title: Antibody kinetics in goats and conceptuses naturally infected with Neospora caninum.
abstract: Neospora caninum is a protozoan which can cause abortions in caprines. However, information regarding the humoral immune response and the occurrence of reproductive disorders is scarce. This is the first study in which the kinetics of antibodies is studied in pregnant goats naturally infected by N. caninum, as well as their respective conceptuses. The subclasses of IgG (IgG1 and IgG2) were also evaluated in pregnant goats. Reproductive problems related to neosporosis (abortion and stillbirth) occurred in 15.38% of the goats. There was a statistically significant association between the increased titres of maternal IgG in the second half of the gestational period with the occurrence of endogenous transplacental transmission. The rate of congenital transmission was 77%. During the gestational period of the seropositive goats, there was mainly a predominance of the subclass IgG2, although mixed patterns of IgG2-IgG1 and the IgG1 pattern were also observed. These results indicate that N. caninum is responsible for the occurrence of important alterations in the humoral immune response of naturally infected goats, and is also a potential causative agent for reproductive disorders in goats. The high proportion of infected conceptuses reinforces the suggestion that congenital infection is one of the main routes of parasite transmission in goats.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Caixa Postal 3037, CEP 37.200-000, Lavras, MG, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leonardo P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Mesquita
authors.forename: Clayton I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.forename: Rafael C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Débora R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Orlando
authors.forename: Fábio R P
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Bruhn
authors.forename: Priscila F R
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: Karen Y R
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Nakagaki
authors.forename: Ana P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Peconick
authors.forename: Josilene N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Seixas
authors.forename: Pedro S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.forename: Djeison L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Raymundo
authors.forename: Mary S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Varaschin
mesh_terms: D037881:Aborted Fetus / Q000469:parasitology; D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect / Q000662:veterinary; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology*; D006041:Goats; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D018688:Neospora / Q000276:immunology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary; D050497:Stillbirth / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G
keywords: Caprine; IgG antibodies; Neosporosis; Transplacental infection