Pathology in Context

Issue Highlights

Next Top Model

Zebrafish have many laboratory model attributes such as ease of genetic manipulation, external embryonic development, and the capacity for high stocking density. ^{1 , 3} Zebrafish models have aided recent advances in basic research, as well as in the fields of behavior and carcinogenesis research. An update on zebrafish models of diverse forms of human neoplasia, including solid tumors and leukemias, is reviewed in this issue (“Zebrafish Models for Human Cancer,” Vet Pathol, 2013;50:468–482).

Zebrafish models offer a wealth of insight, and as comparative pathologists, our discipline has an important role in establishing the veracity of these models of human disease. Understanding more about natural disease conditions of zebrafish is critical, and in the context of carcinogenesis, learning more about piscine retroviral oncogeneisis (also in this issue, see “Pathology of Tumors in Fish Associated with Retroviruses: A Review,” Vet Pathol, 2013;50:390–403) and other proliferative conditions is essential.

The National Institutes of Health–supported Zebrafish International Resource Center (http://zebrafish.org/zirc/health/index.php) provides diverse diagnostic services and information, including the Diseases of Zebrafish in Research Facilities. ² A major research goal of the resource center is to identify and characterize the diseases and health problems present in laboratory colonies of zebrafish. Zebrafish are increasingly highlighted as being the next laboratory mouse, and we veterinary pathologists are at the forefront in providing model validation and educating researchers about the disease concerns affecting their models

Invertebrate Pathology: Jelly Ulcers

Veterinary Pathology readers are ushered into an understanding of the pathology of jellyfish in this issue (“Ulcerative Umbrellar Lesions in Captive Moon Jelly (Aurelia aurita) Medusae,” Vet Pathol, 2013;50:434–442). Jellyfish and corals are Cnidarians, and with global climate change, there is increasing attention on their population shifts, microanatomy, and disease. ^{1 , 4} Reports stress, on one hand, that there are many unexplored potential consequences to human activities and marine ecosystem health by threats to Cnidarian health. On the other hand, proliferation of jellies can pose a risk to some marine ecosystems, and changing, in particular rising, ocean temperatures have been linked to jelly blooms. Recent histopathology studies on corals have illuminated a wide range of diseases that were previously thought to be just a few entities based on gross appearance, and LaDoucer et al are following suit with characterizing ulcerative disease in the jelly. With global climate change, there is increasing concern about dangerous shifts in marine ecosystems, and understanding the pathology of keystone animals such as jellyfish will provide us with an objective meter to assess the health and disease of the ocean.

Short Necks and Jutting Joints

Composition of deposits of crystalline material in joints, generally called gout, is not always evident. An understanding of the pathogenesis of articular deposits in turtles and in reptiles relies on distinguishing accumulations of the common urate-based gouty tophi from deposits of hydroxyapatite (hydroxyapatite deposition disease [HADD]) or deposition of calcium phosphate dihydrate (pseudogout). In “Tumoral Calcinosis Form of Hydroxyapatite Deposition Disease in Related Red-Bellied Short-Necked Turtles, Emydura subglobosa” (Vet Pathol, 2013;50:443–450), the authors unravel the chemical nature of articular gout in a clutch of red-bellied short-necked turtles. The article discusses the difference between HADD and other articular deposits and reviews the techniques used to confirm the identity of the mineral species involved.