Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cytokine levels in dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum
By Panaro, M A et al.·Published in Parasitology·2009·Department of Human Anatomy and Histology, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cytokine expression in dogs with natural Leishmania infantum infection.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 22 dogs naturally infected with Leishmania (a parasite that can cause serious health issues) were monitored over 8 months to see how their immune responses affected their health. Thirteen of the dogs showed no symptoms, while nine developed signs of illness. After 8 months, the dogs with symptoms had higher levels of certain immune markers compared to those without symptoms, indicating a stronger immune response in the sick dogs. This study highlights the importance of monitoring dogs for signs of illness after a Leishmania infection, as some may remain healthy while others can become quite ill.
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate cytokine expression in 22 Leishmania infantum naturally infected dogs, in order to correlate this parameter with the clinical status of infected animals. After 4 and 8 months from the first diagnosis of Leishmania infection, clinical and laboratory examination of dogs was performed and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were isolated. The cytokine profile was analysed in terms of IFN-gamma, IL-4, IL-10 and TNF-alpha mRNA expression in cultured PBMC by a semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase-PCR. Thirteen out of 22 Leishmania-infected dogs remained asymptomatic in the follow-up, while 9 showed clinical signs of leishmaniasis. IL-4, IL-10, TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma mRNA levels were not significantly different in asymptomatic compared to symptomatic animals 4 months from the diagnosis of Leishmania infection, but were significantly higher in symptomatic versus asymptomatic dogs after 8 months from diagnosis. In addition, IL-4, IL-10 and TNF-alpha mRNA levels significantly increased only in symptomatic dogs at 8 months, in comparison to the levels found at 4 months. These results show a mixed Th1 and Th2 cytokine response in Leishmania-infected dogs, with higher cytokine expression in dogs with manifest clinical disease, during the second follow-up after 8 months from the first diagnosis of infection.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19490725/