Association of Trypanosoma Vivax in Extracellular Sites with Central
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Batista et al. Veterinary Research 2011, 42:63 http://www.veterinaryresearch.org/content/42/1/63 VETERINARY RESEARCH RESEARCH Open Access Association of Trypanosoma vivax in extracellular sites with central nervous system lesions and changes in cerebrospinal fluid in experimentally infected goats Jael S Batista1*, Carla MF Rodrigues1, Herakles A García2, Francisco SB Bezerra1, Robério G Olinda1, Marta MG Teixeira2 and Benito Soto-Blanco1 Abstract Changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and anatomical and histopathological central nervous system (CNS) lesions were evaluated, and the presence of Trypanosoma vivax in CNS tissues was investigated through PCR. Twelve adult male goats were divided into three groups (G): G1, infected with T. vivax and evaluated during the acute phase; G2, infected goats evaluated during the chronic phase; and G3, consisting of non-infected goats. Each goat from G1 and G2 was infected with 1.25 × 105 trypomastigotes. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis and investigation of T. vivax was performed at the 15th day post-infection (dpi) in G1 goats and on the fifth day after the manifestation of nervous system infection signs in G2 goats. All goats were necropsied, and CNS fragments from G1 and G2 goats were evaluated by PCR for the determination of T. vivax. Hyperthermia, anemia and parasitemia were observed from the fifth dpi for G1 and G2, with the highest parasitemia peak between the seventh and 21st dpi. Nervous system infection signs were observed in three G2 goats between the 30th and 35th dpi. CSF analysis revealed the presence of T. vivax for G2. Meningitis and meningoencephalitis were diagnosed in G2. PCR were positive for T. vivax in all the samples tested. In conclusion, T. vivax may reach the nervous tissue resulting in immune response from the host, which is the cause of progressive clinical and pathological manifestations of the CNS in experimentally infected goats. Introduction T. vivax that had not yet been reported in outbreaks in Trypanosomes belonging to the salivary group, repre- cattle in the Americas. Nervous signs and histological sented by species associated with sleeping sickness and CNS lesions have been described in naturally infected those responsible for causing a disease known as cattle in Northeastern regions of Brazil, contributing to “nagana” in ruminant livestock, cause severe economic the elucidation of some pathological aspects of the CNS losses in Africa, where parasite transmission occurs disease in cattle. The central neurological nature of the through the tsetse fly, a biological vector [1-3]. disease that occurs in Africa, which is caused by trypa- The clinico-pathological signs frequently reported in nosomosis that is triggered by salivary trypanosomes, most outbreaks are fever, anorexia, lethargy, anemia, must also be considered as an important manifestation progressive emaciation, a rapid decline in milk produc- of the disease in the Americas [5]. tion, stillborn offspring and return to estrus. Recently, ThepresenceofT. vivax in the CNS parenchyma, Batista et al. [4] described important clinico-pathological which is associated with changes and lesions in this site and epidemiological aspects of natural infection by as described in trypanosomosis for other trypanosomes found in saliva, has not been reported. Therefore, this study was aimed at evaluating the changes in CSF, * Correspondence: [email protected] 1Department of Animal Sciences, Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-árido describing the anatomical and histopathological CNS (UFERSA), BR 110 - Km 47, CEP: 59625-900, Mossoró-RN, Brazil lesions, and investigating the presence of the parasite in Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © 2011 Batista et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Batista et al. Veterinary Research 2011, 42:63 Page 2 of 7 http://www.veterinaryresearch.org/content/42/1/63 the brain of goats experimentally infected with T. vivax five days after the onset of nervous system infection at 15 and 30 days post-infection using polymerase chain signs. To compare the parameters, along with collec- reaction (PCR). tions in G1 and G2, the same procedures were carried out with the animals in G3. Materials and methods CSF collection was carried out with the aid of chemi- Experimental animals cal tranquilization using xylazine hydrochloride at a Twelve male goats of undefined breeds, aged approxi- dose of 0.1 mg/kg of body weight administered intra- mately one year, were used in the study, and the animals muscularly, followed by mechanical restraint of the ani- were housed in stalls at the Veterinary Hospital of the mals. Cerebrospinal fluid was obtained by puncture of Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido. the cisterna magna with 25 × 8 needles and was later Ethical procedures were based on the Brazilian law 6638 transferred to glass flasks. Samples of CSF