Meg Sleeper

Meg Sleeper, VMD, DACVIM

Clinical Professor; Cardiology Service Chief

Department: Small Animal Clinical Sciences
Business Phone: (352) 392-2235
Business Email: margaretmsleeper@ufl.edu

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2017-2023
VEM5301 Cardiopul Disorders
2015-2024
VEM5862 Vet Cardio Clerkship
2017-2024
VEM5289 Lg An Clin Pharmacol
2018-2024
VEM5355 Ruminant Medicine
2019-2020
VEM5111 Animal Systems 2
2017-2019
VEM5335 Equine Medicine
2017
VEM5991 Clkship Indiv Invest
2017
VEM5262 Adv Sm Anin Diag Imag

Research Profile

Areas of Interest
  • Gene therapy for cardiovascular disease
  • inherited heart disease

Publications

2023
An ABCC9 Missense Variant Is Associated with Sudden Cardiac Death and Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Juvenile Dogs.
Genes. 14(5) [DOI] 10.3390/genes14050988. [PMID] 37239348.
2023
Body mass and growth rates in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) cared for in African wildlife sanctuaries, zoological institutions, and research facilities.
Zoo biology. 42(1):98-106 [DOI] 10.1002/zoo.21718. [PMID] 35815730.
2023
The aorta in humans and African great apes, and cardiac output and metabolic levels in human evolution.
Scientific reports. 13(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41598-023-33675-1. [PMID] 37100851.
2022
A review of the underlying genetics and emerging therapies for canine cardiomyopathies.
Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology. 40:2-14 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jvc.2021.05.003. [PMID] 34147413.
2020
GREAT APE HEART PROJECT GUIDELINES FOR THE ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF GREAT APES.
Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine : official publication of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians. 50(4):822-836 [DOI] 10.1638/2018-0164. [PMID] 31926512.
2020
Monitoring great ape heart health through innovative electrocardiogram technology: Training methodologies and welfare implications.
Zoo biology. 39(6):443-447 [DOI] 10.1002/zoo.21567. [PMID] 32909258.
2019
Pharmacokinetics of furosemide after intravenous, oral and transdermal administration to cats
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 21(10):882-886
2018
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine for Treatment of a Mare With Rectal Paralysis
Equine Veterinary Education. 30(9):460-463 [DOI] 10.1111/eve.12692.
2018
Sample Size Determination for Evaluation of Time Domain Heart Rate Variability Indices in Canine Lameness
Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 54(5):235-238 [DOI] 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-6533.
2017
Equine Cardiovascular Therapeutics.
The Veterinary clinics of North America. Equine practice. 33(1):163-179 [DOI] 10.1016/j.cveq.2016.11.005. [PMID] 28325177.
2017
Status of Therapeutic Gene Transfer to Treat Cardiovascular Disease in Dogs and Cats.
The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice. 47(5):1113-1121 [DOI] 10.1016/j.cvsm.2017.04.005. [PMID] 28647114.
2016
Disease-modifying effects of orally bioavailable NF-κB inhibitors in dystrophin-deficient muscle.
JCI insight. 1(21) [DOI] 10.1172/jci.insight.90341. [PMID] 28018975.
2016
Tadalafil Treatment Delays the Onset of Cardiomyopathy in Dystrophin-Deficient Hearts.
Journal of the American Heart Association. 5(8) [DOI] 10.1161/JAHA.116.003911. [PMID] 27506543.
2015
Myocardial infarct associated with a partial thickness left atrial tear in a dog with mitral insufficiency.
Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology. 17(3):229-36 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jvc.2015.04.003. [PMID] 26263842.
2015
The Evolving Mcart Multimodal Imaging Core: Establishing a Protocol for Computed Tomography and Echocardiography in the Rhesus Macaque to Perform Longitudinal Analysis of Radiation-Induced Organ Injury.
Health physics. 109(5):479-92 [DOI] 10.1097/HP.0000000000000344. [PMID] 26425907.
2014
Comparison of echocardiographic measurements in elite and nonelite Arabian endurance horses.
American journal of veterinary research. 75(10):893-8 [DOI] 10.2460/ajvr.75.10.893. [PMID] 25255178.
2014
Echocardiography parameters of clinically normal adult captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 244(8):956-60 [DOI] 10.2460/javma.244.8.956. [PMID] 24697773.
2014
Effects of acepromazine or methadone on midazolam-induced behavioral reactions in dogs.
The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne. 55(9):875-85 [PMID] 25183896.
2014
Evaluation of blood cardiac troponin I concentrations obtained with a cage-side analyzer to differentiate cats with cardiac and noncardiac causes of dyspnea.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 244(4):425-30 [DOI] 10.2460/javma.244.4.425. [PMID] 24479456.
