RT Journal Article
T1 Primary Feline Tauopathy: Clinical, Morphological, Immunohistochemical, and Genetic Studies
A1 Vidal Palencia, Laura
A1 Font, Cristina
A1 Rebollada Merino, Agustín Miguel
A1 Santpere, Gabriel
A1 Andrés-Benito, Pol
A1 Ferrer, Isidro
A1 Pumarola, Martí
AB Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the pathological aggregation of hyperphosphorylated tau in neurons and glia. Primary tauopathies are not uncommon in humans but exceptional in other species. We evaluate the clinical, neuropathological, and genetic alterations related to tau pathology in 16 cats aged from 1 to 21 years with different clinical backgrounds. Interestingly, a 10-year-old female cat presented a six-year progressive history of mental status and gait abnormalities. The imaging study revealed generalized cortical atrophy. Due to the poor prognosis, the cat was euthanatized at the age of ten. Neuropathological lesions were characterized by massive neuronal loss with marked spongiosis and associated moderate reactive gliosis in the parietal cortex, being less severe in other areas of the cerebral cortex, and the loss of Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. Immunohistochemical methods revealed a 4R-tauopathy with granular pre-tangles in neurons and coiled bodies in oligodendrocytes. Deposits were recognized with several phospho-site antibodies (4Rtau, tau5, AT8, PFH, tau-P Thr181, tau-P-Ser 262, tau-P Ser 422) and associated with increased granular expression of active tau kinases (p38-P Thr180/Tyr182 and SAPK/JNK-P Thr138/Thr185). The genetic study revealed well-preserved coding regions of MAPT. No similar alterations related to tau pathology were found in the other 15 cats processed in parallel. To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting a primary 4R-tauopathy with severe cerebral and Purkinje cell degeneration in an adult cat with neurological signs starting at a young age.
SN 2076-2615
YR 2023
FD 2023-09-21
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/107480
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/107480
LA eng
NO Vidal-Palencia, L., Font, C., Rebollada-Merino, A., Santpere, G., Andrés-Benito, P., Ferrer, I., & Pumarola, M. (2023). Primary Feline Tauopathy: Clinical, Morphological, Immunohistochemical, and Genetic Studies. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 13(18), 2985. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13182985
NO Author Contributions: Conceptualization, L.V.-P., I.F. and M.P.; methodology, L.V.-P., I.F. and M.P.; software, G.S.; validation, L.V.-P., I.F. and M.P.; formal analysis, L.V.-P., G.S., I.F. and M.P.; investigation, L.V.-P., C.F., A.R.-M., G.S, P.A.-B., I.F. and M.P; resources, I.F. and M.P.; data curation, L.V.-P., C.F., G.S., I.F. and M.P.; writing—original draft preparation, L.V-P.; writing—review and editing, C.F., A.R.-M., G.S., P.A.-B., I.F. and M.P.; visualization, L.V.-P.; supervision, I.F. and M.P.; projectadministration, I.F. and M.P.; funding acquisition, I.F. and M.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
NO Generalitat de Catalunya
NO Instituto de Salud Carlos III
NO European Social Fund
NO Fundació La Marató de TV3
NO National Institutes of Health
DS Docta Complutense
RD 6 abr 2025