were analyzed (May 8, 1979) “Normas para Prática Didático-Científica da according to previously described methodology [6]. The Vivissecção de Animais” and “Ethical Principles for Use of appearance was evaluated by comparing the tube con- Experimental Animals” from Colégio Brasileiro de Experi- taining the sample with another tube filled with distilled mentação Animal (COBEA), Brazil, which are in accor- water against a white surface. Densities were obtained dance with the “European Convention for the Protection by refractometry. The total cell count or cellularity was of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and Other performed in a Neubauer chamber immediately after Scientific Purposes” (Strasbourg, March 18, 1986). obtaining the samples in order to avoid cellular degen- eration. Total protein and glucose values were deter- T. vivax infection mined using a commercial reagent set (Katal, Belo Before being inoculated with T. vivax, the animals were Horizonte, Brazil). The readings were performed via observed for two weeks, weighed, treated with anthel- spectrophotometry using the biochemical analyzer Bio- mintic drugs and subjected to clinical and hematological 2000 (Bioplus, Barueri, Brazil). In addition, an investiga- exams. The animals were randomly selected to make up tion of T. vivax was conducted in fresh CSF between a the three groups, characterized as the following: group 1 slide and coverslip by light microscopy. (G1),composedoffourgoats(nos.1,2,3and4) infected by T. vivax, evaluated during the acute phase of Pathological study the disease; group 2 (G2), made up of four infected To carry out the anatomical and histopathological goats (nos. 5, 6, 7 and 8) and evaluated during the exams, all goats from G1 and two goats from G3 were chronic phase; and group 3 (G3), consisting of four euthanized on the 15th dpi. Goats no. 5, 6, and 7 from goats (nos. 9, 10, 11 and 12) not infected by T. vivax. G2 died spontaneously between the 35th and 38th dpi. The T. vivax strain used in the experiment was The two remaining goats from G3, along with goat no. obtained from the blood of a parasitemic cow affected 8 from G2, which did not die spontaneously, were sacri- by natural infection during an outbreak in Paraíba state, ficed on the 38th dpi. northeastern Brazil [5]. The blood was collected in During necropsy, after the macroscopic exam, tissue tubes containing 1 mg/mL of ethylenediaminetetracetic fragments were collected from the CNS and were fixed acid (EDTA), mixed with 8% glycerol and frozen in in 10% buffered formalin. After fixation, the CNS was liquid nitrogen (-196°C). The isolate was thawed, and cross-sectioned at the telencephalon (frontal, parietal, each animal from G1 and G2 was inoculated intrave- occipital and temporal cortex regions), internal capsule nously with 1 mL of blood containing approximately and basal ganglia, thalamus, mesencephalon at the cor- 1.25 × 105 T.vivax trypomastigotes, estimated according pora quadrigemina, cerebelum, cerebellar peduncles, to the method described earlier [4]. pons, medulla oblongata and the cervical, thoracic and In the three groups, daily clinical exams were performed lumbar medullae. The fixed tissues were embedded in to evaluate rectal temperature, the appearance of the visi- paraffin, cut to 5 μm thickness and stained with hema- ble mucosa and the volume of lymph nodes measurable by toxylin and eosin (H&E). external palpation, as well as the behavior and general state of the animals. In G1 and G2, parasitemia was evalu- DNA analysis ated concurrently with each clinical examination using a Samples of approximately 1 cm3 from the cerebral cor- thick drop of blood spread on a slide and covered by a tex, internal capsule and cerebellar white matter from cover slip, according to the technique described earlier [4]. G1, G2 and G3 animals were collected and placed in Eppendorf tubes containing 70% alcohol. The DNA pre- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collection and analysis parations were subjected to a highly sensitive PCR assay CSF collections in G1 goats were performed on the 15th specific for T. vivax standardized by Cortez et al. [7]. day post-infection (dpi). In G2 goats, CSF was collected This PCR method targets repeated gene sequences that Batista et al. Veterinary Research 2011, 42:63 Page 3 of 7 http://www.veterinaryresearch.org/content/42/1/63 encode cysteine proteases (Cathepsin L) and was carried dpi, there was a new peak of parasitemia (78.8 × 105 out using the oligonucleotides Tvi2 (forward: 5’ GCC Trypanosomes/mL), followed by another reduction in ATCGCCAAGTACCTCGCCGA3’)andDTO156 parasitemia, which remained low until the end of the (reverse:5’ TTAGAATTCCCAGGAGTTCTTGAT- experimental period. The G1 animals showed similar GATCCAGTA 3’) as primers. The diagnosis was con- parasitemia values to G2 animals from the first to the firmed via PCR by amplifying a DNA fragment of about fifteenth dpi (Figure 2). 177 bp (base pairs) that is also observed in the DNA of The goats from G2 showed markedly pale ocular, oral T.