2013
Long-term wheel running compromises diaphragm function but improves cardiac and plantarflexor function in the mdx mouse.
Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985). 115(5):660-6 [DOI] 10.1152/japplphysiol.00252.2013. [PMID] 23823150.
2013
The effect of neonatal gene therapy with a gamma retroviral vector on cardiac valve disease in mucopolysaccharidosis VII dogs after a decade.
Molecular genetics and metabolism. 110(3):311-8 [DOI] 10.1016/j.ymgme.2013.06.015. [PMID] 23860311.
2013
Use of the vertebral heart scale for differentiation of cardiac and noncardiac causes of respiratory distress in cats: 67 cases (2002-2003).
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 242(3):366-71 [DOI] 10.2460/javma.242.3.366. [PMID] 23327180.
2012
Cardiotoxicity, inflammation, and immune response after rattlesnake envenomation in the horse.
Journal of veterinary internal medicine. 26(6):1457-63 [DOI] 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2012.01022.x. [PMID] 23113840.
2012
Long-term restoration of cardiac dystrophin expression in golden retriever muscular dystrophy following rAAV6-mediated exon skipping.
Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy. 20(3):580-9 [DOI] 10.1038/mt.2011.264. [PMID] 22146342.
2012
Mitochondrial dysfunction in myocardium obtained from clinically normal dogs, clinically normal anesthetized dogs, and dogs with dilated cardiomyopathy.
American journal of veterinary research. 73(11):1759-64 [DOI] 10.2460/ajvr.73.11.1759. [PMID] 23106461.
2012
Neonatal gene therapy with a gamma retroviral vector in mucopolysaccharidosis VI cats.
Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy. 20(5):898-907 [DOI] 10.1038/mt.2012.9. [PMID] 22395531.
2012
Primary infundibular stenosis and pedigree analysis in three Golden Retriever littermates.
Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 48(1):50-3 [DOI] 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-5654. [PMID] 22186718.
2011
Association of brain-type natriuretic protein and cardiac troponin I with incipient cardiovascular disease in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
Comparative medicine. 61(2):163-9 [PMID] 21535928.
2011
Cardiac gene transfer of short hairpin RNA directed against phospholamban effectively knocks down gene expression but causes cellular toxicity in canines.
Human gene therapy. 22(8):969-77 [DOI] 10.1089/hum.2011.035. [PMID] 21542669.
2011
Cardiac magnetic resonance in the differentiation of neoplastic and nonneoplastic pericardial effusion.
Journal of veterinary internal medicine. 25(5):1003-9 [DOI] 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2011.0762.x. [PMID] 21781165.
2011
Chronic losartan administration reduces mortality and preserves cardiac but not skeletal muscle function in dystrophic mice.
PloS one. 6(6) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0020856. [PMID] 21731628.
2011
Effects of aging and blood contamination on the urinary protein-creatinine ratio in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS. 50(3):374-7 [PMID] 21640034.
2011
Evaluation of adeno-associated viral vectors for liver-directed gene transfer in dogs.
Human gene therapy. 22(8):985-97 [DOI] 10.1089/hum.2010.194. [PMID] 21204705.
2011
Long-term amelioration of feline Mucopolysaccharidosis VI after AAV-mediated liver gene transfer.
Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy. 19(3):461-9 [DOI] 10.1038/mt.2010.257. [PMID] 21119624.
2011
Long-term systemic myostatin inhibition via liver-targeted gene transfer in golden retriever muscular dystrophy.
Human gene therapy. 22(12):1499-509 [DOI] 10.1089/hum.2011.102. [PMID] 21787232.
2011
Percutaneous transendocardial delivery of self-complementary adeno-associated virus 6 in the canine.
Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.). 709:369-78 [DOI] 10.1007/978-1-61737-982-6_24. [PMID] 21194041.
2011
Status of therapeutic gene transfer to treat cardiovascular disease in dogs and cats.
Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology. 13(2):131-40 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jvc.2011.04.001. [PMID] 21640678.
2011
Transendocardial delivery of AAV6 results in highly efficient and global cardiac gene transfer in rhesus macaques.
Human gene therapy. 22(8):979-84 [DOI] 10.1089/hum.2011.042. [PMID] 21563985.
2011
Use of an implantable loop recorder in the investigation of arrhythmias in adult captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
Comparative medicine. 61(1):71-5 [PMID] 21819684.
2010
