Liver tissues from 126 captive cheetah were evaluated by light microscopy and histochemistry; eight animals were evaluated by electron microscopy. The main hepatic lesion, a vascular lesion resembling veno-occlusive disease (VOD) of the liver and characterized by subendothelial fibrosis and proliferation of smooth muscle-like cells in the central veins, was seen in 60% of the sexually mature cheetah. Although this hepatic vascular lesion was seen in cheetah as young as 1 year of age, the most severe lesions, usually associated with liver failure, were found in cheetah between the ages of 6 and 11. There was no sex predisposition, and in approximately 40% of the VOD cases, liver disease was not suspected clinically or at necropsy. VOD was found in other felidae, especially in the snow leopard. High levels of vitamin A in livers, as well as in diets of the cheetah, could be a contributing factor in the development of VOD in some groups of cheetah.
References
1.
AlmenTHartelMNylanderGOlivecronaH:
The effect of estrogen on the vascular endothelium and its possible relation to thrombosis.
Surg Gynecol Obstet140:
938–940,
1975.
2.
AlpertLI:
Veno-occlusive disease of the liver associated with oral contraceptives: case report and review of literature.
Hum Pathol7:
709–718,
1976.
3.
BornsteinPSageH:
Structurally distinct collagen types.
Ann Rev Biochem49:
957–1003,
1980.
4.
BrasGBrandtKH:
Vascular disorders. In:
Pathology of the Liver,
ed. MacSweenRNMAnthonyPPScheuerPJ,
pp. 315–334.
Churchill Livingstone, New York,
1979.
5.
BrooksSEHMillerCGMcKenzieKAudretschJJBrasG:
Acute veno-occlusive disease of the liver. Fine structure in Jamaican children.
Arch Pathol89:
507–520,
1970.
6.
DinnesMRHenriksonR:
Liver disease in cheetahs: preliminary report. In:
Proc Am Assoc Zoo Vet,
pp. 110–117,
1970.
7.
DugdaleMMasiAT:
Hormonal contraception and thromboembolic disease: effects of the oral contraceptives on hemostatic mechanisms.
J Chronic Dis23:
775–790,
1971.
8.
EatonRL:
The Cheetah.
The Biology, Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species,
pp. 41–87.
Robert E Krieger Publishing Co, Malabar, FL,
1982.
9.
ForouharFNadelMSGondosB:
Hepatic pathology in vitamin A toxicity.
Ann Clin Lab Sci14:
304–310,
1984.
10.
FraserRDayWAFernandoNS:
Review: the liver sinusoidal cells. Their role in disorders of the liver, lipoprotein metabolism and atherogenesis.
Pathology18:
5–11,
1986.
11.
FriedericiHHR:
The early response of uterine capillaries to estrogen stimulation.
Lab Invest17:
322–333,
1967.
12.
GammalEB:
Intimal thickening in arteries of rats treated with synthetic sex hormones.
Br J Exp Pathol57:
248–254,
1976.
13.
HerdmanR:
Cheetah breeding program. In:
The World's Cats,
ed. EatonRL,
vol. 1,
Ecology and Conservation,
pp. 255–263.
World Wildlife Safari, Winston, OR,
1973.
14.
HoyumpaAMSchiffLHelfmanEL:
Budd-Chiari syndrome in women taking oral contraceptives.
Am J Med50:
137–140,
1971.
15.
HrubanZRussellRMBoyerJLGlagovSBagheriSA:
Ultrastructural changes in livers of two patients with hypervitaminosis A.
Am J Pathol76:
451–468,
1974.
JacquesEABuschmannRJLaydenTJ:
The histopathologic progression of vitamin A-induced hepatic injury.
Gastroenterology76:
599–602,
1979.
18.
KellyWR:
The liver and biliary system. In:
Pathology of Domestic Animals,
ed. JubbKVFKennedyPCPalmerN,
3rd ed.,
vol. 2,
pp. 240–312.
Academic Press, New York,
1985.
19.
KentGGaySInouyeTBahuRMinickOTPopperH:
Vitamin A-containing lipocytes and formation of type III collagen in liver injury.
Proc Natl Acad Sci USA73:
3719–3722,
1976.
20.
KimCJParkCIKimCSLeeYB:
Histochemical and ultrastructural studies of hepatic fibrogenesis; its initiation and the effect of dexamethasone in rats.
Yonsei Med J23:
89–97,
1982.
KoppangNHelgebostadA:
Toxic hepatosis in fur animals. III. Conditions affecting the formation of the toxic factor in herring meal.
