Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Immune changes in dogs with leishmaniosis before and after treatment
By Platenik, M et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2026·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of the Cutaneous Immunological Milieu Before and After Treatment With Meglumine Antimoniate in Dogs Naturally Affected by Leishmaniosis due to Leishmania infantum.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Twelve dogs with leishmaniosis, a disease caused by a parasite that can lead to skin lesions, were treated with a medication called meglumine antimoniate for 28 days. Owners noticed improvements as the treatment reduced the number of parasites in the skin and decreased certain immune responses that were causing inflammation. While some immune cells showed a decrease after treatment, overall inflammation levels in the blood did not change significantly. The dogs responded well to the treatment, showing a reduction in skin lesions and a lower parasitic load.
People also search for: dog leishmaniosis treatment · meglumine antimoniate for dogs · dog skin lesions leishmania
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is a zoonotic disease of variable severity. The typical immune response is driven by an exaggerated humoral immune response. Protective immunity is mediated by pro-inflammatory cytokines that enhance macrophage leishmanicidal activity. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the cutaneous and the systemic immune responses as well as the cutaneous parasitic load in affected dogs before and after 28 days of treatment with meglumine antimoniate. ANIMALS: Twelve dogs with CanL and skin lesions, treated with meglumine antimoniate at a target dose of 100 mg/kg subcutaneously every 24 h, were prospectively enrolled. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Before and after 28 days of treatments, blood samples and skin biopsies were collected. Circulating levels of host defence peptides, leptin and cytokines were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Paraffin-embedded skin biopsies were processed for routine immunofluorescence and positive cells were identified using commercially available anti-canine antibodies. Parasitic load also was determined via molecular methods. All variables were statistically analysed with the significance level set at 0.05. RESULTS: Among the cutaneous cell types investigated, there was a decrease in the number of T-box transcription factor TBX21 (Tbet) (p = 0.016), GATA binding protein 3 (GATA3) (p = 0.016), interleukin (IL)-17A(p = 0.03) cells and neutrophils (p = 0.008) after treatment, whereas there were no significant changes in forkhead box protein P3 (FoxP3) regulatory T and ionised calcium-binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1) cells. A lack of change in serum concentration of inflammatory mediators was found. Finally, cutaneous parasitic load was significantly lower after treatment (p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The results of this study show that the reduction of cutaneous parasitic load after meglumine antimoniate treatment results in downregulation of innate and adaptive cutaneous inflammatory responses.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41705575/