Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-18T21:14:49.108Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Experimental oral and ocular Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection in rabbits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 July 2010

E. JEKLOVA ,
L. LEVA ,
K. KOVARCIK ,
J. MATIASOVIC ,
V. KUMMER ,
J. MASKOVA ,
M. SKORIC  and
M. FALDYNA
E. JEKLOVA
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
L. LEVA
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
K. KOVARCIK
Affiliation:
Department of Virology and Diagnostics, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
J. MATIASOVIC
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
V. KUMMER
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
J. MASKOVA
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
M. SKORIC
Affiliation:
Department of Pathological Morphology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno, Palackého 1/3, 612 42 Brno, Czech Republic
M. FALDYNA*
Affiliation:
Department of Immunology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Immunology, Veterinary Research Institute, Hudcova 70, 621 00 Brno, Czech Republic. Tel: +420 53333 1301. Fax: +420 54121 1229. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Encephalitozoon cuniculi is an obligate intracellular pathogen that has a wide host distribution, but primarily affects rabbits. The aim of this study was to characterize both the cell-mediated and the antibody response in rabbits after experimental infection using 2 different infection routes: oral and ocular. SPF rabbits were infected with low (103 spores) and high (107 spores) infection doses. Monitored parameters included clinical signs, detection of spores in urine, antibody response detected with ELISA, and cell-mediated immunity detected by antigen-driven lymphocyte proliferation. At week 13 post-infection, half of the rabbits in each group were suppressed by intramuscular administration of dexamethasone. At week 18 post-infection, animals were euthanized. Clinical signs were mild with exacerbation after immunosuppression. Spores in urine and antigen-specific cell-mediated immunity were detected from weeks 5 and 4 post-infection, respectively. Specific IgM was detected 1 week after infection, and IgG antibodies followed 1 week later in rabbits infected with the high dose. Immunological responses were dose dependent. The authors can conclude that both oral and ocular experimental infection with E. cuniculi resulted in an immune response of the infected animals. Rabbits could be used as an experimental model for the study of ocular microsporidiosis.

