AKC Canine Health Foundation - 25

Development of Genetic Tests for Sighthounds: Anesthetic
Drug Sensitivity and Delayed Postoperative Hemorrhage
(DEPOH)
Michael Court, BVSc, PhD, DACVAA
Washington State University
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Michael H. Court, BVSc, PhD, DACVAA is a professor and
current holder of the William R. Jones Endowed Chair at
Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in
Pullman. Dr Court graduated with a veterinary degree from the
University of Queensland in 1981. He went on to complete a small animal medicine and surgery
internship at the University of Sydney in 1982, followed by a clinical anesthesia residency and
board certification at Tufts University in 1987. After obtaining his PhD degree in 2000, Dr Court
joined the faculty of the Pharmacology Department at Tufts Medical School and led an NIHfunded
laboratory that focused on the pharmacogenomics of drug metabolizing enzymes in
people. In 2012, he was recruited to Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine
as part of their newly founded research Program in Individualized Medicine (PrIMe). Dr Court's
research interests primarily involve investigating the genetics of drug response in people and
companion animals. This work has been funded by over 44 research grants, totaling over 12
million dollars from the National Institutes of Health, AKC Canine Health Foundation, Morris
Animal Foundation, and other institutional, corporate, and private sources. This funding has
resulted in 177 peer reviewed publications. His most recent accomplishment has been the
development and commercialization of the first genetic test to identify dogs at risk for developing
potentially fatal bleeding after major surgery.
PRESENTATION ABSTRACT
Many sighthound dog breeds have unique physiological attributes that can create challenges for
administering routine clinical care by veterinarians. Two well-known but poorly understood
clinical problems in Greyhounds (and related sighthound breeds) include prolonged recovery
after injectable anesthetic administration and delayed postoperative hemorrhage (DEPOH). The
goal of our research program is to identify gene mutations that could be developed into genetic
tests to identify dogs that are susceptible each of these conditions.
In previous studies we showed that Greyhounds metabolize the anesthetic drug propofol more
slowly than mixed-breed and Beagle dogs since they have lower amounts of the drug
metabolizing enzyme CYP2B11 in their liver. This difference was explained (in part) by a
mutation in the CYP2B11 gene. Subsequently, we developed a drug phenotyping test to
quantify the rate of CYP2B11 metabolism in owned dogs and used it in a pilot study to compare
CYP2B11 metabolism between 20 Greyhounds and 21 Golden Retrievers. While there was no
clear difference in CYP2B11 metabolism between breeds, there was high variability (about 40fold)
between dogs. Part of this variability was explained by the previously discovered CYP2B11
mutation. Whole genome sequencing of these dogs is underway to identify other important gene
mutations affecting CYP2B11 metabolism.
DEPOH was first described in Greyhounds, but accumulating evidence indicates that it occurs in
other sighthound breeds including Scottish Deerhounds and Irish Wolfhounds. Signs of DEPOH
include excessive bruising and bleeding starting hours to days after major surgery, which can be
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AKC Canine Health Foundation

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