scholarly journals Avian haemosporidian parasites of accipitriform raptors

2022 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josef Harl ◽  
Tanja Himmel ◽  
Gediminas Valkiūnas ◽  
Mikas Ilgūnas ◽  
Nora Nedorost ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The order Accipitriformes comprises the largest group of birds of prey with 260 species in four families. So far, 21 haemosporidian parasite species have been described from or reported to occur in accipitriform birds. Only five of these parasite species have been characterized molecular genetically. The first part of this study involved molecular genetic screening of accipitriform raptors from Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina and the first chromogenic in situ hybridization approach targeting parasites in this host group. The aim of the second part of this study was to summarize the CytB sequence data of haemosporidian parasites from accipitriform raptors and to visualize the geographic and host distribution of the lineages. Methods Blood and tissue samples of 183 accipitriform raptors from Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina were screened for Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon parasites by nested PCR, and tissue samples of 23 PCR-positive birds were subjected to chromogenic in situ hybridization using genus-specific probes targeting the parasites’ 18S rRNAs. All published CytB sequence data from accipitriform raptors were analysed, phylogenetic trees were calculated, and DNA haplotype network analyses were performed with sequences from clades featuring multiple lineages detected in this host group. Results Of the 183 raptors from Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina screened by PCR and sequencing, 80 individuals (44%) were infected with haemosporidian parasites. Among the 39 CytB lineages detected, 18 were found for the first time in the present study. The chromogenic in situ hybridization revealed exo-erythrocytic tissue stages of Leucocytozoon parasites belonging to the Leucocytozoon toddi species group in the kidneys of 14 infected birds. The total number of CytB lineages recorded in accipitriform birds worldwide was 57 for Leucocytozoon, 25 for Plasmodium, and 21 for Haemoproteus. Conclusion The analysis of the DNA haplotype networks allowed identifying numerous distinct groups of lineages, which have not yet been linked to morphospecies, and many of them likely belong to yet undescribed parasite species. Tissue stages of Leucocytozoon parasites developing in accipitriform raptors were discovered and described. The majority of Leucocytozoon and Haemoproteus lineages are specific to this host group, but most Plasmodium lineages were found in birds of other orders. This might indicate local transmission from birds kept at the same facilities (raptor rescue centres and zoos), likely resulting in abortive infections. To clarify the taxonomic and systematic problems, combined morphological and molecular genetic analyses on a wider range of accipitriform host species are needed.

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1212-1216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meike M. Mostegl ◽  
Barbara Richter ◽  
Nora Dinhopl ◽  
Herbert Weissenböck

Chromogenic in situ hybridization (ISH) is a commonly used tool in diagnostic pathology to detect pathogens in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue sections. Prolonged formalin fixation time was identified to be a limiting factor for the successful detection of nucleic acid from different pathogens, most probably due to the cross-linking activity of formalin between RNA, DNA, and proteins. Therefore, in the current study, the influence of formalin fixation time on ISH signal intensity of 2 viral ( Porcine circovirus-2 [PCV-2] and Porcine respiratory and reproductive virus [PRRSV]) and 2 protozoal agents ( Cryptosporidium serpentis and Tritrichomonas sp.) was evaluated. Tissue samples were fixed in 7% neutral buffered formaldehyde solution, and at defined intervals, pieces were embedded in paraffin wax and subjected to pathogen-specific ISH. For all 4 pathogens, the signal intensity remained comparable with the starting ISH signal for different periods of fixation (PCV-2: 6 weeks, PRRSV: 23 weeks, C. serpentis: 55 weeks, Tritrichomonas sp.: 53 weeks). Thereafter, the signal started to decline until loss of nucleic acid detection. The influence of increased proteinase K concentrations for inverting the formalin-induced cross-linking activity was examined compared with the standard protocol. With all 4 infectious agents, a 4-fold proteinase K concentration restored the ISH signals to a level comparable with 1 day of fixation. In conclusion, the influence of prolonged formalin fixation on the intensity of detected ISH signal highly depends on the analyzed infectious agent and the pretreatment protocol.


2014 ◽  
pp. 15-20
Author(s):  
Van Huy Tran ◽  
Thi Minh Thi Ha ◽  
Trung Nghia Van ◽  
Viet Nhan Nguyen ◽  
Phan Tuong Quynh Le ◽  
...  

