Immunohistochemical characterization of inflammatory and glial responses in a case of necrotizing leucoencephalitis in a French bulldog.
A 3-year-old male French bulldog was presented with blindness, staggering and ataxia and was humanely destroyed due to worsening of the neurological signs. At post-mortem examination a non-suppurative leucoencephalitis with extensive malacia within the forebrain was found. In addition, a bilateral necrotizing optic neuritis and focal retinitis was detected. Immunohistochemistry revealed a CD3(+) T-cell dominated inflammatory response with intralesional reactive astrocytes expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein. Astroglia-like cells expressing vimentin, which is characteristic of immature astrocytes, were found within the malacic lesions. The pathological findings are similar to those described in idiopathic necrotizing leucoencephalitis (NLE) of Yorkshire terriers and substantiate the hypothesis that NLE is not a breed-specific disorder that exclusively affects Yorkshire terriers, but also the French bulldog.
Spitzbarth
I
I
Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Hanover, Germany.
Schenk
H C
HC
Tipold
A
A
Beineke
A
A
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004285:Dogs; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism*; D004684:Leukoencephalitis, Acute Hemorrhagic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000378:metabolism*; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism
D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D014746:Vimentin