Nord Vet Med18:
216–225,
1966.
23.
KoppangNHelgebostadAArmstrongDRimeslättenH:
Toxic and carcinogenic effects of dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA) in the blue fox (Alopex lagopus).
Acta Vet Scand22:
501–516,
1981.
24.
MunsonLWorleyMB:
Comparative hepatic histopathology in snow leopards and cheetahs. In:
Proc Am Assoc Zoo Vet,
1987.
25.
National Research Council:
Nutrient Requirements of Cats.
National Academy Press, Washington, DC,
1978.
26.
NewbernePMButlerWH:
Acute and chronic effects of aflatoxin on the liver of domestic and laboratory animals: a review.
Cancer Res29:
236–250,
1969.
27.
O'BrienSJRoelkeMEMarkerLNewmanAWinklerCAMeltzerDCollyLEvermannJFBushMWildtDE:
Genetic basis for species vulnerability in the cheetah.
Science227:
1428–1434,
1985.
28.
OrregoHMedlineABlendisLMRankinJGKreadenDA:
Collagenisation of the Disse space in alcoholic liver disease.
Gut20:
673–679,
1979.
29.
ReynoldsTBPetersRL:
Budd-Chiari syndrome. In:
Diseases of the Liver,
ed. SchiffLSchiffER,
pp. 1622–1630.
JB Lippencott Co, Philadelphia,
1982.
30.
RidkerPMOhkumaSMcDermottWVTreyCHuxtableRJ:
Hepatic venocclusive disease associated with the consumption of pyrrolizidine-containing dietary supplements.
Gastroenterology88:
1050–1054,
1985.
31.
RollinsBJ:
Hepatic veno-occlusive disease.
Am J Med81:
297–306,
1986.
32.
RuediDHeldstabAvan den InghTSGAM:
Liver cirrhosis in snow leopards—further results.
Int Ped Book of Snow Leopards2:
195–204,
1980.
33.
RussellRMBoyerJLBagheriSAHrubanZ:
Hepatic injury from chronic hypervitaminosis A resulting in portal hypertension and ascites.
N Engl J Med291:
435–440,
1974.
34.
SetchellKDRGosselinSJWelshMBJohnstonJOBalistreriWFKramerLWDresserBLTarrMJ:
Dietary estrogens—a probable cause of infertility and liver disease in captive cheetah.
Gastroenterology93:
225–233,
1987.
35.
StillmanAEHuxtableRConsroePKohnenPSmithS:
Hepatic veno-occlusive disease due to pyrrolizidine (Senecio) poisoning in Arizona.
Gastroenterology73:
349–352,
1977.
36.
StoweHDGoellingB:
Experience with HPLC for diagnostic serum and tissue vitamin A assays. In:
Proc Am Assoc Vet Lab Diagnos,
pp. 385–395,
1981.
37.
TandonBNTandonRKTandonHDNarndranathanMJoshiYK:
An epidemic of veno-occlusive disease of liver in Central India.
Lancet2:
271–272,
1976.
38.
UngarH:
Venoocclusive disease of the liver and phlebectatic peliosis in the golden hamster exposed to dimethylnitrosamine.
Pathol Res Pract181:
180–187,
1986.
39.
UnsworthDJScottDLAlmondTJBeardHKHolborowEJWaltonKW:
Studies on reticulin. I: Serological and immunohistological investigation of the occurrence of collagen type III, fibronectin and the non-collagenous glycoprotein of Pras and Glynn in reticulin.
Br J Exp Pathol63:
154–166,
1982.
40.
van den InghTSGAMZwartPHeldstabA:
Venoocclusive disease (VOD) of the liver in cheetahs and snow leopards.
Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd123:
323–327,
1981.
41.
van de WerkenH:
Preliminary Report on Cheetahs in Zoos and in Africa,
pp. 1–10.
Royal Zoological Society, Amsterdam,
1967.
42.
Wittmeyer MillsA:
A comparative study of the digestibility and economy of three feline diets when fed to lions and tigers in confinement. In:
The Comparative Pathology of Zoo Animals,
ed. MontaliRJMigakiG,
pp. 87–91.
Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC,
1980.
43.
WorleyMB:
The continuing role of a feline hepatitis B-like virus in the pathogenesis of liver disease in exotic felids. In:
Proc Am Assoc of Zoo Vet,
pp. 17–20,
1983.
44.
ZafraniESPinaudeauYDhumeauxD:
Drug-induced vascular lesions of the liver.
Arch Intern Med143:
495–502,
1983.
