Serum protein response and renal failure in canine Babesia annae infection

Angel Tomas Camacho,Francisco Javier Guitian,Juan Jesus Gestal,Heidi Goethert,Sonia Olmeda,Sam Telford,Andrew Spielman,Estrella Pallas

doi:10.1051/vetres:2005026

Abstract

Babesia annae piroplasms have recently been recognised as a cause of infection and disease among dogs in Europe. The pathogenesis and clinical implications of this emerging disease remain poorly understood. We conducted this study to describe the electrophoretic profiles associated with the infection and to determine if B. annae associated azotaemia is caused by renal failure. We examined by microscopy 2,979 canine blood samples submitted to a diagnostic laboratory in NW Spain between September 2001 and April 2002. Small ring-shaped piroplasms were detected in blood smears of 87 samples and the identity of 58 of these presumptive cases were confirmed by PCR. This group of 58 infected dogs and a reference group of 15 healthy non-infected dogs were our study population. For all the dogs, serum protein response to -albumin, alpha-1 globulin, alpha-2 globulin, beta globulin and gamma globulin- was measured by capillary electrophoresis. The response of infected and non-infected dogs was compared and within infected dogs, the response of those with azotaemia (19) was compared with that of non-azotaemic dogs (39). Infected dogs presented a significant elevation of total proteins and all the different globulin fractions, and significantly lower levels of albumin compared to non-infected dogs. Among infected dogs, those presenting azotaemia had significantly lower concentrations of total proteins, albumin, beta and gamma globulins, and significantly higher values of alpha-2 globulin. Specific gravity was below the threshold of 1,025 for all dogs with azotaemia for which a urine sample was available (7) suggesting that azotaemia, in these dogs was of renal origin. Azotaemic dogs had higher concentrations of cholesterol and triglycerides, probably as a result of a liver compensatory response to the loss of proteins. We conclude that serum protein response in B. annae infected dogs corresponds to the pattern of a haemolytic syndrome with intense inflammatory reaction and that the azotaemia associated to the infection is very likely of renal origin.

Highlights

Babesiosis is a parasitic disease of domestic and wild mammals caused by tickborne hematozoan organisms of the genus Babesia [11, 20]
The distribution of the serum concentrations of total proteins, albumin, and the different globulin fractions for infected and noninfected dogs and for infected dogs with and without azotaemia are presented in Figures 1 and 2 respectively
Our results indicate that the canine serum protein pattern is significantly altered by Babesia annae infection, with the nature and magnitude of these changes being different for infected dogs with or without biochemistry abnormalities compatible with renal disease

Summary

Introduction

Babesiosis is a parasitic disease of domestic and wild mammals caused by tickborne hematozoan organisms (piroplasms) of the genus Babesia [11, 20]. Small Babesia include two strains of Babesia gibsoni: “Asia” and “California”, and a recently identified small Babesia [3, 4, 23], which is more closely related to Babesia microti than to Babesia gibsoni and has been tentatively referred to as Babesia annae [6]. This newly recognised piroplasm appears to be endemic in NW Spain [3]. The question of whether B. annae infection is a cause of renal failure remains unanswered

Methods

Results

Conclusion