Dogs as a model for chemotherapy of Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta de Lana ◽  
Rodolfo Cordeiro Giunchetti

Background: Dogs are natural reservoir of Chagas disease (CD) and Leishmaniasis and have been used for studies of these infections as they develop different clinical forms of these diseases similar to humans. Objective: This revision describes publications in dog model relative to CD and Leishmaniasis chemotherapy. Methods: The search of articles was based in PubMed, Scopus and MESH using the keywords: dog, Trypanosoma cruzi, treatment (T. cruzi chemotherapy analysis) in addition to dog, Leishmania chagasi, Leishmania infantum, canine visceral leishmaniasis, treatment (Leishmania chemotherapy evaluation). Results: Benznidazole and nifurtimox were used as reference in the treatment of CD and associated with other compounds. Eleven out of the fifteen studies have authors from the same team, using similar protocols and post-treatment evaluations, which assured more reproducibility and credibility. Twenty Leishmaniasis studies, especially in visceral leishmaniasis, presenting at least one parasitological analysis tested in distinct monochemotherapy and polychemotherapy approaches were accessed. Data demonstrated that polychemotherapy was more effective in improving the clinical signs and parasitism control. Conclusion: The benefits of treatment in terms of reducing or eliminating lesions and/or cardiac dysfunctions were demonstrated at acute and/or chronic phases relative to parasite load and/or the T. cruzi strain resistance to treatment. BZ presented better therapeutic results than the two EBI compounds evaluated. Although treatment of the canine visceral leishmaniasis was not able to induce complete parasite clearance, it can improve clinical recovery. Thus, the dog is a good model for CD and Leishmaniasis studies of chemotherapy and may be indicated for pre-clinical trials of new treatments.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Momo ◽  
Ana Paula Prudente Jacintho ◽  
Pamela Rodrigues Reina Moreira ◽  
Danísio Prado Munari ◽  
Gisele Fabrino Machado ◽  
...  

The aim of this study was to evaluate the most frequent lesions in the bone marrow of dogs naturally infected byLeishmania (Leishmania) chagasi.Thirty-three dogs sacrificed at the Zoonosis Control Center of Araçatuba, a municipality endemic for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), were used. The animals were classified as asymptomatic, oligosymptomatic, and symptomatic groups. At the necropsy, bone marrow samples were collected from the femur, fixed, processed, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. The lesion intensity was classified as mild, moderate, or severe. The parasite load was determined using immunohistochemistry. The most important lesions consisted of multifocal to diffuse granulomas, megakaryocytic dysplasia, and medullary aplasia. There were no statistical differences between the three clinical groups regarding parasite load and lesion intensity. Asymptomatic dogs also presented high parasitism in the bone marrow as dogs with clinical signs of VL. It was concluded that, regardless of clinical group, the bone marrow is a site for multiplication ofLeishmania chagasi. Possibly, the bone marrow dysplasia may arise from the presence of many parasitized and activated macrophages in this organ. Consequently, it affects the profile of hematopoietic cells in the bone marrow and systemic circulation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-219
Author(s):  
Cássia Regina de Abreu ◽  
Ana Cláudia Parpinelli ◽  
Romeika Reis de Lima ◽  
Luis Gustavo Gosuen Gonçalves Dias ◽  
Lucas de Freitas Pereira ◽  
...  

Visceral leishmaniasis is an infectious disease of chronic, emerging and zoonotic nature that presents various degrees of severity. In Brazil, this illness is caused by Leishmania infantum (Leishmania chagasi), which is transmitted by the bite of the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis, and dogs are its main reservoir. Given the increasing spread of this disease across Brazil, the aim of this study was to report on six cases of canine visceral leishmaniasis, diagnosed in June 2013, in the city of Pedregulho, State of São Paulo, considered to be a non-endemic area and free of phlebotomine sand flies. The diagnosis was based on clinical signs of the patients and additional tests (serological and parasitological). It was concluded that the diagnosis of leishmaniasis is complex because the clinical signs are similar to other systemic diseases, thus justifying the importance of parasitological test of bone marrow, considered "gold standard", in the confirmation of the disease. In addition, the area was not, until now, considered risk place, despite notification.


