title: Multicentric lymphoma in buffaloes in the Amazon region, Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The presence of lymphoma in buffaloes was first reported in India in the 1960s. The disease is similar to Enzootic Bovine Leucosis (EBL) caused by Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) in cattle; however, according to our results and those of other studies, the etiology of these lymphomas in buffalo do not appear to be associated with BLV. The objectives of this study are to describe four cases of the disease in buffaloes belonging to the same herd in the Amazon region of Brazil and to perform a clinical-anatomopathological, immunohistochemical, and etiological study of the lymphomas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Over a period of ten years, four buffaloes were observed presenting progressive weight loss, swelling of peripheral lymph nodes, and nodules in the subcutaneous tissue. Upon necropsy, whitish-colored tumor masses were observed in the form of nodules in the subcutaneous tissue, along with miliary nodules on the serosal surfaces of abdominal and thoracic organs and tumors in lymph nodes and other organs. Neoplastic lymphocyte proliferation was observed through histopathology. An immunohistochemical study revealed that the neoplasias were formed by proliferation of predominantly B lymphocytes. The presence of BLV genome was not detected in the lymphomas when using the real-time PCR technique, nor was it detected through immunohistochemical staining using monoclonal antibodies against two viral proteins. Bovine herpesvirus 6 was not detected in the tumors. However, Bovine immunodeficiency virus (BIV) was detected in samples of lymphoma and in the lymph nodes and kidneys of one of the animals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The occurrence of lymphoma in buffaloes is reported for the first time in Brazil and is characterized by B-cell multicentric lymphoma. The etiology of the disease does not appear to be associated with BLV; however, the detection of BIV in samples of lymphoma from one sick animal deserves further study, considering the oncogenic potential of this virus.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Retroviroses, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|Setor de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Escola de Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cairo H S
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: De Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Hospital Veterinário de Grandes Animais, Instituto de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Pará, Castanhal, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: José D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Barbosa
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Patologia Comparada, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Karine A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Damasceno
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Patologia Comparada, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
authors.forename: Geovanni D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Cassali
authors.affiliation: Hospital Veterinário de Grandes Animais, Instituto de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Pará, Castanhal, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos Mc
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Retroviroses, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.|Hospital Veterinário de Grandes Animais, Instituto de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Pará, Castanhal, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rômulo C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Retroviroses, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Avenida Antônio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. jenner@ufmg.br.
authors.forename: Jenner K P
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Reis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000473:pathology; D001938:Brazil; D002020:Buffaloes; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005260:Female; D016087:Immunodeficiency Virus, Bovine / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male
keywords: BIV; BLV; BoHV-6; Brazil; Buffalo; Lymphoma