A compared histopathological study on kidneys and eye bulbs in distinct clinical presentations of canine leishmaniasis by Leishmania infantum

• Published in: Veterinary research communications Vol. 48; no. 4; pp. 2243 - 2261
• Main Authors: dos Santos, Roseclea Chagas, Estrela-Lima, Alessandra, Conrado-dos-Santos, Washington Luís, Oriá, Arianne, de Sousa Gonçalves, Rafaela, Silva, Danielle Nascimento, Larangeira, Daniela Farias, do Socorro Pires e Cruz, Maria, de Pinho, Flaviane Alves, Barrouin-Melo, Stella Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-08-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Basement membranes; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bulbs; Comparative analysis; Dog Diseases - parasitology; Dog Diseases - pathology; Dogs; Eye - parasitology; Eye - pathology; Eye diseases; Female; Fibrosis; Glomerulonephritis; Glomerulus; Kidney - parasitology; Kidney - pathology; Kidney diseases; Kidneys; Leishmania infantum; Leishmaniasis; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - parasitology; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - pathology; Leishmaniasis, Visceral - veterinary; Lesions; Life Sciences; Male; Parasitic diseases; Uveitis; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Zoology; Glomerulonephritis; Ophthalmic; Retinitis; Pathophysiology; Renal; Dogs
• ISSN: 0165-7380; 1573-7446; 1573-7446
• DOI: 10.1007/s11259-024-10379-z

Canine leishmaniasis (CanL) caused by 
Leishmania infantum
 commonly progresses with renal and ophthalmic lesions associated with active systemic disease. As chronic inflammation related to immune complex deposits is a pathophysiological factor in the development of both glomerulonephritis and uveitis, we aimed to evaluate renal and ocular histopathological lesions and analyze whether they were related to each other and the clinical degree of the disease. For that, we evaluated 15 dogs from CanL-endemic areas. 
L. infantum
 PCR-positive dogs were studied according to disease severity into two different groups: Group-1 (G1) had data from seven dogs with mild to moderate CanL and no history of treatment, and G2 was formed with eight dogs with severe to terminal disease that had not responded to CanL treatment. Histopathological analysis of kidneys showed higher frequencies and intensities of glomerular basement membrane thickening (
p
 = 0.026), deposits in glomeruli (
p
 = 0.016), epithelial necrosis (
p
 = 0.020), tubular dilatation (
p
 = 0.003) and interstitial fibrosis (
p
 = 0.04) in G2 dogs than in G1 dogs. Surprisingly, the histopathology of eye bulbs showed a higher frequency and intensity of retinitis (
p
 = 0.019) in G1 dogs than in G2 dogs. The comparative analysis showed that there was no correspondence between histopathological findings in kidneys versus eyes in milder or more severe CanL. Our findings suggested that (1) clinically undetectable eye alterations can be more precocious than those in kidneys in the development of CanL, and (2) the lower frequency of eye lesions and higher frequency of renal lesions in dogs with terminal disease even after treatment indicate that therapy may have been effective in reducing CanL-associated ophthalmic disease but not proportionally in reducing kidney disease.