Activin IIB receptor blockade attenuates dystrophic pathology in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Muscle & nerve. 42(5):722-30 [DOI] 10.1002/mus.21743. [PMID] 20730876.
2010
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in normal dogs and two dogs with heart base tumor.
Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association. 51(4):428-35 [PMID] 20806875.
2010
Clinical efficacy of sildenafil in treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension in dogs.
Journal of veterinary internal medicine. 24(4):850-4 [DOI] 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2010.0517.x. [PMID] 20412435.
2010
Computed tomographic changes associated with the prepatent and early patent phase of dirofilariasis in an experimentally infected dog.
Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association. 51(2):136-40 [PMID] 20402396.
2010
Myostatin is upregulated following stress in an Erk-dependent manner and negatively regulates cardiomyocyte growth in culture and in a mouse model.
PloS one. 5(4) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0010230. [PMID] 20419100.
2010
Overexpression of SERCA1a in the mdx diaphragm reduces susceptibility to contraction-induced damage.
Human gene therapy. 21(12):1735-9 [DOI] 10.1089/hum.2010.077. [PMID] 20540606.
2010
Perceptions of quality of life and priorities of owners of cats with heart disease.
Journal of veterinary internal medicine. 24(6):1421-6 [DOI] 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2010.0583.x. [PMID] 20738770.
2010
Status of therapeutic gene transfer to treat canine dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs.
The Veterinary clinics of North America. Small animal practice. 40(4):717-24 [DOI] 10.1016/j.cvsm.2010.03.005. [PMID] 20610021.
2010
Systemic myostatin inhibition via liver-targeted gene transfer in normal and dystrophic mice.
PloS one. 5(2) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0009176. [PMID] 20161803.
2010
Upregulation of elastase activity in aorta in mucopolysaccharidosis I and VII dogs may be due to increased cytokine expression.
Molecular genetics and metabolism. 99(4):396-407 [DOI] 10.1016/j.ymgme.2009.12.003. [PMID] 20044292.
2010
Use of biomarkers of collagen types I and III fibrosis metabolism to detect cardiovascular and renal disease in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
Comparative medicine. 60(2):154-8 [PMID] 20412692.
2009
Association of periodontal disease, oral procedures, and other clinical findings with bacterial endocarditis in dogs.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 234(1):100-7 [DOI] 10.2460/javma.234.1.100. [PMID] 19119972.
2009
Effect of azotemia on serum N-terminal proBNP concentration in dogs with normal cardiac function: a pilot study.
Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology. 11 Suppl 1:S81-6 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jvc.2009.02.001. [PMID] 19394913.
2009
Gene therapy in large animal models of human cardiovascular genetic disease.
ILAR journal. 50(2):199-205 [PMID] 19293462.
2009
Is it acute heart failure or sudden cardiac death in the chimpanzee?
Journal of medical primatology. 38(2) [DOI] 10.1111/j.1600-0684.2009.00351.x. [PMID] 19335474.
2009
Questions validity of study on periodontal disease and cardiovascular events in dogs.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 234(12):1525-8; author reply 1526 [DOI] 10.2460/javma.234.12.1525. [PMID] 19527122.
2008
A novel locus for dilated cardiomyopathy maps to canine chromosome 8.
Genomics. 91(6):517-21 [DOI] 10.1016/j.ygeno.2008.03.007. [PMID] 18442891.
2008
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotype 9 provides global cardiac gene transfer superior to AAV1, AAV6, AAV7, and AAV8 in the mouse and rat.
Human gene therapy. 19(12):1359-68 [DOI] 10.1089/hum.2008.123. [PMID] 18795839.
2008
Assessment of plasma cardiac troponin I concentration as a means to differentiate cardiac and noncardiac causes of dyspnea in cats.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 233(8):1261-4 [DOI] 10.2460/javma.233.8.1261. [PMID] 18922052.
2008
Chronic oral therapy with enalapril in normal ponies.
Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology. 10(2):111-5 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jvc.2008.08.002. [PMID] 19019755.
2008
Clinical characterization of cardiovascular abnormalities associated with feline mucopolysaccharidosis I and VI.
Journal of inherited metabolic disease. 31(3):424-31 [DOI] 10.1007/s10545-008-0821-1. [PMID] 18509743.
2008
Diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension and atrial fibrillation in an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).
Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS. 47(5):56-60 [PMID] 18947173.
