Experimental infection with Neospora caninum in pregnant bitches.
In this study, transplacental transmission of Neospora caninum in bitches at different stages of pregnancy was evaluated. Three bitches were inoculated in the 3rd week and three in the 6th week of gestation with 10(8) tachyzoites of N. caninum (Nc-1 strain). All the infected bitches and at least one of their offspring presented anti-N. caninum antibodies according to the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT > 400). The pups and their mothers were sacrificed and tissues from the central nervous system (CNS), popliteal lymph nodes, skeletal muscle, brain, lungs, heart and liver were analyzed for the presence of N. caninum using the nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). The parasite was found in the pups in lymph node, CNS, heart and liver tissues using nested PCR. There was no difference in perinatal mortality between the offspring from bitches infected in the 3rd week of gestation (60%) and in the 6th week (53.8%).
Departamento de Parasitologia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
Guacyara Tenorio
GT
Cavalcante
Rodrigo Martins
RM
Soares
Sandra Mayumi
SM
Nishi
Stéfano Carlo Filippo
SC
Hagen
Camila Infantoni
CI
Vannucchi
Paulo Cesar
PC
Maiorka
Anaiá Sevá
AS
Paixão
Solange Maria
SM
Gennari
D000818:Animals; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D018688:Neospora; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000662:veterinary*