinding eye disease with few 

treatment options. Glaucoma is a concern within the 

PBGV community because one type of glaucoma, called 

primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), is prevalent in the 

PBGV population. In 2015, Dr. Mellersh’s lab identified the 

gene mutation that leads to POAG in PBGVs and a DNA 

test is available from the Animal Health Trust that will de-

termine whether a PBGV is clear of this mutation, a carrier 

(will not develop the disease but can pass the bad gene 

to offspring), or an affected dog destined to develop glau-

coma. However, POAG is not the only form of glaucoma in 

dogs. In fact, the most common form of glaucoma across 

all dog breeds is primary angle closure glaucoma (PACG). 

PACG is mostly found along with goniodysgenesis, a 

structural abnormality that affects the ability of fluid to 

drain from the eye.

In her current project, Dr. Mellersh is trying to find the ge-

netic causes of goniodysgenesis and PACG. She collected 

DNA from spaniels with normal eyes, with goniodysgene-

sis, or with PACG. This preliminary work found a significant 

alteration in the DNA of a single chromosome in spaniels 

with PACG. Further work is needed to identify the affected 

gene and determine whether the DNA change causes the 

disease.

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