TITLE:
Is There Any Association between Intestinal Lymphoma and Coeliac-Like Disease in Prosimians? The Case of the Ring-Tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
AUTHORS:
Camillo Sandri, Barbara Regaiolli, Donatella Volpatti, Ernesto Pascotto
KEYWORDS:
Lemur catta, Coeliac-Like Enteritis, Intestinal Lymphoma, Immunohistochemistry
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine,
Vol.7 No.12,
December
28,
2017
ABSTRACT: Non-human primate species are considered as good models for human cancer
research. Despite the relevant phylogenetic position of prosimians, few reports
of neoplastic diseases have been described in these species. The current study
investigated implication of an intestinal T-cell lymphoma in a 5-year-old female
ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian
zoological garden. First, a sub-occlusive thickening of the small bowel was
found. Histologically, the lesion was caused by a malignant lymphoid infiltrate
that was homogeneously CD3+. Moreover, inflammatory patterns peripheral
to the lesion suggested a coeliac disease similar to that reported in human. A
huge malignant lymphoid infiltrate was present also in the liver and spleen.
Overall, the case suggests an etiopathological relationship between coeliac-like
disease and intestinal T-lymphoma, as reported in several human studies. Findings
from this study are useful to improve our knowledge on the occurrence
of the T-lymphoma as well as to improve the husbandry and dietary protocol
of prosimians in zoos.