2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique Paiva de Campos ◽  
Denise Amaro da Silva ◽  
Maria de Fátima Madeira ◽  
Artur Augusto Mendes Velho Júnior ◽  
Fabiano Borges Figueiredo

In Brazil, American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) is caused byLeishmania (Leishmania) chagasi and its main vector isLutzomyia longipalpis. Cases of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in non-endemic areas have been reported over the last few years throughout the country. The objective of this research note is to describe an autochthonous case of CVL that occurred in the municipality of Volta Redonda, state of Rio de Janeiro, an area where the disease is not endemic, alerting veterinarians and the scientific community to the expansion of this important zoonosis and advising veterinary practitioners on how to deal with a suspicion of CVL. Canine visceral leishmaniasis can be misdiagnosed within a broad spectrum of canine diseases based on clinical and laboratory findings. Therefore, knowledge of its clinical manifestations, specific and sensitive laboratory diagnostic tests and parasitological procedures are of the utmost importance for rapid confirmation and notification of a case, thus contributing directly to the control of a focus.


2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 435-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Amaro da SILVA ◽  
Maria de Fátima MADEIRA ◽  
Fabiano Borges FIGUEIREDO

SUMMARY Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) is a vector-borne disease that affects humans, and domestic and wild animals. It is caused by the protozoan Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum (syn = Leishmania chagasi). The domestic dog (Canis familiaris) is considered the main reservoir of the etiologic agent of VL in domestic and peridomestic environments. In the past three years, although control actions involving domestic dogs are routinely performed in endemic areas of the Rio de Janeiro State, new cases of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) have been reported in several municipalities. The objective of this short communication was to describe the geographical expansion of CVL in the Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, through its reports in the scientific literature and studies performed by our group. From 2010 to 2013, autochthonous and allochthonous cases of CVL were reported in the municipalities of Mangaratiba, Marica, Niteroi, Barra Mansa, Cachoeiras de Macacu, Volta Redonda, Resende and Rio de Janeiro. These reports demonstrate that CVL is in intense geographical expansion around the state; therefore, a joint effort by public agencies, veterinarians and researchers is needed in order to minimize and/or even prevent the dispersion of this disease.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinicius Soares Carreira ◽  
Heitor Flávio Ferrari ◽  
Ingeborg Maria Langohr ◽  
Charles Mackenzie ◽  
Luiz Carlos Montezzo ◽  
...  

Leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease withLeishmania chagasibeing the etiological agent of canine visceral leishmaniasis in South America. Canine venereal tumor is a transplantable round cell tumor of histiocytic origin which is mostly observed in sexually active male and female intact dogs. It has been shown thatLeishmaniaamastigotes have higher tropism for the canine male genital tract tissues and venereal leishmaniasis transmission has been documented in dogs but, to date, a canine venereal tumor-dependent transmission route has not been fully demonstrated. In this report, a 10-year-old, mixed breed, intact female dog presented a vaginal venereal transmissible tumor but no other clinical abnormalities otherwise. Unexpectedly, tumor tissue imprint smears examination revealedLeishmaniasp. amastigotes within infiltrating macrophages. In addition to the cytological direct identification, the protozoan was confirmed within the neoplastic tissue by means of immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction. This report illustrates an asymptomaticLeishmaniasp. infection that may have started on or from the canine venereal tumor tissue, the latter option further supporting previous evidence of such an alternative vector-independent route of transmission for canine visceral leishmaniasis in areas where these diseases coexist.


2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabiano B. Figueiredo ◽  
Maria F. Madeira ◽  
Lílian D. Nascimento ◽  
Tuanne R. Abrantes ◽  
Eliame Mouta-confort ◽  
...  

