Abstract

Canine leishmaniosis has a wide range of disease severity from mild (stage I), to severe (stages II–III), or very severe disease (stage IV). The objective of the study was to evaluate and compare serum antibody levels, Leishmania infantum specific IFN-γ production and TLR2 and TLR4 transcripts in non-stimulated blood from dogs with different clinical stages at the time of diagnosis as well as blood parasitemia. Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (ELISAs) were performed to determine serum antibody levels and IFN-γ production and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCRs) in order to determine blood parasite load and TLR2 and TLR4 transcripts. Older dogs were significantly affected by more severe disease with higher antibody levels and blood parasitemia than dogs with mild disease. IFN-γ production was significantly higher in dogs with stage I disease when compared to dogs with more severe disease. Relative quantification of TLR2 in dogs with mild disease was similar to that of control dogs. On the other hand, TLR2 transcripts were significantly higher in dogs with severe disease as compared with that from control healthy dogs. No differences were found in TLR4 relative quantification between groups. This study demonstrates that dogs with different clinical stages of leishmaniosis present different levels of biological markers indicative of different immune responses.

Highlights

  • Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is a very pleomorphic disease

  • The results of the present study support our hypothesis that dogs with stage I leishmaniosis and papular dermatitis show distinctive immunological characteristics when compared with dogs with more severe disease at the time of diagnosis

  • In agreement with a previous study [14], we demonstrated that dogs with stage I and papular dermatitis had significantly lower levels of Leishmania antibodies than dogs with more severe disease

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Summary

Introduction

Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) due to Leishmania infantum is a very pleomorphic disease This infection ranges from subclinical infection to very severe disease, passing through several degrees of disease [1]. Clinical and clinical-pathological findings observed in CanL are the consequence of complex interactions between L. infantum and the genetical and immunological background of the dog [1]. Both innate and adaptive immune responses play a role in the outcome of Leishmania infection [2,3].

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