United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Building 1001, Beltsville, MD 20705-2350, USA.
Vet Parasitol. 2011 Sep 27;181(2-4):382-7. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2011.05.018. Epub 2011 May 20.
The gray wolf (Canis lupus) was found to be a new natural definitive host for Neospora caninum. Neospora-like oocysts were found microscopically in the feces of three of 73 wolves from Minnesota examined at necropsy. N. caninum-specific DNA was amplified from the oocysts of all three wolves. Oocysts from one wolf were infective for the gamma interferon gene knock out (KO) mice. Viable N. caninum (designated NcWolfUS1) was isolated in cell cultures seeded with tissue homogenate from the infected mouse. Typical thick walled tissue cysts were found in outbred mice inoculated with the parasite from the KO mouse. Tissue stages in mice stained positively with N. caninum-specific polyclonal antibodies. Our observation suggests that wolves may be an important link in the sylvatic cycle of N. caninum.
灰狼（Canis lupus）被发现是新的天然的刚地弓形虫（Neospora caninum）的终末宿主。在对明尼苏达州 73 只狼进行剖检时，在其中 3 只狼的粪便中用显微镜发现了似刚地弓形虫的卵囊。从这 3 只狼的所有卵囊中扩增出了刚地弓形虫特异性 DNA。来自 1 只狼的卵囊对γ干扰素基因敲除（KO）鼠具有感染性。用感染 KO 鼠的组织匀浆接种的细胞培养物中分离出了有活力的刚地弓形虫（命名为 NcWolfUS1）。用从 KO 鼠分离的寄生虫感染的杂交鼠中发现了典型的厚壁组织包囊。用刚地弓形虫特异性多克隆抗体对小鼠中的组织期进行染色，结果呈阳性。我们的观察表明，狼可能是刚地弓形虫森林循环中的一个重要环节。
