Histological and ultrastructural studies of renal lesions in Babesia canis infected dogs treated with imidocarb

Histological and electron microscopic examinations of the kidneys of 8 dogs suffering from fatal, naturally acquired Babesia canis infection and nephropathy are presented. Seven animals were treated with imidocarb dipropionate on average 4.5 days prior to death. Severe anaemia was present only in 2 cases. Degenerative histological changes observed mostly in the proximal convoluted tubules included vacuolar-hydropic degeneration, necrosis and detachment of renal tubular epithelial (RTE) cells from the basement membrane. Necrotic debris occasionally formed acidophilic casts within the tubules. In some cases, necrosis of the whole tubule was observed. Haemoglobin casts in the tubules and haemoglobin droplets in RTE cells seldom appeared. No significant histological changes were seen in the glomeruli. Ultrastructural lesions in RTE cells included nuclear membrane hyperchromatosis, karyopyknosis, karyolysis, swelling or collapse of mitochondria with fragmentation of cristae and vacuolar-hydropic degeneration in the endoplasmic reticulum and microvilli. Nuclear oedema was also observed. Many RTE cells exhibiting necrosis collapsed. Vacuolar-hydropic degeneration and necrosis were also observed in the glomerular and interstitial capillary endothelium. The severe acute tubular necrosis described in this study is probably the result of hypoxic renal injury. Systemic hypotension leading to vasoconstriction in the kidneys might be the most important cause of renal hypoxia in B. canis infections, but anaemia may also contribute to inadequate oxygenation. Imidocarb should be applied with caution in patients with possible renal involvement until further data become available on its potential nephrotoxicity in dogs

Molecular diagnosis of avian nephritis: Preliminary report

Kidney samples from chickens diagnosed with acute nephritis and gout were subjected to histological and electron microscopic examination. The investigations revealed cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the tubular epithelial cells containing round virions of about 30 nm in diameter. Since avian nephritis virus (ANV) is known as a potential causative agent of the so-called baby chick nephropathy, an RT-PCR assay was developed for the molecular detection of ANV-specific nucleic acid in the specimen. The specificity of the assay was confirmed by direct sequencing of the amplicon obtained in the reaction. The nucleotide sequence of the PCR product showed 92% identity with the reference ANV sequence deposited in the GenBank database. After having been validated on some other suspicious cases of avian nephritis, the PCR method described in this study can be a potential tool for routine diagnostic examination of samples submitted from cases of gout and nephropathy in chickens

Haemorrhagic nephritis and enteritis of geese: Pathomorphological investigations and proposed pathogenesis

Haemorrhagic nephritis and enteritis of geese as a new disease was first described in Hungary in 1969. The authors identified the causative agent of the outbreaks occurring in 1969 as a polyomavirus by PCR in 2001. In order to study the pathogenesis of the virus, one-day-old goslings were infected with tissue homogenate that tested positive for polyomavirus by PCR. Morphological, light and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examinations have revealed that goose haemorrhagic polyomavirus replicates in the endothelial cells of the blood vessels and capillaries of diseased birds. Infection causes damage and necrosis of the endothelial cells. The virus was not observed in the parenchymal cells. Oedema and haemorrhages found throughout the body may be due to the dysfunction or functional deficiency of endothelial cells damaged by the virus

A case of equine abortion caused by Encephalitozoon sp.

A Lippizan mare aborted a male fetus a few days before the expected foaling date without showing any clinical sings. Focal lympho-histiocytic hepatitis in the foal and multiplex focal lympho-histiocytic villitis accompanied by villus necroses and marked hypertrophy of chorionic epithelial cells in the arcades were observed. Elongated nucleated organisms were seen in groups in vacuoles or solitarily located in the cytoplasm of the chorionic epithelial cells. The organisms were in large numbers and often extracellularly in areas of villitis and villus necroses. They were Gram-positive, stained with haematoxylin and eosin (HE), periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Giemsa, weakly with Warthin-Starry silver stain but not with Gömöri’s methenamine-silver stain. By ultrastructural and immunohistochemical examinations, the organisms were identified as microsporidia belonging to the genus Encephalitozoon . No Encephalitozoon organisms were detected in the fetal organs. This is the first reported case of equine abortion induced by Encephalitozoon sp. in Europe. Although abortion induced by Encephalitozoon is rare, microsporidia should be considered a differential diagnosis for intracellular organisms observed in the chorionic epithelial cells of horses