Background: HER-2/neu is a predictive biomarker for treatment of gastric cancer using trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy. This study aimed to evaluate the status of HER-2/neu gene amplification using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in gastric cancer. Patients and methods: thirty six gastric cancer patients were assessed HER-2/neu gene amplification by FISH using PathVysionTM HER-2 DNA Probe kit (including HER-2/neu probe and CEP-17 probe) with biopsy and surgical specimens. Results: The HER-2/neu gene amplification was observed in three cases (8.3%), the HER-2/neu gene amplification rate in Lauren’s intestinal-type and diffuse-type were 11.8% and 5.2%, respectively. Conclusion: We applied successfully FISH technique with gastric cancer tissue samples. This technique could be performed as routine test in gastric cancer in order to select patients that benefit from trastuzumab in combination with chemotherapy.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabíola E Rosa ◽  
Sara M Silveira ◽  
Cássia GT Silveira ◽  
Nádia A Bérgamo ◽  
Francisco A Moraes Neto ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (11) ◽  
pp. 1977-1981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadi Atabati ◽  
Amir Raoofi ◽  
Abdollah Amini ◽  
Reza Masteri Farahani

BACKGROUND: In patients with breast cancer, HER2 gene expression is of a great importance in reacting to Herceptin treatment. To evaluate this event, immunohistochemistry (IHC) has been done routinely on the basis of scoring it and so the patients were divided into 4 groups. Lately, as there have been disagreements about how to treat score 2 patients, chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH) and florescence in situ hybridization (FISH) are introduced. Since CISH method is more convenient than FISH for gene amplification study, FISH has been substituted by CISH. AIM: The current study is conducted in order to investigate whether using CISH is a better method comparison to IHC method for determines HER2 expression in patients with breast cancer in. METHODS: In this cross-sectional descriptive analytical study, information of 44 female patients with invasive ductal breast cancer were gathered from Imam Reza and Omid Hospital in Mashhad. IHC staining was done for all patients in order to determine the level of HER2 expression, and after scoring them into 4 groups of 0, +1, +2 and +3, CISH staining was carried out for all 4 groups. At the end, results from both methods were statistically evaluated using SPSS software V.22.0. RESULTS: The average age of patients was 50.2 with the standard deviation of 10.96. Using IHC method was observed that 2.6% (1 patient), 26.3% (10 patients), 65.8% (25 patients) and 5.3% (2 patients) percentage of patients had scores of 0, +1, +2 and +3. On the other hand, CISH method showed 36 patients (90%) with no amplifications and 4 (10%) with sever amplifications. In a comparative study using Fisher's exact test (p = 0.000), we found a significant relation between IHC method and CISH method indicating that all patients showing severe amplifications in CISH method, owned scores of +2 and +3 in IHC method. CONCLUSION: According to the present study and comparing the results with similar previous studies, it can be concluded that CISH method works highly effective in determining HER2 expression level in patients with breast cancer. This method is also able to determine the status of patients with score +2 in IHC for their treatment with herceptin


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Himmel ◽  
Josef Harl ◽  
Simone Pfanner ◽  
Nora Nedorost ◽  
Norbert Nowotny ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Passerine birds are frequently infected with diverse haemosporidian parasites. While infections are traditionally considered benign in wild birds, recent studies demonstrated mortalities of passerine species due to exo-erythrocytic development of the parasites, which can damage organs in affected hosts. However, exo-erythrocytic development remains insufficiently investigated for most haemosporidian species and thus little is known about the virulence of tissue stages in wild passerine birds. The aim of the present study was to investigate natural haemosporidian infections in deceased Eurasian blackbirds (Turdus merula) and song thrushes (T. philomelos) and to determine parasite burden and associated histological effects.Methods For molecular analysis, blood and tissue samples from 306 thrushes were screened for Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon parasites by nested PCR. For the detection of parasite stages in organ samples, tissue sections were subjected to chromogenic in situ hybridization using genus- and species-specific probes targeting the rRNAs of parasites. Exo-erythrocytic parasite load was semi-quantitatively assessed and histological lesions were evaluated in haematoxylin-eosin-stained sections.Results 179 of 277 Eurasian blackbirds and 15 of 29 song thrushes were positive for haemosporidians. Parasites of all three genera were detected, with Plasmodium matutinum LINN1 and P. vaughani SYAT05 showing the highest prevalences. CISH revealed significant differences in exo-erythrocytic parasite burden between lineages in Eurasian blackbirds, with P. matutinum LINN1 frequently causing high parasite loads in various organs that were associated with histological alterations. Song thrushes infected with P. matutinum LINN1 and birds infected with other haemosporidian lineages showed mostly low parasite burdens. Two Eurasian blackbirds infected with Leucocytozoon sp. TUMER01 showed megalomeronts in various organs that were associated with inflammatory reactions and necroses.Conclusion This study suggests that P. matutinum LINN1, a common lineage among native thrushes, regularly causes high exo-erythrocytic parasite burdens in Eurasian blackbirds, which may result in disease and mortalities, indicating its high pathogenic potential. The findings further illustrate that the same parasite lineage may show different levels of virulence in related bird species which should be considered when assessing the pathogenicity of haemosporidian parasite species. Finally, the study provides evidence of virulent Leucocytozoon sp. TUMER01 infections in two Eurasian blackbirds caused by megalomeront formation.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document