title: Clinical, hematological and biochemical alterations in hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) experimentally infected with Leishmania infantum through different routes of inoculation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leishmaniasis remains among the most important parasitic diseases in the developing world and visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is the most fatal. The hamster Mesocricetus auratus is a susceptible model for the characterization of the disease, since infection of hamsters with L. infantum reproduces the clinical and pathological features of human VL. In this context, it provides a unique opportunity to study VL in its active form. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the clinical, biochemical, and hematological changes in male hamsters infected through different routes and strains of L. infantum.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the current study, hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) were infected with the L. infantum strains (WHO/MHOM/BR/74/PP75 and MCAN/BR/2008/OP46) by intradermal, intraperitoneal and intracardiac routes. The animals were monitored for a nine month follow-up period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The hamsters showed clinical signs similar to those observed in classical canine and human symptomatic VL, including splenomegaly, severe weight loss, anemia, and leucopenia. Therefore the OP46 strain was more infective, clinical signs were more frequent and more exacerbated in IC group with 80 to 100 % of the animals showing splenomegaly, in the last month infection. Additionally, desquamation, hair loss and external mucocutaneous lesions and ulcers localized in the snout, accompanied by swelling of the paws in all animals, were observed. Consequently, the animals presented severe weight loss/cachexia, hunched posture, an inability to eat or drink, and non-responsiveness to external stimuli. Furthermore, regardless of strain, route of inoculum and time assessed, the animals showed renal and hepatic alterations, with increased serum levels of urea and creatinine as well as elevated serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results strongly suggest that the inoculation through the intracardiac route resulted in a higher severity among infections, especially in the sixth and ninth month after infection via intracardiac, exhibited clinical manifestations and biochemical/hematological findings similar to human visceral leishmaniasis. Therefore, we suggest that this route must be preferentially used in experimental infections for pathogenesis studies of VL in the hamster model.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas/NUPEB, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.|Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Nádia das Dores
authors.initials: Nd
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas/NUPEB, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Juliana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vitoriano-Souza
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas/NUPEB, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Bruno Mendes
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Roatt
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Morfopatologia, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Paula Melo de Abreu
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Wendel
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Coura-Vital
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas/NUPEB, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Jamille Mirelle de Oliveira
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cardoso
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas/NUPEB, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Mariana Trevisan
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Rezende
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Henrique Gama
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Ker
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Biologia das Interações Celulares, Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Rodolfo Cordeiro
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Giunchetti
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas/NUPEB, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.|Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil.
authors.forename: Claudia Martins
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Carneiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunopatologia, Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas/NUPEB, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil. alexreisufop@gmail.com.|Laboratório de Pesquisas Clínicas, Departamento de Análises Clínicas, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brasil. alexreisufop@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alexandre Barbosa
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Reis
mesh_terms: D000825:Animal Structures / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007271:Injections, Intradermal; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000473:pathology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008647:Mesocricetus; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Experimental infection; Hamster; Hematological and biochemical alterations; Leishmania infantum; Mesocricetus auratus