Disease relevance of Ursidae

• DNA-confirmed Taenia solium cysticercosis in black bears (Ursus americanus) from California [1].
• This study provides molecular tools for future investigations of the control of testicular recrudescence in the black bear and demonstrates that the expression of testicular gonadotropin and PRL receptor mRNA is seasonally regulated [2].
• Cholesterol gallstones are not reported in Ursidae, probably because of the large bile acid pool and high UDC content [3].
• This is the first report of enterotoxemia associated with the presence of C. perfringens producing beta2-toxin in the tissues and intestinal content of Asiatic black bears [4].
• It has been reported that ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a bile acid originally identified from black bear bile (a Chinese medicine, Yutan) increased glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities in mouse livers, resulting in a decrease in systemic lethal toxicity of orally challenged 1-2-dichloro-4-nitrobenzene (DCNB) [5].

High impact information on Ursidae

• Ratio of serum urea to serum creatinine in wild black bears [6].
• In the present study, approximately 397 bases of the cytochrome b gene, 364 bases of the 12S rRNA gene, and 74 bases of the tRNA(Thr) and tRNA(Pro) genes from the giant panda, lesser panda, kinkajou, raccoon, coatimundi, and all species of the Ursidae were sequenced [7].
• Though each Abeta N-terminal isoform was present in diffuse plaques, the average amyloid burden of each isoform was highest in AD vs polar bear and dog (beagle) brain [8].
• Synergistic modulation by chloride and organic phosphates of hemoglobin from bear (Ursus arctos) [9].
• Aged beagle dogs exhibit diffuse plaques in the absence of neurofibrillary pathology and the aged polar bear brains contain diffuse plaques and PHF-1-positive neurofibrillary tangles [10].

Chemical compound and disease context of Ursidae

• During 1971 to 1976 inclusive, 73 black bears, Ursus americanus and one polar bear, Thalarctos maritimus, originating in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada were examined for the presence of trichinosis [11].
• Pseudohermaphroditism in this polar bear population could result from excessive androgen excretion by the mother caused by a tumor, or it could be a result of endocrine disruption from environmental pollutants [12].
• The recommended canine dosage of levothyroxine may be too high for the treatment of hypothyroidism in American black bears; 0.011 mg/kg p.o. b.i.d. may be a more appropriate dosage [13].

Biological context of Ursidae

• In East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus), anthropogenic organohalogen compounds (OHCs) (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers) contributed to renal lesions and are believed to reduce bone mineral density [14].
• Changes during hibernation in different phospholipid and free and esterified cholesterol serum levels in black bears [15].
• The present study demonstrates that in the black bear seasonal changes in spermatogenesis are accompanied by changes in the immunolocalization of testicular steroidogenic enzymes that are correlated with changes in serum testosterone and oestradiol concentrations [16].
• The combined analyses of nuclear IRBP and TTR datasets not only corroborated prior hypotheses, positioning the spectacled bear most basally and grouping the brown and polar bear together but also provided new insights into the bear phylogeny, suggesting the sister-taxa association of sloth bear and sun bear with strong support [17].
• The purpose was to relate histology to concentrations of organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) [i.e., sum (Sigma)PCBs, SigmaDDTs, SigmaHCHs, SigmaCHLs, HCB, Dieldrin and SigmaPBDEs] determined in adipose tissue, as studies on polar bears have indicated that some OHCs act as immunosuppressive agents [18].

Anatomical context of Ursidae

• The method was validated for determination of 11 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 15 tetra- to heptachloro 3- and 4-MeSO2-PCBs, 3-MeSO2-DDE, and tris(4-chlorophenyl)-methanol spiked to herring gull egg, smelt, and polar bear liver and adipose tissue using gas chromatography with electron-capture detection (GC-ECD) [19].
• Relationships between PCBs and thyroid hormones and retinol in female and male polar bears [20].
• Monoclonal antibody to rat cytochrome P450 1A1 and polyclonal antibodies to rat cytochromes P450 1A1, 2B1 and 3A1, as well as antibody to epoxide hydrolase, cross-reacted to varying degrees with polar bear hepatic microsomes [21].
• Furthermore, ANP enhanced the penetrability of porcine salt-stored oocytes by frozen-thawed giant panda spermatozoa [22].
• During the period 1978-1989, samples of liver, kidney and subcutaneous fat from 24 polar bears, Ursus maritimus, from Svalbard were analysed for mercury, cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, selenium, arsenic, HCB, DDE, PCBs (as Aroclor 1260 or Phenoclor DP6) [23].

Associations of Ursidae with chemical compounds

• Ursodeoxycholic acid in the Ursidae: biliary bile acids of bears, pandas, and related carnivores [24].
• No increases in serum P4 were observed in nonpregnant black and polar bears [25].
• Annual testosterone rhythm in the black bear (Ursus americanus) [26].
• Serum estradiol (E2) was elevated in nonpregnant and pregnant polar bears 2 mo prior to the time of expected implantation [25].
• Our results suggest that PRL may play a luteotropic role in both pregnant and pseudopregnant bears, and is possibly responsible for inducing reactivation of the dormant corpus luteum that precedes implantation in the Japanese black bear [27].

Gene context of Ursidae

• The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of ANP on the function (acrosome reaction and zona penetration) of giant panda spermatozoa [22].
• Cloning and mapping MC1R to chromosome 16 in giant panda [28].
• Cloning and sequence analysis of FSH and LH in the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) [29].
• To examine whether or not the repetitive region is present in other species of the order Carnivora, the homologous region of DRD4 genes were sequenced in the gray wolf, raccoon dog, Asiatic black bear, common raccoon and domestic cat [30].
• Immunochemical homologues of rat cytochrome P450 1A, 2B, 2C and 3A subfamilies, and of rat epoxide hydrolase are present in polar bear liver [21].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of Ursidae

• Effects of oral administration of fluoxetine on chronic stereotypical and typical behaviors in a captive polar bear were monitored [31].
• Therefore, in this retrospective study, RBP was assessed by immunohistochemistry in liver sections of 11 polar bears [32].
• Immobilization of polar bears with carfentanil [33].
• In 1996, six adult polar bears were immobilized with i.m. injections of either 8.2 +/- 2 mg/kg of zolazepam-tiletamine or a combination of 74.8 +/- 11.8 microg/kg of medetomidine plus 2.2 +/- 0.3 mg/kg of zolazepam-tiletamine in a crossover design [34].
• Two trisaccharides, two tetrasaccharides, one penta-, one hexa-, two hepta-, one deca- and two undeca-saccharides were isolated from several Japanese black bear milk samples by chloroform/methanol extraction, gel filtration and preparative thin-layer chromatography [35].

References