Keywords

encephalitozoonosisocular infectionantibodiesserologycell-medaited immunity
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 137 , Issue 12 , October 2010 , pp. 1749 - 1757
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bywater, J. E. and Kellett, B. S. (1979). Humoral immune response to natural infection with Encephalitozoon cuniculi in rabbits. Laboratory Animals 13, 293–297.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chan, C. M., Theng, J. T., Li, L. and Tan, D. T. (2003). Microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis in healthy individuals: a case series. Ophthalmology 110, 1420–1425.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, J. C. and Gallichio, H. A. (1978). Serological and histological studies on adult rabbits with recent, naturally acquired encephalitozoonosis. Research in Veterinary Science 24, 260–261.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, J. C., Hamilton, R. C. and Attwood, H. D. (1979). An investigation of the route and progression of Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection in adult rabbits. The Journal of Protozoology 26, 260–265.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Csokai, J., Joachim, A., Gruber, A., Tichy, A., Pakozdy, A. and Künzel, F. (2009). Diagnostic markers for encephalitozoonosis in pet rabbits. Veterinary Parasitology 163, 18–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dipineto, L., Rinaldi, L., Santaniello, A., Sensale, M., Cuomo, A., Calabria, M., Menna, L. F. and Fioretti, A. (2008). Serological survey for antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi in pet rabbits in Italy. Zoonoses and Public Health 55, 173–175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ewringmann, A. and Göbel, T. (1999). Untersuchungen zur Klinik und Therapie der Encephalitozoonose beim Heimtierkaninchen. Kleintierpraxis 44, 357–372.Google Scholar
Harcourt-Brown, F. M. (2002). Textbook of Rabbit Medicine. Reed Educational and Professional Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
Harcourt-Brown, F. M. and Holloway, H. K. (2003). Encephalitozoon cuniculi in pet rabbits. The Veterinary Record 152, 427–431.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hester, J. D., Varma, M., Bobst, A. M., Ware, M. W., Lindquist, H. D. and Schaefer, F. W. (2002). Species-specific detection of three human-pathogenic microsporidial species from the genus Encephalitozoon via fluorogenic 5′ nuclease PCR assays. Molecular and Cellular Probes 16, 435–444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Halánová, M., Cisláková, L., Valencáková, A., Bálent, P., Adam, J. and Trávnicek, M. (2003). Serological screening of occurrence of antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi in humans and animals in Eastern Slovakia. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine 10, 117–120.Google ScholarPubMed
Horvath, M., Svicky, E. and Sevcikova, Z. (1998). Pathomorphological response to Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection in cyclophosphamide-treated rabbits. Acta Veterinaria Brno 67, 37–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jass, A., Matiasek, K., Hartmann, K., Kuchenhoff, H. and Fisher, A. (2006). Evaluation of Liquor analysis and PCR for diagnosis of encephalitozoonosis in the rabbit. Praktische Tierartz 87, 518–524.Google Scholar
Jass, A., Matiasek, K., Henke, J., Küchenhoff, H., Hartmann, K. and Fischer, A. (2008). Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid in healthy rabbits and rabbits with clinically suspected encephalitozoonosis. The Veterinary Record 162, 618–622.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jeklova, E., Leva, L., Jaglic, Z. and Faldyna, M. (2008). Dexamethasone induced immunosuppression: a rabbit model. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 122, 231–240.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jeklova, E., Jekl, V., Kovarcik, K., Huptman, K., Koudela, B., Neumayerova, H., Knotek, Z. and Faldyna, M. (2010). Usefulness of detection of specific IgM and IgG antibodies for diagnosis of clinical encephalitozoonosis in pet rabbits. Veterinary Parasitology 170, 143–148.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Khan, I. A., Schwartzman, J. D., Kasper, L. H. and Moretto, M. (1999). CD8+ CTLs are essential for protective immunity against Encephalitozoon cuniculi infection. Journal of Immunology 162, 6086–6091.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kunstýr, I., Lev, L. and Naumannm, S. (1986). Humoral antibody response of rabbits to experimental infection with Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Veterinary Parasitology 21, 223–232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Künzel, F. and Joachim, A. (2010). Encephalitozoonosis in rabbits. Parasitology Research 106, 299–309.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mathis, A., Weber, R. and Deplazes, P. (2005). Zoonotic potential of the microsporidia. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 18, 423–445.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schmidt, E. C. and Shadduck, J. A. (1983). Murine encephalitozoonosis model for studying the host-parasite relationship of a chronic infection. Infection and Immunity 40, 936–942.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thomas, C., Finn, M., Twigg, L., Deplazes, P. and Thompson, R. C. (1997). Microsporidia (Encephalitozoon cuniculi) in wild rabbits in Australia. Australian Veterinary Journal 75, 808–810.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Visvesvara, G. S., Moura, H., Leitch, J. and Schwartz, D. A. (1999). Culture and propagation of microsporidia. In The Microsporidia and Microsporidiosis (ed. Wittner, M. and Weiss, L.M.), pp. 363–392. ASM Press, Washington, USA.Google Scholar
Waller, T., Morein, B. and Fabiansson, E. (1978). Humoral immune response to infection with Encephalitozoon cuniculi in rabbits. Laboratory Animals 12, 145–148.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wicher, V., Baughn, R. E., Fuentealba, C., Shadduck, J. A., Abbruscato, F. and Wicher, K. (1991). Enteric infection with an obligate intracellular parasite, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, in an experimental model. Infection and Immunity 59, 2225–2231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolfer, J., Grahn, B., Wilcock, B. and Percy, D. (1993). Phacoclastic uveitis in the rabbits. Progress in Veterinary and Comparative Ophthalmology 3, 92–97.Google Scholar