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Cryptococcus gattii-Induced Infections in Dogs from Southern Brazil

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Abstract

Cryptococcus gattii-induced cryptococcosis is an emerging infectious disease of humans and animals worldwide, with rare descriptions of this infection in domestic animals from Brazil. This study presents the findings associated with C. gattii in dogs from Londrina, Paraná, Southern Brazil. Two dogs, a 3-year-old, female German shepherd and a 6-year-old, male Boxer, were evaluated by a combination of pathological, mycological, and molecular diagnostic techniques. Significant pathological alterations included cryptococcal lymphadenitis, meningoencephalitis, tonsillitis, and rhinitis with nasal cryptococcomas in the German shepherd dog, while cryptococcal lymphadenitis and pneumonia were observed in the Boxer; both dogs had pseudocystic cryptococcosis. The mucicarmine histochemical stain readily identified the intralesional cryptococcal budding organisms in all affected tissues. Mycological culture and isolation confirmed the yeasts as C. gattii due to positive reaction with the l-canavanine glycine bromothymol blue agar. A PCR assay using the internal transcribed spacers (ITS)1 and ITS2 primers, which target the ITS1 and 2 regions including the 5.8S rRNA gene, amplified the desired amplicons; direct sequencing confirmed the isolate as C. gattii. ITS nucleotide differentiation demonstrated that the isolate forms part of the ITS type 4 Cryptococcus organisms which corresponds to the C. gattii VGII molecular subtype or the RAPD type 2 Cryptococcus organisms. Collectively, these findings confirmed the participation of C. gattii in the etiopathogenesis of the lesions observed in these dogs and expanded the epidemiological niche of this important mycotic agent to include Southern Brazil. It is noteworthy to mention that previous epidemiological studies have suggested that C. gattii-induced cryptococcosis is more frequently diagnosed in Northern relative to Southern Brazil, so these findings might suggest an expansion of the distribution of this agent within continental Brazil.

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Acknowledgments

Selwyn A. Headley, Amauri A. Alfieri, and Ana Paula F. R. L. Bracarense are recipients of the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq; Brazil) fellowships and grants. The authors thank the owners of these dogs for the usage of these animals during this investigation. In addition, sincere appreciation is extended to Dr. Rogério A. Marcasso for the preparation of the histochemical stains and Dr. Aline Artioli Machado Yamamura for assisting with the mycological characterization used during this investigation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Animal Pathology, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Rodovia Celso Garcia Cid, PR 445 Km 380, Campus Universitário, PO Box 10.011, Londrina, Paraná, 86057-970, Brazil

    Selwyn Arlington Headley, Giovana Wingeter Di Santis, Thais Correa Costa, Elisangela Olegário da Silva & Ana Paula Frederico R. L. Bracarense

  2. Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

    Brígida Kussumoto de Alcântara & Amauri Alcindo Alfieri

  3. Laboratory of Veterinary Mycology, Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

    Lucienne Garcia Pretto-Giordano

  4. Small Animal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Clinics, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

    Lucas Alécio Gomes

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  1. Selwyn Arlington Headley
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Correspondence to Selwyn Arlington Headley.

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Headley, S.A., Di Santis, G.W., de Alcântara, B.K. et al. Cryptococcus gattii-Induced Infections in Dogs from Southern Brazil. Mycopathologia 180, 265–275 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11046-015-9901-6

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