Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cytokine levels in lymph nodes link to parasite load in dogs
By Alves, Cíntia F et al.·Published in Veterinary immunology and immunopathology·2009·Departamento de Parasitologia, Brazil·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Expression of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-10 and TGF-beta in lymph nodes associates with parasite load and clinical form of disease in dogs naturally infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 18 dogs naturally infected with the Leishmania parasite was studied to understand how their immune response affected their health. The dogs were divided into three groups: six healthy dogs, six that showed no symptoms, and six that were symptomatic. The symptomatic dogs had a much higher parasite load in their lymph nodes compared to the asymptomatic ones. The study found that certain immune markers (IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha) were higher in the healthy and asymptomatic dogs, suggesting they help protect against the disease, while other markers (IL-10 and TGF-beta) were higher in symptomatic dogs, indicating they may contribute to worsening the disease.
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Abstract
American visceral leishmaniasis is a zoonosis of the New World. Dogs are the main reservoir of the disease and there is much interest in the understanding of mechanisms implicated in protection against canine infection. Nevertheless, most studies in dogs have not been carried out in organs that are targets of infection. This work is first to report the profile of cytokines and parasite burdens, as determined by real-time PCR, in the lymph nodes of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania chagasi. With this purpose, 18 mongrel dogs were divided in three groups: control non-infected dogs (n=6) and naturally infected animals with L. chagasi, asymptomatic (n=6) and symptomatic (n=6). Parasite burden in lymph nodes was 73-fold greater in symptomatic than asymptomatic animals. Prescapular lymph nodes of asymptomatic dogs had the highest expression of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha and low parasite burden, indicating that these cytokines play a role in protection against infection. Highest expression of IL-10 and TGF-beta and high parasite burden were observed in symptomatic dogs, suggesting a role for these cytokines in the progression of disease. Hence, the balance of expression of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha (protective) and IL-10 and TGF-beta (disease progression) in lymph nodes determine parasite burden and clinical expression in naturally infected dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19124159/