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Besnoitia besnoiti infection in cattle and mice: ultrastructural pathology in acute and chronic besnoitiosis

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Abstract

Current knowledge on bovine besnoitiosis, caused by the emerging apicomplexan pathogen Besnoitia besnoiti, is still fragmentary. So far, studies dealing with ultrastructural pathology focused mainly on the easily accessible chronic stage, whereas ultrastructural investigations of tachyzoites were confined to in vitro studies. In the study presented here, the ultrastructural pathology of naturally B. besnoiti-infected cattle in the acute and chronic disease stages and experimentally B. besnoiti-infected mice was monitored. Further, the ultrastructure of tachyzoites and bradyzoites was investigated. Skin samples of two adult Limousin cows and one adult Limousin bull naturally infected with B. besnoiti and liver and skin samples of gamma-interferon knockout mice infected with B. besnoiti were examined in semithin sections stained with toluidine blue and safranin and in ultrathin sections contrasted with uranyl acetate and lead citrate. Samples of vessel walls of the bull and nasal mucosa of one cow were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Few tachyzoites-like endozoites were detected for the first time in bovine skin, and large numbers of tachyzoites were detected in murine skin and liver. Within tissue cysts in bovine skin, numerous bradyzoites were observed displaying signs of degeneration. Tachyzoites had apicomplexan endozoite ultrastructure. B. besnoiti tachyzoites and bradyzoites differed in shape and the number of amylopectin granules. Transmission and scanning electron microscopy confirmed the presence of two different cyst wall layers, and the present results on cyst wall ultrastructure were in accordance with those previously obtained by histological sections.

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Acknowledgments

We acknowledge the excellent technical assistance of Claudia Mair, Heidrun Schoel and Angela Siebert. Furthermore, we would like to thank Maite Schneider for the schematic drawings. NSG was supported by the BGF research stipend provided by the German State of Bavaria.

Conflict of interest

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Prionics AG, Schlieren, Switzerland, funded parts of the study but had no influence on the design of the experiment, data collection and analysis and was not involved in writing the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Veterinary Pathology at the Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen, Veterinaerstrasse 13, 80539, Munich, Germany

    M. C. Langenmayer, M. Majzoub-Altweck & W. Hermanns

  2. Clinic for Ruminants with Ambulatory and Herd Health Services at the Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen, Sonnenstrasse 16, 85764, Oberschleissheim, Germany

    N. S. Gollnick

  3. Rammingen, Germany

    J. C. Scharr

  4. Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Institute of Epidemiology, Suedufer 10, 17493, Greifswald-Isle of Riems, Germany

    G. Schares & D. C. Herrmann

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  1. M. C. Langenmayer
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Correspondence to M. C. Langenmayer.

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Langenmayer, M.C., Gollnick, N.S., Scharr, J.C. et al. Besnoitia besnoiti infection in cattle and mice: ultrastructural pathology in acute and chronic besnoitiosis. Parasitol Res 114, 955–963 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4261-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4261-6

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