When a Shar Pei named Shumi was brought to the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, her owners were looking for answers. What followed was the beginning of a research effort that now stretches across two continents and involves dog owners, breeders and scientists working toward a common goal: understanding why so many Shar Peis get sick and what can be done about it.
The SHUMI SPAID Project, based in the Webb Laboratory in CSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, is studying Shar Pei Autoinflammatory Disease. This heritable condition causes recurrent fever, joint inflammation and, in severe cases, kidney failure. The project is named after Shumi, whose owners helped fund the research after her treatment at CSU.
“It was while I was on service, working with a resident, that we saw the Shar Pei that started this whole project,” said Craig Webb, a small-animal internal medicine specialist at the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and co-principal investigator. “We developed a relationship with the owners, and they decided to start funding this effort.”
SPAID is defined by five clinical signs: Familial Shar Pei Fever, arthritis, a skin condition called Vesicular Hyaluronosis, ear infections and amyloidosis, a buildup of protein deposits that can cause significant kidney damage. Fever episodes can reach 104 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit and are often accompanied by swollen joints, skin changes and gastrointestinal upset.
The disease is genetically linked to the same trait responsible for the breed’s wrinkly appearance. Shar Peis produce elevated levels of hyaluronan, a compound that contributes to their thickened, wrinkled skin. When the hyaluronan breaks down, it can trigger an inflammatory response, and in some dogs, that cycle becomes chronic.
“If you are breeding wrinkly ones, it’s likely that they have the risk factors for what is a pretty impactful disease in their joints (and) their kidneys,” Webb said. “You breed for one aspect, and unfortunately, coming with that is something that can be pretty tough.”
Tracy Webb, the project’s principal investigator and a veterinarian with a Ph.D. in immunology, said the disease’s prevalence underscores why the research matters.
“I am really interested in diseases that are associated with the immune system,” Tracy Webb said. “It’s one of those issues that we could use more research in.”
One of the project’s more accessible features is how owners participate. Rather than requiring a veterinary visit, the team mails sampling kits directly to owners who collect an oral swab from their dog and send it back to CSU. The samples are processed at the CSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratories, where researchers test for three genetic mutations associated with SPAID risk.
Amanda Fischer, a research associate in the Webb Laboratory, manages the project’s daily operations, including prepping and mailing the kits, isolating DNA and writing up results for each owner.
“I just want to help as many animals as seemingly possible,” Fischer said. “So it’s just, whatever I can do, let me know.”
The tests screen for copy number variation, or CNV: a segment of DNA that can appear two, six or 10 times in a Shar Pei’s genome, with higher counts indicating increased SPAID risk. They also test for a mutation in the gene MTBP, which activates a separate inflammatory pathway, and for a deletion in the ADAMTS17 gene, linked to two eye conditions found in the breed.
None of the tests are diagnostic. They measure risk, not certainty.
“They don’t diagnose them; … that’s a really key thing,” Tracy Webb said. “We do them to say, ‘Does this dog have a higher risk of potentially having disease?’… But that doesn’t mean that dog is for sure going to develop disease.”
The goal is to give owners and veterinarians enough information to monitor symptoms more closely and act earlier if they emerge.
“If you know that you are at higher risk, that can help you manage that risk a little bit better,” Tracy Webb said.
The project was developed with input from Jennifer Meadows at Uppsala University in Sweden, who contributed to the original CNV research and helped CSU develop its testing process. Clinical guidance has come from Linda Tintle, a veterinarian who specializes in Shar Pei treatment.
But the research also depends heavily on the owners themselves: filling out detailed intake surveys, taking swabs and submitting follow-up information year after year.
“The Shar Pei community is so excited about trying to find solutions to things that they’ve seen,” Fischer said. “Some people have only ever had Shar Pei dogs. You can tell how much they love their dogs.”
Engagement from owners and breeders is essential, not just logistically but for the science itself.
“They’re fantastic when it comes to sending samples, putting their dogs in clinical trials, alerting different clubs, filling out surveys,” Craig Webb said. “Usually owners of purebred dogs are very aware of the kinds of efforts going on to help that breed, and they’re usually very enthusiastic.”
In the long term, the goal is to have enough data to draw meaningful conclusions.
“I would love it if we have tested, like, a thousand dogs and have data on how they did year over year, how their disease progressed and how they responded to different things,” Tracy Webb said. “That’s a huge amount of information.”
For Craig Webb, the definition of success is straightforward.
“Success would be that we’re out of business,” Craig Webb said. “Because there is no need to test for these genetic defects because they have successfully been bred out of the Shar Peis. That would be tremendous and not as impossible as it may sound.”
Reach Maci Lesh at science@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.
