Abstract
In a study originally designed to find potential risk factors for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) we examined tissues from 403 Holstein Frisian cattle in total. These included 20 BSE cattle and their 236 birth- and feeding cohort animals plus 32 offspring, 103 age, breed and district-matched control cattle and further twelve cattle with neurological signs. In addition to the obex, we examined the celiac ganglion, cervical cranial ganglion, trigeminal ganglion and proximal ganglion of the vagus nerve using histological techniques. Unexpectedly, we found a high number of neurofibroma, a benign peripheral nerve sheath tumor consisting of Schwann cells, fibroblasts and perineural cells. The neurofibroma were present only in the celiac ganglion and found during histologic examination. With a frequency of 9.91% in BSE cattle and their cohorts (case animals) and 9.09% in the age, breed and district matched control animals there seems to be no correlation between the occurrence of BSE and neurofibroma. Benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors have been described more often in cattle than in other domestic animals. Usually, they are incidental macroscopic findings in the thoracic ganglia during meat inspection. To our knowledge, there are no previous systematic histologic studies including bovine celiac ganglia at all. The high incidence of celiac ganglia neurofibroma may play a role in the frequently occurring abomasal displacements in Holstein Frisian cattle as the tumors might cause a gastrointestinal motility disorder. At present a genetic predisposition for these neoplasms cannot be ruled out.
Highlights
Systematic sampling of nerve tissues in asymptomatic dairy cattle and their histologic investigation are rare, even though they give valuable information on animal health and the epidemiologic status of infectious diseases such as Listeriosis [1, 2]
Though different in density of cell nuclei and structure, all tumors in the celiac ganglion could be diagnosed to be neurofibroma, a per definitionem benign peripheral nerve sheath tumor mainly consisting of Schwann cells and fibroblasts and sometimes perineural cells
Twenty-two of 222 (9.91%) bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) related Holstein Frisian cattle (BSE animals and their cohorts) and six of 66 (9.09%) control cattle designated for human consumption had histopathologically detectable neurofibroma in their celiac ganglion
Summary
Systematic sampling of nerve tissues in asymptomatic dairy cattle and their histologic investigation are rare, even though they give valuable information on animal health and the epidemiologic status of infectious diseases such as Listeriosis [1, 2]. The group of benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors classically includes schwannoma, neurofibroma and perineurioma. These tumors do not necessarily cause symptoms, but their growth may lead to a loss of function of the affected nerves or ganglia. Studies on macroscopically detected bovine peripheral nerve sheath tumors in Danish abattoirs revealed during histologic examination that the majority were schwannoma, neurofibroma or a hybrid between those two benign tumor types [14, 15]. E.g. dogs, the expression of the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) for immature and non-myelinating Schwann cells proved to be a useful marker for the discrimination of benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors from other spindeloid tumors [16]. We focus on the diagnosis of these tumors and discuss the potential meaning of their unexpected high incidence
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