Dogs play a potential role as reservoirs for zoonotic parasites, being especially problematic uncontrolled dog populations such as stray and farm dogs with access to populated areas. In order to investigate the prevalence of canine intestinal parasites in at-risk dog populations, we tested a total of 233 faecal samples shed by stray and dairy farm dogs from northern Spain. Telemann method was used to detect the presence of eggs and (oo)cysts of common dog intestinal parasites and Cryptosporidium was detected by PCR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Bovine neosporosis, one of the main causes of reproductive failure in cattle worldwide, poses a challenge for the immune system of pregnant cows. Changes in the Th-1/Th-2 balance in the placenta during gestation have been associated with abortion. Cotyledon and caruncle cell layers form the maternal-foetal interface in the placenta and are able to recognize and induce immune responses against Neospora caninum among other pathogens.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neospora caninum, one of the main causes of abortion in cattle, is very effective at crossing the placental barrier and placental damage is crucial in the pathogenesis of abortion. Bovine trophoblast and caruncular cell layers are key cellular components in the maternal-foetal interface in placentomes, playing a fundamental role in placental functionality.
Methods: We studied tachyzoite adhesion, invasion, proliferation and egress of high- (Nc-Spain7) and low- (Nc-Spain1H) virulence N.
Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum are two major abortifacient protozoans in domestic small ruminants and cattle, respectively, and they also parasitize a wide range of wildlife. Numerous serosurveys have been conducted in wild ruminants worldwide. However, the potential effect of different ecosystems and management practices on these infections has not been investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPathogenesis of bovine neosporosis is determined by different host- and parasite-dependent factors, including isolate virulence. A previous study identified that several Neospora caninum tachyzoite proteins were more abundant in virulent isolates, Nc-Liv and Nc-Spain7, compared with the low-virulent isolate Nc-Spain1H. Herein, we explored differences in the immunomes of these three isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis work studies the influence of Neospora caninum intra-species diversity on abortion outcome, infection dynamics in terms of parasite dissemination and peripheral-local immune responses in pregnant cattle. Animals were intravenously inoculated at day 70 of pregnancy with 10⁷ tachyzoites of two isolates showing marked differences in virulence in vitro and in pregnant mouse models: Nc-Spain7, a high virulence isolate, and Nc-Spain8, a low-to-moderate virulence isolate. After inoculation, pregnancy was monitored, and dams were culled when foetal death was detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the present study was to identify the species and/or genotypes of Cryptosporidium and Giardia duodenalis infecting roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Galicia (NW Spain). The presence of both enteropathogens was investigated in 212 faecal samples from roe deer shot in diverse game preserves in three different areas of Galicia. The samples were analyzed by immunofluorescence microscopy and PCR amplification, and fragments of the 18S SSU rRNA gene of Cryptosporidium and the β-giardin gene of G.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of the present study was to identify the species of Cryptosporidium infecting Eurasian wild boars (Sus scrofa) in Galicia (NW, Spain). A sampling of 209 wild boars shot in different game preserves was carried out during the hunting season in 2009-2010. All samples were examined for Cryptosporidium infection, using both immunological and molecular tools.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA study was conducted to investigate the presence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Antarctic marine mammals. A total of 270 faecal samples from different species of pinnipeds from different locations in the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula were analysed by immunofluorescence microscopy and PCR. Cryptosporidium was detected by PCR in three samples from Southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) and 2 Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies was investigated in Antarctic marine mammals. Two hundred and eleven sera from different species of pinnipeds collected in years 2007, 2010 and 2011 from different locations in the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula were analysed using a commercially available agglutination test kit. The presence of antibodies (titres ≥ 1:25) against T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeospora caninum is a cyst-forming parasite that has been recognised worldwide as a cause of cattle abortion and neuromuscular disease in dogs. Variations in genetic profiles, behaviour in vitro, and pathogenicity have been established among N. caninum isolates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we examined the in vitro invasion and proliferation capacities of the Nc-Liv and ten Spanish Neospora caninum isolates (Nc-Spain 1 H - Nc-Spain 10). The invasion rate was determined as the number of tachyzoites that completed their internalisation into MARC-145 cells at 2, 4, and 6 h post-inoculation (pi). The proliferation rate was evaluated by determining the doubling time during the exponential proliferation period.