title: Immunohistochemical study of hepatic fibropoiesis associated with canine visceral leishmaniasis.
abstract: Hepatic fibropoiesis has been confirmed in canine visceral leishmaniasis. In fibrotic disease, hepatic stellate cells (HSC) play an important role in fibropoiesis, undergoing activation by TGF-β to acquire characteristics of myofibroblasts. These cells show extensive capacity for proliferation, motility, contractility, collagen synthesis and extracellular matrix component synthesis. The aim of this work was to identify markers of HSC activation in 10 symptomatic and 10 asymptomatic dogs naturally infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum. Eight uninfected dogs were used as controls. Alpha-actin (α-SMA), vimentin and cytokeratin were investigated by immunohistochemistry as HSC markers. The cytokine TGF-β in tissue was also evaluated by immunohistochemistry. All infected dogs showed higher numbers of reticular fibres than controls. Fibropoiesis found in infected dogs was always associated with the presence of parasites and chronic granulomatous hepatitis. Positive correlation was found among fibropoiesis, parasite tissue load and expression of α-SMA. There was no correlation between fibropoiesis, vimentin and cytokeratin markers. The expression of cytokine TGF-β was higher in infected dogs than in controls, but not significantly different between symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs. These results confirm previous work describing the intense hepatic fibropoiesis in dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum, but now associated them with overexpression of TGF-β, where α-SMA may be a superior marker for activated HSC cells in CVL.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Igor M V M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Madeira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Debora M O
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Aline A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Cesar A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Vilela
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Izabela F G
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Amorim
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcelo V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Caliari
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Carolina C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brasil.
authors.forename: Wagner L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Tafuri
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D004285:Dogs; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D059208:Parasite Load; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000378:metabolism; D014746:Vimentin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D014746:Vimentin; D007633:Keratins
keywords: TGF-β; alpha-actin (α-SMA); canine visceral leishmaniasis; cytokeratin (CK19); hepatic fibrosis; vimentin