Objective—To determine effects of infection with bovine leukosis virus (BLV) on lymphocyte proliferation and apoptosis in dairy cattle. Animals—27 adult Holstein cows. Procedures—Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated from whole blood from lactating Holstein cows seronegative for BLV (n = 9 cows), seropositive for BLV and aleukemic (aleukemic; 9), and seropositive for BLV and persistently lymphocytotic (PL; 9). Isolated PBMCs were assayed for mitogen-induced proliferation and were analyzed by means of flow cytometry. The PBMCs from a subset of each group were assayed for apoptosis, caspase-9 activity, and expression of selected genes related to apoptosis. Results—PL cows had significantly higher total lymphocyte counts and significantly lower proportions of T-lymphocyte populations than did BLV-negative and aleukemic cows. Both groups of BLV-infected cows had significantly higher proportions of B cells and major histocompatibility complex II–expressing cells than did BLV-negative cows. Proliferation with concanavalin A was significantly lower for PL cows, compared with proliferation for BLV-negative cows. Pokeweed mitogen–induced proliferation was significantly higher for aleukemic and PL cows than for BLV-negative cows. Gene expression of apoptosis-inhibitory proteins BCL2 and BCL2L1 was significantly higher for aleukemic cows and expression of BCL2 was significantly higher for PL cows than for BLV-negative cows. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Cattle infected with BLV had marked changes in PBMC populations accompanied by alterations in proliferation and apoptosis mechanisms. Because the relative distribution and function of lymphocyte populations are critical for immune competence, additional studies are needed to investigate the ability of BLV-infected cattle to respond to infectious challenge.

Objective—To assess expression pattern and subcellular compartmentalization of 5-lipoxygenase in cutaneous, UV radiation–induced, and oral squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) in cats and determine the effects of cyclooxygenase or 5-lipoxygenase inhibition on proliferation or apoptosis in a feline oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCCF1) cell line. Sample—60 archived paraffin-embedded samples of SCCs from 60 cats and SCCF1 cells. Procedures—Retrospective immunohistochemical analysis of the archived samples of SCCs (20 cutaneous, 20 UV radiation–induced, and 20 oral tumors) was performed. Cell culture proliferation assays involving SCCF1 cells were performed, and tepoxalin-induced apoptosis and signaling were examined via western blotting and annexin V staining. Results—Immunohistochemically, staining for 5-lipoxygenase was most frequently of greatest intensity in oral SCCs, whereas staining of cutaneous and UV radiation–induced lesions had less consistent 5-lipoxygenase expression. Exposure of SCCF1 cells to the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor tepoxalin resulted in apoptosis; the effect appeared to be mediated via alteration of cell signaling rather than via suppression of lipid mediators that are typically produced as a result of 5-lipoxygenase activity. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In cats, expression of 5-lipoxygenase in SCCs appeared to differ depending on tumor location. The influence of tepoxalin-induced 5-lipoxygenase inhibition on a poxygenase–expressing cell line coupled with the notable expression of 5-lipoxygenase in oral SCCs suggested that 5-lipoxygenase inhibition may have therapeutic benefits in affected cats. Although the safety of tepoxalin in cats has yet to be investigated, 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors should be evaluated for use as a potential treatment for SCCs in that species.