The Brazilian Ministry of Health recommends the culling and euthanasia of dogs with a positive serological test for canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL). In the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro, the technique used for the diagnosis of CVL is the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT), using blood samples eluted on filter paper (eluate). A dog survey was conducted over a period of one year in the region of Carapiá, in order to evaluate the diagnosis of CVL in this region. All animals underwent clinical examination, and blood samples (serum and eluate) were collected for analysis by enzyme immunoassay (ELISA) and IFAT. A skin biopsy was obtained for parasitological examination (culture). A total of 305 animals were studied and Leishmania chagasi was isolated from nine animals. Sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 96.6% for ELISA, respectively, 100% and 65.5% for IFAT (cut-off at a 1:40 dilution), 100% and 83.4% for IFAT (cut-off at a 1:80 dilution), and 22.2% and 97.0% for eluate IFAT. In conclusion, ELISA was the best tool for the diagnosis of CVL among the serological techniques tested. The present results suggest the need for a better evaluation of filter paper IFAT as the only diagnostic method for CVL in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro.


2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1774-1780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo A. F. Coelho ◽  
Laura Ramírez ◽  
Mariana A. F. Costa ◽  
Vinicio T. S. Coelho ◽  
Vivian T. Martins ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT In the present work, we have analyzed the antigenicity of Leishmania species ribosomal proteins (LRPs). To accomplish this, Leishmania infantum ribosomes were biochemically purified from promastigote cytosolic extracts, and their reactivities were analyzed by using the sera from dogs naturally infected with L. infantum. Since antibodies reacting against different ribosomal proteins were observed in all the serum samples obtained from dogs with symptomatic visceral leishmaniasis tested, we have analyzed the potential usefulness of the LRP extracts in the development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serodiagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) in an area of Brazil where visceral leishmaniasis is endemic due to infection by Leishmania chagasi. A comparative ELISA with crude soluble Leishmania chagasi antigen (SLA) and L. infantum LRPs was performed. LRP- and SLA-based ELISAs gave similar sensitivities for the diagnosis of symptomatic CVL, but the LRP extract provided a very high sensitivity for the detection of oligosymptomatic and asymptomatic dogs. In addition, an LRP-based ELISA showed a higher specificity when the sera from dogs harboring other infections were included in the analysis. The LRP antigen displayed no cross-reactivity with sera from dogs that had any of the other diseases tested, notably, Chagas' disease. Our findings suggest that LRPs are a potential tool for the diagnosis of CVL and will be particularly useful for the diagnosis of asymptomatic CVL.


2009 ◽  
Vol 162 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 32-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Henrique da Costa Pinheiro ◽  
Adriana Nunes Pinheiro ◽  
Josie Haydée Lima Ferreira ◽  
Francisco Assis Lima Costa ◽  
Simone Katz ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mário César Rennó ◽  
Amanda Otoni Vasconcellos ◽  
Rogerio Rodrigues Santos ◽  
Rodrigo Otávio Silveira Silva ◽  
Rubens Antônio Carneiro ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT: Leishmaniasis represents a complex of chronic diseases with a broad geographic distribution and a high significance in public health worldwide. The varied clinical signs in conjunction with the low sensitivity and specificity of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) detection methods make diagnosis of the disease complex. Among the several available laboratory tests, studies have suggested that the detection of parasites in synovial fluid (SF) is a good auxiliary tool in the diagnosis of CVL. However, no study has evaluated the influence of the clinical stage of CVL in the detection of Leishmania sp. in SF. This study aimed to evaluate the detection of Leishmania sp. amastigotes in the SF of dogs at different stages of the disease. The negative control group (G1) comprised 12 dogs that tested negative for CVL. Thirty-six other dogs, tested serologically positive for CVL, were divided into two groups: Group 2 (G2), which included animals at stage II of the disease (moderate; n=18), and Group 3 (G3) included animals at stage III of the disease (severe; n=18). The analysis of SF revealed the presence of parasites in six (33.3%) dogs from G2 and in 16 (88.9%) dogs from G3 (p=0.0437). The present research suggested that SF analysis is of high value as a supplementary tool in the diagnosis of CVL. As a new finding, the present study also indicated that this test has a higher sensitivity in animals presenting with more severe stage of the disease.


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