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Clinical outcome and vertical transmission variability among canine Neospora caninum isolates in a pregnant mouse model of infection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 October 2013

ANDREA DELLARUPE ,
JAVIER REGIDOR-CERRILLO ,
ELENA JIMÉNEZ-RUIZ ,
GEREON SCHARES ,
JUAN MANUEL UNZAGA ,
MARÍA CECILIA VENTURINI  and
LUIS M. ORTEGA-MORA
ANDREA DELLARUPE
Affiliation:
SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 60 y 118, 1900 La Plata, Argentina Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
JAVIER REGIDOR-CERRILLO*
Affiliation:
SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
ELENA JIMÉNEZ-RUIZ
Affiliation:
SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
GEREON SCHARES
Affiliation:
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Institute of Epidemiology, Greifswald –Insel Riems, Germany
JUAN MANUEL UNZAGA
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 60 y 118, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
MARÍA CECILIA VENTURINI
Affiliation:
Laboratorio de Inmunoparasitología, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, 60 y 118, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
LUIS M. ORTEGA-MORA
Affiliation:
SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040 Madrid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author: SALUVET, Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Complutense University of Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040-Madrid, Spain. E-mail: jregidor@vet.ucm.es
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Summary

We compared the clinical outcome and vertical transmission of six canine Neospora caninum isolates using a pregnant BALB/c model. Four of the isolates were obtained from oocysts of naturally infected dogs (Nc-Ger2, Nc-Ger3, Nc-Ger6 and Nc-6Arg) and two were from diseased dogs with neurological signs (Nc-Bahia and Nc-Liv). The dams were inoculated with 2×106 tachyzoites of each isolate at day 7 of pregnancy. Morbidity, mortality and the antibody responses were evaluated in both the dams and the offspring, as was parasite transmission to the progeny. The mortality rates varied from 100% in Nc-Bahia and Nc-Liv-infected pups to 19% or less for those infected with the isolates from oocysts. The vertical transmission rates varied from 9 to 53% for N. caninum from oocysts, compared with 100% for the Nc-Liv and Nc-Bahia isolates. All dams showed specific IgG responses against tachyzoite and rNc-GRA7 antigens, confirming Neospora infection. The highest IgG levels were detected in mice inoculated with the Nc-Liv and Nc-Bahia isolates. These results demonstrate marked differences in virulence between the N. caninum isolates obtained from oocysts and neurologically affected dogs. This variability could help us to explain the differences in the outcome of the infection in definitive and intermediate hosts.

Keywords

Neospora caninumcanine isolatesvirulencevertical transmissionpregnant mouse model
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 141 , Issue 3 , March 2014 , pp. 356 - 366
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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