Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Pathogenic Strain of Ehrlichia minasensis.

The genus Ehrlichia is composed of tick-borne obligate intracellular gram-negative alphaproteobacteria of the family Anaplasmataceae. Ehrlichia includes important pathogens affecting canids (E. canis, E. chaffeensis, and E. ewingii), rodents (E. muris), and ruminants (E. ruminantium). Ehrlichia minasensis, an Ehrlichia closely related to E. canis, was initially reported in Canada and Brazil. This bacterium has now been reported in Pakistan, Malaysia, China, Ethiopia, South Africa, and the Mediterranean island of Corsica, suggesting that E. minasensis has a wide geographical distribution. Previously, E. minasensis was found to cause clinical ehrlichiosis in an experimentally infected calf. The type strain E. minasensis UFMG-EV was successfully isolated from Rhipicephalus microplus ticks and propagated in the tick embryonic cell line of Ixodes scapularis (IDE8). However, the isolation and propagation of E. minasensis strains from cattle has remained elusive. In this study, the E. minasensis strain Cuiabá was isolated from an eight-month-old male calf of Holstein breed that was naturally infected with the bacterium. The calf presented clinical signs and hematological parameters of bovine ehrlichiosis. The in vitro culture of the agent was established in the canine cell line DH82. Ehrlichial morulae were observed using light and electron microscopy within DH82 cells. Total DNA was extracted, and the full genome of the E. minasensis strain Cuiabá was sequenced. A core-genome-based phylogenetic tree of Ehrlichia spp. and Anaplasma spp. confirmed that E. minasensis is a sister taxa of E. canis. A comparison of functional categories among Ehrlichia showed that E. minasensis has significantly less genes in the 'clustering-based subsystems' category, which includes functionally coupled genes for which the functional attributes are not well understood. Results strongly suggest that E. minasensis is a novel pathogen infecting cattle. The epidemiology of this Ehrlichia deserves further attention because these bacteria could be an overlooked cause of tick-borne bovine ehrlichiosis, with a wide distribution.

Miosite dos músculos mastigatórios em cão da Raça Shar-Pei: relato de caso

A miosite eosinofílica é uma doença imunomediada que acomete cães e caracteriza-se pela produção de anticorpos direcionadoscontra as fibras que constituem os músculos responsáveis pela mastigação. Esse distúrbio apresenta-se nas formas aguda oucrônica. A aguda é a mais comumente encontrada e envolve pseudotrismo, podendo progredir até a impossibilidade da aberturabucal. A forma crônica se caracteriza por atrofia e necrose dos músculos mastigatórios. A dosagem sérica de creatina quinase(CK) e o exame histopatológico do músculo envolvido são importantes para estabelecer o diagnóstico e avaliar a eficácia notratamento realizado. A resposta à terapia e o prognóstico mostram-se melhores quando a doença é tratada em sua forma aguda.Este artigo relata um caso de miosite dos músculos mastigatórios em um canino, fêmea, da raça Shar-Pei, atendido e tratado noHospital Veterinário da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (HOVET/UFMT), com curso de cinco meses. A CK apresentavaseelevada e ao exame histopatológico constatou-se necrose coagulativa, multifocal moderada de fibras musculares, infiltradoperivascular composto por células fagocíticas e frequente regeneração muscular. O animal foi tratado com prednisona (2 mg/kg),uma vez ao dia (SID), durante 20 dias consecutivos e apresentou melhora considerável. Conclui-se que a miosite dos músculosmastigatórios do animal em questão era de caráter i

Alpha-mannosidase activity in goats fed with Sida carpinifolia.

Human alpha-mannosidosis results from alpha-mannosidase deficiency and progressive accumulation of mannose-rich oligosaccharides in lysosomes. Two days before Saanen goats were fed with Sida carpinifolia, alpha-mannosidase activity in leukocytes was 128+/-28 nmoles4-MU/h/mgprotein (first trial) and 104+/-6 nmoles4-MU/h/mgprotein (second trial). At day 5, after the introduction of S. carpinifolia diet, the alpha-mannosidase activity in leukocytes was significantly increased, both in the first (288+/-13 nmoles4-MU/h/mgprotein) and in the second trial (303+/-45 nmoles4-MU/h/mgprotein), and it returned to normal levels 2 days after the withdrawal of the plant from the diet (114+/-7 nmoles4-MU/h/mgprotein in first trial, and 108+/-25 nmoles4-MU/h/mgprotein in the second one). Plasma alpha-mannosidase activity decreased significantly 4 days after animal exposure to the S. carpinifolia diet (769+/-167 nmoles4-MU/h/ml) and returned to normal values 10 days after the withdrawal of the plant from the diet (1289+/-163 nmoles4-MU/h/ml). Thin-layer chromatography showed an abnormal excretion of oligosaccharides in urine as of day 2 after diet exposure, which persisted until one day after the withdrawal of the plant. Animals presented neurological clinical signs beginning at day 37 (in the first trial) and at day 25 (in the second trial) after being fed with the plant. The results obtained herein suggest that oligosaccharides observed in urine are a result of a decrease in alpha-mannosidase activity in plasma. S. carpinifolia seems to have other compounds that act on alpha-mannosidase enzyme in leukocytes in a competitive manner with swainsonine. The increase in alpha-mannosidase enzyme in leukocytes could be attributed to one of these compounds present in S. carpinifolia.