Canine cerebral leishmaniasis: Potential role of matrix metalloproteinase-2 in the development of neurological disease

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Presença de anticorpos anti-Neospora caninum e Toxoplasma gondii em cães com leishmaniose visceral da região de Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brasil

Dogs that had positive and negative sera to Leishmania chagasi from the region of Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil, were evaluated for the presence of anti-Neospora caninum and anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies as potential co-infecting agents. Blood samples were collected from 204 dogs and out of them 98 were carriers of leishmaniosis. Sera were tested for the presence of anti-L. chagasi antibodies by ELISA, and anti-T. gondii and anti-N. caninum by an indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). Age, gender, and association between the presences of anti-L. chagasi antibodies and seroprevalence to N. caninum and T. gondii were analyzed by chi-square test. Out of the 204 sera investigated, 36 (17.6%) were positive for N. caninum (IFAT=50) and 75 (36.8%) to T. gondii (IFAT=16) with titers that varied from 50 to 6400 for N. caninum, and from 16 to 16384 for T. gondii. The copresence of anti-L. chagasi, N. caninum and T. gondii antibodies was observed in 17 (8.3%) dogs. Antibodies to N. caninum were observed in four (3.8%) out of 106 dogs that were negative for L. chagasi, and in 32 (32.6%) out of the 98 dogs that were positive for L. chagasi. Anti-T. gondii antibodies were found in 40 (41.0%) and in 35 (33.0%) of the 98 positive dogs and in 106 negative dogs for L. chagasi, respectively. An association between the presence of antibodies against L. chagasi and a positive response to N. caninum (p<0.001) was observed. The gender and age of the dogs did not show an association between the presence of antibodies and any of the agents studied (p>0.05), with the exception of age and presence of anti-L. chagasi antibodies, in which only a slight association was observed (p=0.038). Within this interaction, a higher number of dogs, older than four years, were positive for this agent when compared to other age groups.

Ocorrência de leishmaniose em gatos de área endêmica para leishmaniose visceral

Despite the description of several cases of feline leishmaniasis around the world, little information is available about the importance of the cat as a reservoir of the disease. The aim of the present study was to determine the occurrence of leishmaniasis in cats from an endemic area for visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil. Two hundred cats were included in this study. Infection was evaluated through the presence of amastigotes in stained smears from fine-needle aspirates of lymph nodes, bone marrow, spleen and liver, and by antibody reactivity against Leishmania chagasi using indirect ELISA. Our results showed a prevalence of infection in 14.5% (31/200) of the feline population studied, with 4% (8/200) of positivity by parasitological diagnosis and 11.5% (23/200) by serology.

Estudo soroepidemiológico de leishmaniose em equinos na região de Araçatuba-SP, Brasil, área endêmica para leishmaniose visceral

The aim of the present study was to perform a leishmaniasis survey in horses from Araçatuba, São Paulo, an endemic area of Brazil. Of the 466 horses tested for the presence of anti-Leishmania chagasi titers by ELISA, 68 (14.59%) were seropositive, with titers varying between 0.324 and 0.813. ELISA positive samples were also tested by immunocromatography and 19/466 (4.08%) were positive. The results of the present study indicated that equines are in contact and can attract phlebotomines, and highlight the necessity of a more accurate investigation on the role played by the horses living in endemic areas, in order to help to control the spread of the illness.

Antiprotozoal activity of quinonemethide triterpenes from Maytenus ilicifolia (Celastraceae)

The present study describes the leishmanicidal and trypanocidal activities of two quinonemethide triterpenes, maytenin (1) and pristimerin (2), isolated from Maytenus ilicifolia root barks (Celastraceae). The compounds were effective against the Trypanosomatidae Leishmania amazonensis and Leishmania chagasi and Trypanosoma cruzi, etiologic agents of leishmaniasis and Chagas' disease, respectively. The quinonemethide triterpenes 1 and 2 exhibited a marked in vitro leishmanicidal activity against promastigotes and amastigotes with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of less than 0.88 nM. Both compounds showed IC50 lower than 0.3 nM against Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes. The selectivity indexes (SI) based on BALB/c macrophages for L. amazonensis and L. chagasi were 243.65 and 46.61 for (1) and 193.63 and 23.85 for (2) indicating that both compounds presented high selectivity for Leishmania sp. The data here presented suggests that these compounds should be considered in the development of new and more potent drugs for the treatment of leishmaniasis and Chagas' disease. © 2013 by the authors.

