A new perspective on the pathogenesis of chronic renal disease in captive cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus)

Abstract

The sustainability of captive cheetah populations is limited by high mortality due to chronic renal disease. This necropsy study, conducted on 243 captive cheetahs from one institution, investigated the relationships between focal palatine erosions, gastritis, enterocolitis, glomerulosclerosis, chronic renal infarcts, renal cortical and medullary fibrosis, and renal medullary amyloidosis at death. Associations between the individual renal lesions and death due to chronic renal disease and comparisons of lesion prevalence between captive bred and wild born and between normal and king coated cheetahs were also assessed. All lesions were significantly positively correlated with age at death. Renal medullary fibrosis was the only lesion associated with the likelihood of death being due to chronic renal disease, and cheetahs with this lesion were younger, on average, than cheetahs with other renal lesions. Alimentary tract lesions were not associated with amyloidosis. All lesions, except for palatine erosions, were more common in wild born than in captive bred cheetahs; the former were older at death than the latter. Having a king coat had no clear effect on disease prevalence. These results suggest that age and renal medullary fibrosis are the primary factors influencing the pathogenesis of chronic renal disease in captive cheetahs. Apart from amyloidosis, these findings are analogous to those described in chronic renal disease in domestic cats, which is postulated to result primarily from repetitive hypoxic injury of renal tubules, mediated by age and stress. Cheetahs may be particularly susceptible to acute renal tubular injury due to their propensity for stress and their extended life span in captivity, as well as their adaptation for fecundity (rather than longevity) and adrenaline-mediated high speed prey chases. The presence of chronic renal disease in subadult cheetahs suggests that prevention, identification and mitigation of stress are critical to the successful prevention of chronic renal disease in captive cheetahs.

Towards more compassionate wildlife research through the 3Rs principles: moving from invasive to non-invasive methods

“…The damaging effects of captivity have been well documented. Animals can exhibit stereotyped behavior (Wechsler 1991, Callard et al 2000, Shyne 2006, Jett et al 2017, Poirier and Bateson 2017, Williams et al 2018a, and suffer from increased stress (Bordeleau et al 2018, Ferreira et al 2018, which can eventually result in higher incidence of diseases and mortality (Terio et al 2004, Mitchell et al 2018.…”

Description of the arterial supply and venous drainage of the abdominal viscera in the puma (Puma concolor) (Linnaeus, 1771)

“…Notably, we found double renal veins, a finding already reported in the puma but in the right kidney only (Stocco et al, 2018), and two or more renal veins on both sides in cats (Cáceres et al, 2008; Rieck & Reis, 1953). This is of medical interest because domestic cats, pumas and other wild felids have a predisposition to renal failure and renal transplants (D'Arcy, 2018; Kejing et al, 2018; Mitchell et al, 2018; Rodríguez Munévar, 2019; Sebem, 2018).…”

Renal accumulation of prooxidant mineral elements and CKD in domestic cats

“…For example, stress has been proposed to cause renal disease in captive, compared to free-ranging, wild cats 40 . Renal disease is an age-related disease in all felids and other species studied to date [40][41][42][43] . It would be reasonable to conclude that the average age of the Scottish Wildcats in our sample, despite being adult, was less than the average age of our domestic cats, limiting the opportunity for renal lesions to develop.…”