Characterization of epididymal and testicular histologic lesions and use of immunohistochemistry and PCR on formalin-fixed tissues to detectin male dogs.

Abstract

In male dogs,frequently causes epididymitis, ultimately resulting in testicular atrophy and infertility. Althoughpredominantly affects the epididymis, the misleading term "orchitis" is still commonly used by clinicians. Of additional concern, diagnosis in dogs remains challenging because of variable sensitivity and specificity of serologic assays and fluctuations in bacteremia levels in infected dogs, reducing the sensitivity of blood culture. We describe here the histologic lesions in the scrotal contents of 8 dogs suspected of being infected withand clinically diagnosed with orchitis. We explored the possibility of using immunohistochemistry (IHC) and real-time PCR (rtPCR) in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues to detect the presence of. Epididymitis of variable chronicity was identified in all 8 dogs, with only 3 also exhibiting orchitis. Using rtPCR, the presence ofwas identified in 4 of 8 dogs, with 3 of these 4 dogs also positive by IHC. These results suggest that rtPCR and IHC are promising techniques that can be used in FFPE tissues to detectwhen other detection techniques are unavailable. Additionally, accurate recognition of epididymitis rather than orchitis in suspect cases could aid in accurate diagnosis.