Is There Any Association between Intestinal Lymphoma and Coeliac-Like Disease in Prosimians? The Case of the Ring-Tailed Lemur (<i>Lemur catta</i>)

Abstract

Non-human primate species are considered as good models for human cancer research. Despite the relevant phylogenetic position of prosimians, few reports of neoplastic diseases have been described in these species. The current study investigated implication of an intestinal T-cell lymphoma in a 5-year-old female ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta) hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden. First, a sub-occlusive thickening of the small bowel was found. Histologically, the lesion was caused by a malignant lymphoid infiltrate that was homogeneously CD3+. Moreover, inflammatory patterns peripheral to the lesion suggested a coeliac disease similar to that reported in human. A huge malignant lymphoid infiltrate was present also in the liver and spleen. Overall, the case suggests an etiopathological relationship between coeliac-like disease and intestinal T-lymphoma, as reported in several human studies. Findings from this study are useful to improve our knowledge on the occurrence of the T-lymphoma as well as to improve the husbandry and dietary protocol of prosimians in zoos.