Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How certain gene types affect immune proteins in dogs with Leishmania
By Álvarez, Luis et al.·Published in Infectious diseases of poverty·2023·Department of Animal Production and Health, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Interleukin 6 and interferon gamma haplotypes are related to cytokine serum levels in dogs in an endemic Leishmania infantum region.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at two dog breeds, the Ibizan Hound and the Boxer, to understand why Ibizan Hounds seem to be more resistant to leishmaniasis, a disease caused by a parasite. Researchers found that the levels of certain immune system proteins, called cytokines, were different between the breeds. Boxers had lower levels of these proteins compared to Ibizan Hounds, suggesting that specific genetic factors might make Ibizan Hounds better at fighting off the infection. This research could help develop new treatments or vaccines for dogs at risk of leishmaniasis.
People also search for: why is my dog getting sick from leishmaniasis · Ibizan Hound immune system · Boxer dog leishmaniasis treatment
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Ibizan Hound is a canine breed native to the Mediterranean region, where leishmaniasis is an endemic zoonosis. Several studies indicate a low prevalence of this disease in Ibizan Hound dogs, whereas other canine breeds present a high prevalence. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms still remain unknown. The aim of this work is to analyse the relationship between serum levels of cytokines and the genomic profiles in two canine breeds, Ibizan Hound (resistant canine breed model) and Boxer (susceptible canine breed model). METHODS: In this study, we analyse the haplotypes of genes encoding cytokines related to immune response of Leishmania infantum infection in twenty-four Boxers and twenty-eight Ibizan Hounds apparently healthy using CanineHD DNA Analysis BeadChip including 165,480 mapped positions. The haplo.glm extension of haplo.score was used to perform a General Linear Model (GLM) regression to estimate the magnitude of individual haplotype effects within each cytokine. RESULTS: Mean levels of interferon gamma (IFN-γ), interleukin 2 (IL-2) and IL-18 in Boxer dogs were 0.19 ± 0.05 ng/ml, 46.70 ± 4.54 ng/ml, and 36.37 ± 30.59 pg/ml, whereas Ibizan Hound dogs present 0.49 ± 0.05 ng/ml, 64.55 ± 4.54 ng/ml, and 492.10 ± 31.18 pg/ml, respectively. The GLM regression shows fifteen haplotypes with statistically significant effect on the cytokine serum levels (P < 0.05). The more relevant are IL6-CGAAG and IFNG-GCA haplotypes, which increase and decrease the IL-2, IL-8 and IFN-γ serum levels, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Haplotypes in the IFNG and IL6 genes have been correlated to serum levels of IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-18, and a moderate effect has been found on IL8 haplotype correlated to IL-8 and IL-18 serum levels. The results indicate that the resistance to L. infantum infection could be a consequence of certain haplotypes with a high frequency in the Ibizan Hound dog breed, while susceptibility to the disease would be related to other specific haplotypes, with high frequency in Boxer. Future studies are needed to elucidate whether these differences and haplotypes are related to different phenotypes in immune response and expression gene regulation to L. infantum infections in dogs and their possible application in new treatments and vaccines.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36759910/