Multipoint interphase FISH in childhood T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia detects subpopulations that carry different chromosome 3 aberrations

We examined chromosome 3 in 32 childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) bone marrow samples. Using interphase multipoint FISH (mp-FISH), which was developed by our group, with 42 chromosome 3-specific probes, we detected clonal chromosome 3 aberrations in 4 T-cell ALL (T-ALL) cases. Four out of seven T-ALL cases carried 3q trisomies. One T-ALL case carried either trisomy 3 (in 15% of the cells) or a 23-megabase (Mb) 3p13 approximately p12 deletion in a different subpopulation of cells of 32%. Another T-ALL case had either 3q trisomy in 11% or a 12-Mb 3p12 approximately p13 deletion in 19% of the cells. The deletions were overlapping. In both cases, the majority of the bone marrow cells (47 and 70%, respectively) were normal chromosome 3 disomics. The interstitial deletions detected harbor a known homozygous deletion region between 72.6 and 78.8 Mb, which has been described in lung and breast tumors and contains the DUTT1/ROBO1 tumor suppressor gene. These deletions detected by mp-FISH would have remained unnoticed by conventional cytogenetics and multiplex FISH, as well as by current methods based on total tumor DNA analysis such as comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), array CGH, and loss of heterozygosity (LOH)

Occurrence of atypical myxomatosis in Central Europe: Clinical and virological examinations

An outbreak of the atypical form of myxomatosis struck a rabbit farm in Hungary. The animals had previously been vaccinated with a vaccine containing Shope rabbit fibroma virus strain. The disease appeared in winter when the presence of mosquitoes and fleas is not common. The virus was isolated from an eyelid specimen of a naturally infected rabbit. The surviving animals were observed for four weeks, blood samples were collected and, after euthanasia, organ specimens were also examined by morphological methods including pathology and electron microscopy. Serum samples were examined by virus neutralisation for antibodies. Genetic analysis of the isolated virus was carried out by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing. The primers were designed on the basis of the major envelope gene (Env) of the Lausanne reference strain in the GenBank. The viral proteins were examined by SDS-PAGE. The isolated virus (ref. no.: BP04/2001) was able to infect the susceptible animals directly, by contact. The disease was characterised by respiratory symptoms of the upper tracheal tract, conjunctivitis and high mortality by the 11th-14th day. Aerogenic infection with strain BP04/2001 resulted in 100% morbidity among the susceptible animals. Sequencing of the amplified 400-bp-long DNA revealed 97% homology with the Env gene of the Lausanne strain, which proves that strain BP04/2001 is a variant of the Lausanne strain having been enzootic throughout Europe. The live vaccine strain used in Hungary against myxomatosis, which is also a Lausanne-derived strain, protected the animals. According to the protein analysis a protein of 200 kDa in size is not expressed in strain BP04/2001. This is the first report on atypical myxomatosis in Central Europe. The virus spreads by airborne transmission and may cause severe losses in the rabbit population

Experimental study on the role of Brachyspira alvinipulli in intestinal spirochaetosis of geese

Ten one-day-old goslings were inoculated orally with a Brachyspira alvinipulli strain isolated from the large intestine of geese that had died of intestinal spirochaetosis (Group A), 10 day-old goslings were inoculated orally with a B. hyodysenteriae strain (Group B), and a third group of 10 goslings (Group C) served as uninfected control. The goslings were observed daily for clinical signs. They were sacrificed on days 7, 14, 21 and 35 days postinfection (PI), and necropsied. Segments of the large intestine were subjected to histopathological, immunohistochemical, electron microscopic (TEM, SEM) and microbiological examinations. Mortality did not occur during the experimental period. However, in both groups the caecum of the goslings killed by bleeding was slightly dilated, in its lumen there was a watery, yellowish and frothy content, and the mucous membrane was slightly swollen. By histopathological, immunohistochemical and electron microscopic examination, B. alvinipulli and B. hyodysenteriae could be detected in the caecum or colon, in the lumen of the glands and sometimes among the glandular epithelial cells in goslings of the respective groups, and could be reisolated from these organs by culturing. A mild inflammation of the intestinal mucosa was also noted. In transverse section of the brachyspirae, numerous (16–22) periplasmic flagella could be detected inside the outer sheath, also depending on the plane of section