Abstract
Encephalitozoonosis is a common infectious disease widely spread among rabbits. Encephalitozoon cuniculi, is considered as a zoonotic and emerging pathogen capable of infecting both immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts. The aim of the study was to describe in detail the spread of the E. cuniculi in a rabbit organism after experimental infection and the host humoral and cellular immune response including cytokine production. For that purpose, healthy immunocompetent rabbits were infected orally in order to simulate the natural route of infection and euthanised at 2, 4, 6 and 8-weeks post-infection. Dissemination of E. cuniculi in the body of the rabbit was more rapid than previously reported. As early as 2 weeks post-infection, E. cuniculi was detected using immunohistochemistry not only in the intestine, mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, liver, kidneys, lungs and heart, but also in nervous tissues, especially in medulla oblongata, cerebellum, and leptomeninges. Based on flow cytometry, no conspicuous changes in lymphocyte subpopulations were detected in the examined lymphoid organs of infected rabbits. Cell-mediated immunity was characterized by ability of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells to proliferate after stimulation with specific antigens. Th1 polarization of immune response with a predominance of IFN-γ expression was detected in spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes and Peyer’s patches. The increased expression of IL-4 and IL-10 mRNA in mixed samples from the small intestine is indicative of balanced control of IFN-γ, which prevents tissue damage. On the other hand, it can enable E. cuniculi to survive and persist in the host organism in a balanced host-parasite relationship. The Th17 immunity lineage seems to play only a minor role in E. cuniculi infection in rabbits.
Highlights
Encephalitozoonosis is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in pet and conventionally raised rabbits
Encephalitozoonosis is a common infectious disease widely spread among rabbits
Due to its clinical importance in the rabbit population and the considered zoonotic potential of E. cuniculi [4], a detailed study of this microsporidial infection in rabbits is of scientific interest
Summary
Encephalitozoonosis is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in pet and conventionally raised rabbits. Encephalitozoon cuniculi, is a member of the phylum Microspora, which includes ubiquitous, eukaryotic, single-celled, spore-forming, obligate intracellular parasites [1]. Despite wide host distribution among mammals, including rodents, carnivores, In rabbits, horizontal transmission by ingestion or inhalation of spores occurs most frequently [1], but intrauterine [5, 6] and ocular infections have been documented [7,8,9]. E. cuniculi invades the intestinal epithelium by extruding the polar filament. Sporoplasm is transferred through this polar filament directly into the host cells, where parasites multiply by merogony and by sporogony. Infective spores or proliferative forms are disseminated throughout the body via infected macrophages or by release into the blood [10]. Organs with high blood flow such as kidneys, lungs and liver are the first target for E
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