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Ragdoll Research Updates

August 2008

Dr. Meurs and she has informed us that she will soon be finished looking in our ragdolls for the 8 HCM genes that are found in humans. Therefore, we will not need to collect more funds for her at this time. She will be done looking for other mutations in our breed until the need arises.


 June 2007

Dr. Meurs is continuing her reserarch for our Ragdolls to determine if there are more mutations.  Your donations are still desperately needed.

 May 2007
Ragdoll HCM Mutation Identified !

Do to the generosity of many breeders and pet owners, a ragdoll mutation for HCM has been identified by Dr. Meurs and a test is now available.  This test is primarily for breeders because it identifies a genetic flaw that can be bred away from.  For more information go to ABOUT RAGDOLL RESEARCH

 September 2006
Message from Dr. Meurs

  We have now completed analysis of the Myosin light chain gene. This is one of the candidate genes for human HCM and is the most common one to cause the recessive form of HCM. Unfortunately , we did not find anything!  But at least we can say that it can be ruled out. We are now back working on the Myosin binding protein C gene- this is the gene that the maine coon mutation was identified on. We have completed about 16% of this gene – 4 exonic regions, but it is a bit of a harder gene than the first one we looked at. I’m sure we will have more of it done by the time I see you in October, but it will move slower than the previous gene I think. It has more areas that are different in the cat and people and we use the human version to start the analysis since the cat sequence is not known. The more different they are, the harder it is to get good material to look at…..However, if we get lucky and find something soon- it won’t really matter! So that’s what we will hope for….

We can continue to collect DNA samples and pedigrees if people are finding more affected- we can always use those. As far as the hearts- yes I think it would still be helpful to obtain those if possible. The veterinarian can put them in formalin and we can still evaluate them that way. Since we are putting them in formalin it does not need to be quite as fast to be processed.


June 2006
Message from Dr. Meurs

At this time, it has been verified that, unfortunately, the Ragdoll breed does not appear to have the same genetic HCM as the Main Coon gene that has already been discovered...  However, we are looking at the rest of that gene in case the Ragdolls have another mutation on that same gene.
 
We now have the pedigrees and DNA samples on three families of Ragdolls with HCM.  It appears possible that we may have a case of recessive HCM in the Ragdoll breed.  Although in humans there are many different genes that each are known to have multiple mutations all causing HCM, there is only one known gene known to cause recessive expression of HCM in Humans. 

The plan is to continue research on that particular gene to see if this may be the culprit in your breed.  These are the two easiest paths at the moment, which is why they were undertaken first. 

Research is still progressing and for that, money is always welcome so that more time and students can be assigned to the projects to make them progress. While we're talking about money and funding, I would like to take the opportunity to encourage you to participate in the various fundraisers.  Although no conclusive results have yet been obtained, at least there is progress which is nice to hear.
 
As far as DNA collection, with blood samples vs swabs, for HCM confirmed cases and immediate relatives, I would still like to continue using blood samples as more DNA is available this way to look at. 
 

2006 Cat Fanciers Almanac
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Ragdolls

Molecular evaluation of the feline myosin binding protein C gene in Ragdoll cats with HCM. Kathryn M. Meurs, DVM, PhD. DACVIM (Cardiology): Mark Kittleson, DVM, PhD. DACVIM (Cardiology), College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University (Meurs) and School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis (Kittleson): $14,991. This study was partially funded by the efforts of many Ragdoll Breeders
Feline HCM is the most common cause of heart disease in the adult cat. Affected cats are at risk of sudden death, breathing difficulties or development of a blood clot. Increasingly, feline HCM is noted to be inherited, with examples reported in Maine Coon, Ragdoll, British Shorthair and Scottish Fold breeds, among others. We demonstrated that HCM is associated with a mutation in the myosin binding protein C gene in the Maine Coon cat. In human beings, the disease is commonly associated with a mutation in one of several genes that encode for sarcomeric proteins, most commonly the myosin binding protein C and the beta myosin heavy chain gene. Causative mutation have been identified in over 140 regions of the cardiac myosin binding protein C gene alone. The Ragdoll cat also has a heritable form of the disease. We prospectively collected pedigrees and medical information and DNA samples from three families of Ragdoll cats with familial HCM. We performed an initial study of affected Ragdoll cats and determined that the Maine Coon defect is not present. However, we only evaluated one small region of the gene. Given the importance of this gene in both humans and Maine Coon cats with HCM, we hypothesize that a mutation in a different region of the gene is associated with the development HCM in the Ragdoll. The objective of this study is to evaluate the DNA of this gene in both affected and unaffected cats for a causative mutation.

