HIF-1ALPHA AS A POSSIBLE BIOMARKER OF BRACHYCEPHALIC OBSTRUCTIVE AIRWAY SYNDROME SEVERITY IN DOGS

• Grant number: 24/17114-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Paola Castro Moraes
• Grantee: Maria Eduarda de Souza Oliveira
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/07678-0 - The Influence of Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome and Sociocultural Context on Separation Anxiety Disorder in Extreme Brachycephalic Dogs, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Brachycephalic dogs, in addition to having characteristic facial features, have several anatomical peculiarities that culminate in clinical and surgical particularities in the veterinary routine. Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) is known to be very similar to Obstructive Sleep Apnea Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS), essentially due to abnormal breathing during sleep, which worsens during the REM (rapid eye movement) sleep phase. In this phase, there are episodes of ataxic breathing with central and obstructive apneas, and moments of oxygen desaturation, which culminates in daytime hypersomnolence. The Hipoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF-1alpha) is a protein that accumulates in cell nuclei when mammals undergo oxygen restriction and is found in high concentrations in humans with obstructive respiratory diseases, such as OSAHS. The aim of this study is to test whether brachycephalic dogs have an elevated serum concentration of this protein, as well as if it correlates with the degrees of the syndrome and their hematological parameters. HIF-1alpha concentrations will be measured in 52 brachycephalic dogs of pug and French bulldog breeds and correlated with the diagnosed degree of BOAS. In this way, it will be possible to elucidate whether HIF-1alpha is an efficient marker of the severity of the syndrome in these animals.