2008
ECG of the month. Arrythmia.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 233(10):1548-50 [DOI] 10.2460/javma.233.10.1548. [PMID] 19014285.
2008
Echocardiographic reference ranges for sedated healthy cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis).
Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science : JAALAS. 47(1):22-5 [PMID] 18210994.
2008
Exploring human/animal intersections: converging lines of evidence in comparative models of aging.
Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association. 4(1):1-5 [DOI] 10.1016/j.jalz.2007.09.007. [PMID] 18631944.
2008
Gene therapy for cardiovascular manifestations of lysosomal storage diseases.
Heart and metabolism : management of the coronary patient. 41:21-24 [PMID] 26937225.
2008
Interstitial myocardial fibrosis in a captive chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) population.
Comparative medicine. 58(4):389-94 [PMID] 18724782.
2008
Perceptions and priorities of owners of dogs with heart disease regarding quality versus quantity of life for their pets.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 233(1):104-8 [DOI] 10.2460/javma.233.1.104. [PMID] 18593317.
2008
Percutaneous Transendocardial Delivery of Self-complementary Adeno-associated Virus 6 Achieves Global Cardiac Gene Transfer in Canines.
Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy. 16(12):1953-1959 [DOI] 10.1038/mt.2008.202. [PMID] 28189009.
2008
Sudden cardiac death in 13 captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
Journal of medical primatology. 37 Suppl 1:39-43 [DOI] 10.1111/j.1600-0684.2007.00260.x. [PMID] 18269527.
2007
Canine bacterial endocarditis: a review.
Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 43(5):258-63 [PMID] 17823474.
2007
Correction of clinical manifestations of canine mucopolysaccharidosis I with neonatal retroviral vector gene therapy.
Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy. 15(8):1423-31 [PMID] 17519893.
2007
ECG of the month. Sinus arrhythmia with first-degree atrioventricular block.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 230(7):1002-4 [PMID] 17397337.
2007
Pericardial effusion in cats: a retrospective study of clinical findings and outcome in 146 cats.
Journal of veterinary internal medicine. 21(5):1002-7 [PMID] 17939556.
2006
Canine trichinosis presenting with syncope and AV conduction disturbance.
Journal of veterinary internal medicine. 20(5):1228-31 [PMID] 17063722.
2006
Electrocardiogram abnormalities in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
Comparative medicine. 56(6):512-8 [PMID] 17219782.
2005
Echocardiographic diagnosis of transposition of the great arteries in a neonatal foal.
Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association. 46(3):259-62 [PMID] 16050286.
2005
Successful treatment of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in an adult chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes).
Comparative medicine. 55(1):80-4 [PMID] 15766214.
2004
Gene therapy ameliorates cardiovascular disease in dogs with mucopolysaccharidosis VII.
Circulation. 110(7):815-20 [PMID] 15289379.
2003
Inheritance, biochemical abnormalities, and clinical features of feline mucolipidosis II: the first animal model of human I-cell disease.
The Journal of heredity. 94(5):363-73 [PMID] 14557388.
2002
Therapeutic neonatal hepatic gene therapy in mucopolysaccharidosis VII dogs.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 99(20):13102-7 [PMID] 12232044.
2001
Differing opinion regarding the etiology of juvenile cardiomyopathy in Portuguese water dogs.
American journal of medical genetics. 104(3):262-4 [PMID] 11754056.
2001
Vertebral scale system to measure heart size in growing puppies.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 219(1):57-9 [PMID] 11439770.
2000
Aortitis in a Paint gelding.
Equine veterinary journal. 32(4):354-7 [PMID] 10952387.
1999
Familial dilated cardiomyopathy of young Portuguese water dogs.
Journal of veterinary internal medicine. 13(1):65-71 [PMID] 10052066.

Grants

Sep 2016 ACTIVE
Therapeutic gene transfer abrogates canine dilated cardiomyopathy
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: AMER KENNEL CLUB

Education

Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (cardiology)
1997 · University of Pennsylvania
Residency
1997 · University of Pennsylvania
Internship
1994 · Midatlantic Equine Medical Center
Veterinary Medicine Degree
1993 · University of Pennsylvania

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 392-2235
Emails:
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
PO Box 100126
GAINESVILLE FL 32610
Business Street:
VC-67, BLDG. 215
GAINESVILLE FL 32610