2006 Goodnewsforpets.com
Winn Feline Foundation Announces 2006 Grant Recipients

Winn Foundation President Susan Little, DVM announces the award of eleven grants for feline health studies totaling $131,364. Dr. Little commented, "The Foundation was pleased to receive proposals from veterinary researchers around the world who are interested in improving feline health. Out of over 40 proposals for 2006, our team of outstanding veterinary consultants helped the Foundation select the best studies for funding. We look forward to seeing the results of these studies and being able to share them with the veterinary community as well as cat owners and breeders of pedigreed cats."

Heart Disease:
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in Ragdoll cats: Molecular evaluation of the feline myosin binding protein C gene in Ragdoll cats with familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Kathryn M. Meurs, DVM, PhD, DACVIM; Mark D. Kittleson, DVM, PhD, DACVIM. College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA (Meurs) and School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA (Kittleson). Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common cause of heart disease in the adult cat. Affected cats are at risk of sudden death, breathing difficulties, or development of a blood clot. Increasingly, feline HCM is noted to be inherited, with examples reported in the Maine Coon, Ragdoll, British Shorthair, and Scottish Fold breeds, among others. We demonstrated that HCM is associated with a mutation in the myosin binding protein C gene in the Maine Coon cat. In human beings, the disease is commonly associated with a mutation in one of several genes that encode for sarcomeric proteins, most commonly the myosin binding protein C and the beta myosin heavy chain gene. Causative mutations have been identified in over 140 regions of the cardiac myosin binding protein C gene alone. The Ragdoll cat also has a heritable form of the disease. We prospectively collected pedigrees and medical information and DNA samples from 3 families of Ragdoll cats with familial HCM. We performed an initial study of affected Ragdoll cats and determined that the Maine Coon defect is not present. However, we only evaluated one small region of the gene. Given the importance of this gene in both humans and Maine Coon cats with HCM we hypothesize that a mutation in a different region of the gene is associated with the development HCM in the Ragdoll. The objective of this study is to evaluate the DNA of this gene in both affected and unaffected cats for a causative mutation.
Critical Care:
Assessment of critically ill cats
Heart Disease:
Treatment of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Infectious Diseases:
Topical medication for feline herpesvirus infection
Feline Diabetes:
Do dietary trans-fatty acids play a role in feline diabetes?
Metabolic and Endocrine Diseases:
Are changes in bone density associated with high blood calcium in cats?
Liver and Kidney Disease:
Do bacterial infections play a role in some liver diseases of cats?
Treatment of chronic renal failure in cats:
Control of renal secondary hyperparathyroidism in cats with chronic renal failure:
Feline Genetics and Inherited Diseases:
Improving our knowledge of the feline genome:
Inherited blindness in Persian cats

(full article at
http://www.goodnewsforpets.com/Articles.asp?ID=658 )


January 10, 2006
Message from Dr. Kate Meurs:


"I just wanted to update you- we have looked at the affected cats that you sent us, and have not found the Maine Coon Mutation, their DNA is normal in this area. We anticipated this, but I wanted to update you. We will gear up to start looking elsewhere- maybe the same gene, but different locations or different genes. We should be moving in that direction within the next two weeks….we will keep you posted!"
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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