IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS IN CATS FROM MID-WESTERN BRAZIL
Autor(es): Selwyn Arlington Headley, Izabela F. G. Amorim, Alexandre M. Amude, Luciano A. Pimentel, Priscila F. M. L. Gomes, Wagner L. Tafuri, Amauri A Alfieri
IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS IN CATS FROM MID-WESTERN BRAZIL
» Área de pesquisa: PROTOZOOLOGIA
» Instituição: UEL - Universidade Estadual de Londrina
» Agência de fomento e patrocinadores: CNPq
Introduction: Leishmaniasis in Brazil is caused by the protozoan parasite Leishmania chagasi, which produces cutaneous (CL) and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) primarily in dogs and humans, and to some extent in domestic cats. However, most cases of leishmaniasis in Brazil have been diagnosed based on a combination of cytopathological, histopathological, serological and/or molecular techniques. Objective. Confirm the occurrence of CL in cats by using an immunohistochemical (IHC) assay. Methodology: Two female, domestic shorthair cats, with ulcerative lesions at the nostrils and ears were attended at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Universidade de Cuiabá, mid-western Brazil. Imprints and biopsy samples from the nostrils and ears were obtained and used for cytological and histopathological evaluations. Selected formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue fragments were used in an IHC assay designed to detect anti-L. chagasi antibodies in affected tissues. Results: Cytological evaluations revealed intra- and extracellular amastigotes consistent Leishmania spp.; histopathology revealed chronic cutaneous dermatitis associated with large quantities of intralesional, intra- and extracellular, Leishmania organisms within tissue sections from the nostrils and ears of both cats. The IHC assay revealed positive immunoreactivity to the anti-L. chagasi antibodies with tissues antigens of the intra- and extracellular organisms observed within the FFPE tissue fragments from the nostrils and ears of both cats by cytology and histopathology. Conclusions: The IHC assay confirmed the intra- and extracellular organisms observed by cytology and histopathology associated with the cutaneous dermatitis at the nostrils and ears of both cats as Leishmania chagasi. These findings add to the few studies that have characterized CL by IHC in domestic animals, and contribute to the identification of this zoonotic disease in cats from this geographical region of Brazil. Consequently, the participation of the domestic cat in the possible dissemination of leishmaniasis to humans in Brazil must thoroughly investigated.
