Choroid plexus papilloma in a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
Christian Thomas1, June Mergl1, Erica Gehring1
1Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany (Thomas, Paulus, Hasselblatt)Niagara Falls Animal Medical Centre, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (Mergl, Gehring)Département de Pathologie et Microbiologie, Faculté de Médecine Vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (Martineau).
Abstract:
We report herein a choroid plexus papilloma in a beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). This case was positive for choroid plexus tumor marker Kir7.1 on immunohistochemistry. These results and the high conservation of Kir7.1 across species at the amino acid sequence level strongly suggest that antibodies directed against Kir7.1 not only can be employed for the diagnosis of choroid plexus tumors in cetaceans, but are also likely to be diagnostically useful in other animal species.
