2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

Conclusions: Minoxidil has activity against pulmonary metastasis ex vivo, but at significantly higher doses than are biologically achievable. Investigation of the in vivo effects of minoxidil on osteosarcoma metastasis in mice is planned; intratumoral drug levels will be measured to determine whether minoxidil concentration in tissues can explain the discrepancy between low plasma levels achieved and the high exposures required for anti-metastatic activity and PLOD2 modulation. Feline acromegaly is an increasingly recognised endocrinopathy, caused by chronic excessive serum growth hormone concentration produced by a functional somatotrophinoma in the pars distalis of the anterior pituitary gland. The underlying pathogenesis for the development of most human somatotrophinomas is poorly understood. The majority of human somatotrophinomas are sporadic, however up to 20% of familial isolated pituitary adenomas are caused by germline mutations of the aryl-hydrocarbon-receptor interacting protein (AIP). Feline acromegaly has phenotypic and biochemical similarities to human families with AIP mutations, such as male predominance, somatotroph macroadenoma and resistance to octreotide therapy.