Clinical and immunopathological findings during long term follow-up in Leishmania infantum experimentally infected dogs

Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis (CVL) is caused by Leishmania infantum, which in the New World is transmitted by Lutzomyia longipalpis. While prospective clinical and immunological assessments of dogs experimentally challenged with L. infantum have been previously reported over a relatively short foll...

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Published in:Scientific reports 2017-11, Vol.7 (1), p.15914-11, Article 15914
Main Authors: Abbehusen, Melissa Moura Costa, Almeida, Valter Dos Anjos, Solcà, Manuela da S, Pereira, Laís da Silva, Costa, Dirceu Joaquim, Gil-Santana, Leonardo, Bozza, Patricia Torres, Fraga, Deborah Bittencourt Moté, Veras, Patrícia Sampaio Tavares, Dos-Santos, Washington Luis Conrado, Andrade, Bruno Bezerril, Brodskyn, Claudia Ida
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dogs
Experimental infection
Immune response
Immunology
Infections
Interferon
Interleukin 18
Interleukin 2
Interleukin 6
Interleukin 8
Leishmania infantum
Lymph nodes
Parasites
Saliva
Skin
Spleen
Tumor necrosis factor
Visceral leishmaniasis
γ-Interferon
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Summary:Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis (CVL) is caused by Leishmania infantum, which in the New World is transmitted by Lutzomyia longipalpis. While prospective clinical and immunological assessments of dogs experimentally challenged with L. infantum have been previously reported over a relatively short follow-up period, the long-term characterization of infected animals has not been performed to date. We evaluated dogs in a subclinical state for six years following experimental infection with L. infantum and Lu. longipalpis saliva, via an intradermal route, to characterize clinical, parasitological and immunological parameters arising from L. infantum experimental infection. We also assess these parameters in a group of naturally infected animals. The immune profiles of the experimentally and naturally infected animals exhibited increases of IFN-γ, IL-6 and IL-18, and decreases in TNF, IL-2, IL-8 and CXCL1, compared to controls. Our results indicate that over a six-year follow-up post-challenge, subclinically infected dogs presented low CVL clinical scores despite the persistence of Leishmania parasites in the lymph nodes, spleen and skin. Similarities observed among immune profiles in the context of experimental and natural infection seem to suggest that an enduring activation of the host immune response may lead to the control of parasite growth, thereby limiting disease severity.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-15651-8