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in 221 fecal samples from different species of Antarctic pinnipeds was investigated by immunofluorescence microscopy and PCR. Cryptosporidium, a skunk-like genotype, was detected only in a southern elephant seal. Giardia was not detected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, the protection afforded by a Neospora caninum inactivated vaccine formulated with three different adjuvants (water-in-oil emulsion, aluminum hydroxide with CpG oligodeoxynucleotides and aluminum hydroxide with ginseng extract) and three different parasite doses (10(5), 5 × 10(5) or 10(6) inactivated whole tachyzoites) was evaluated using a mouse model. Mice were immunized subcutaneously twice at three-week intervals with inactivated Nc-Spain 1H tachyzoites and challenged by intraperitoneal inoculation with 10(6) live Nc-1 tachyzoites. The efficacy of the immunization was evaluated in non-pregnant BALB/c mice on days 1 and 5 (acute infection phase) and days 14 and 30 (chronic infection phase) post-challenge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn a previous study, farm and stray dogs were considered potential high risk populations of Neospora caninum infection in Spain. Consequently, we decided to investigate the significance of N. caninum infection in these populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious assays in pregnant animals have demonstrated the effect of different host factors and timing of infection on the outcome of neosporosis during pregnancy. However, the influence of Neospora caninum isolate itself has been poorly investigated. Here, we compared the effects on clinical outcome and vertical transmission observed in a pregnant mouse model following infection with 10 different N.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, we characterized 8 new isolates obtained from healthy but congenitally infected calves using a BALB/c mouse model. Neospora caninum-infected mice survived without exhibiting any clinical signs of disease. Nevertheless, differences among isolates in parasite organ distribution, parasite burden and the severity of histopathological lesions were determined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report here on the development of a nested PCR procedure for the application of Neospora caninum microsatellite markers to clinical samples. Genotyping technology by fluorescently labelled DNA fragment analysis was used in combination with DNA sequencing for those markers which show additional SNPs or complex repetitive sequences. Twenty-nine DNA samples from naturally infected bovine aborted foetuses from two regions of Spain where N.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFApicomplexan parasites include many parasites of importance either for livestock or as causative agents of human diseases. The importance of these parasites has been recognised by the European Commission and resulted in support of the COST (Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action 857 'Apicomplexan Biology in the Post-Genomic Era'. In this review we discuss the current understanding in 'Biodiversity and Population Genetics' of the major apicomplexan parasites, namely the Eimeria spp.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeospora caninum is a cyst-forming parasite that causes abortion in cattle. Despite this parasite's ubiquitous distribution and wide host range, the number of N. caninum isolates obtained to date is limited.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBesnoitia besnoiti was isolated from a skin biopsy of a chronically infected cow from central Spain. Zoites released from macroscopic cysts were adapted to its culture in vitro on a MARC-145 cell monolayer. Tachyzoites produced in vitro were either cryopreserved or used for genomic DNA isolation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this study, Neospora caninum seroprevalence and some associated risk factors were investigated in four different dog populations in Spain. N. caninum seropositivity was significantly higher in farm dogs (51%, 51/100) (P<0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA Neospora caninum 17 kDa protein fraction (p17) has been described as an immunodominant antigen (IDA) under reducing and non-reducing conditions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the diagnostic utility of p17 in cattle. In order to achieve this, p17 was purified by electroelution from whole N.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA Neospora caninum 17-19 kDa antigenic protein fraction (p17) in one-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) is the immunodominant antigen recognized by sera from bovines naturally infected by N. caninum. To identify the proteins making up the p17 fraction, we screened a new N.
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