Ultrastructural examination of the host inflammatory response within gills of netpen reared chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) with Microsporidial Gill Disease

Abstract

The sequence of host changes following the rupture of spore-laden xenomas of the microsporidian Loma salmonae during Microsporidial Gill Disease of Salmon was deduced from ultrastructural examination of the gills of naturally infected, moribund, chinook salmon from a commercial aquaculture site. The gills contained many stages of parasite development suggesting fish were chronically exposed to the parasite. Intact xenomas were generally found beneath the endothelium in arteries and arterioles and were encapsulated by a layer of collagen containing fibroblasts sometimes joined by desmosomes. Xenoma dissolution was characterized by neutrophil infiltration and loss of the xenoma plasma membrane and encapsulation. The inflammatory responses associated with ruptured xenomas ranged from acute lesions, denoted by a marked neutrophil infiltration and vascular thrombosis, to chronic lesions with a macrophage-rich infiltrate variously accompanied by neovascularization and vascular remodelling. Dendritic-like cells and plasma cells were characteristic throughout. Basement membrane damage of the primary filament epithelium and subsequent transepithelial expulsion of spores were associated with severe inflammation. An unusual previously undescribed multifocal change, in which epithelial cells invaded deeply beyond the normal boundaries of the basement membrane, affected areas of gill filament epithelium with basement membrane damage. Some neutrophils that contained L. salmonae spores, or spore polar tube, displayed morphological changes that included irregular cell shape, cytoplasmic darkening associated with an abundance of free ribosomes, lysis of neighbouring cells, and type II nuclear clefts. Fusion of apparently intact neutrophils occurred in other areas of the lesion, where close contacts between neighbouring cells were established and in some areas plasma membrane fusion occurred. Closely associated neutrophils with intact plasma membranes were observed to contain type II nuclear clefts, abundant granules and rough endoplasmic reticulum. Other neutrophils in the lesion displayed type I nuclear pockets, which is suspected to be an early stage of apoptosis.