Influence of apoptosis on the cutaneous and peripheral lymph node inflammatory response in dogs with visceral leishmaniasis

In canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), the abnormalities most commonly observed in clinical examination on the animals are lymphadenomegaly and skin lesions. Dogs are the main domestic reservoir for the protozoon Leishmania (L.) chagasi and the skin is the main site of contamination by the vector insect. Some protozoa use apoptosis as an immunological escape mechanism. The aim of this study was to correlate the presence of apoptosis with the parasite load and with the inflammatory response in the skin and lymph nodes of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania (L.) chagasi. Thirty-three dogs from the municipality of Araçatuba (São Paulo, Brazil) were used, an endemic area for CVL. Muzzle, ear and abdominal skin and the popliteal, subscapular, iliac and mesenteric lymph nodes of symptomatic (S), oligosymptomatic (O) and asymptomatic (A) dogs were analyzed histologically. The parasite load and percentage apoptosis were evaluated using an immunohistochemical technique. Microscopically, the lymph nodes presented chronic lymphadenitis and the skin presented plasmacytic infiltrate and granulomatous foci in the superficial dermis, especially in the ear and muzzle regions. The inflammation was most severe in group S. The parasite load and apoptotic cell density were also greatest in this group. The cause of the lymphoid atrophy in these dogs was correlated with T lymphocyte apoptosis, thus leaving the dogs more susceptible to CVL. The peripheral lymph nodes presented the greatest inflammatory response. Independent of the clinical picture, the predominant inflammatory response was granulomatous and plasmacytic, both in the skin and in the peripheral lymph nodes. The ear skin presented the greatest intensity of inflammation and parasite load, followed by the muzzle skin, in group S. The ear skin area presented a non-significant difference in cell profile, with predominance of macrophages, and a significant difference from group A to groups O and S. It was seen that in these areas, there were high densities of parasites and cells undergoing apoptosis, in group S. The association between apoptosis and parasite load was not significant in the lymph nodes, but in the muzzle regions and at the ear tips, a positive correlation was seen between the parasite load and the density of cells undergoing apoptosis. The dogs in group S had the highest parasite load and the greatest number of apoptotic cells, thus suggesting that the parasite had an immune evasion mechanism, which could be proven statistically in the skin. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Estrutura populacional de Lutzomya longipalpis através da amplificação e sequenciamento do segmento ribossomal 12S de DNA mitocondrial

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Avaliação hematológica, bioquímica e parasitológica de cães, naturalmente acometidos por leishmaniose visceral, submetidos a diferentes protocolos de tratamento

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Contribuição ao estudo da patogenia das lesões no encéfalo de cães naturalmente acometidos por Leishmaniose visceral

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Avaliação radiográfica das articulações dos membros locomotores de cães naturalmente acometidos por leishmaniose visceral no município de Araçatuba-SP

Pós-graduação em Ciência Animal - FMVA

Detecção imunoistoquímica de linfócitos T (CD3+) e B (CD79+) no encéfalo de cães com leishmaniose visceral e presença de anticorpos séricos anti-Toxoplasma gondii e anti-Neospora caninum

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Pesquisa de mutação do gene predito da lectina ligante de manose em cães: comparação entre dois alvos para diagnóstico molecular de leishmaniose visceral canina

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Fatores predisponentes à ocorrência de leptospirose e leishmaniose em cães no Distrito de Córrego Rico, Jaboticabal-SP

Pós-graduação em Medicina Veterinária - FCAV

Expressão das quimiocinas MIP-1α e MCP-1 em relação à carga parasitária em cães com leishmaniose visceral

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Análise da composição celular e imunodetecção de MIF em linfonodos de cães com Leishmaniose Visceral

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)