Immune and Genomic Analysis of Boxer Dog Breed and Its Relationship with Infection.

Leishmaniosis, one of the most important zoonoses in Europe, is caused , an intracellular protozoan parasite. This disease is endemic in the Mediterranean area, where the main reservoir is the dog. Several studies indicate a possible susceptibility to infection with clinical signs in some canine breeds. One of them is the boxer breed, which shows a high prevalence of disease. In this study, immunological and genomic characterization of serum samples from boxer dogs living in the Mediterranean area were evaluated to analyze the immune response and the possible genetic explanation for this susceptibility. Serum levels of cytokines IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-18 were determined by ELISA commercial tests, while the genotyping study was performed using the CanineHD DNA Analysis BeadChip. The results show relevant differences in the serum levels of cytokines compared to published data on other canine breeds, as well as sequence changes that could explain the high susceptibility of the boxer breed to the disease. Concretely, polymorphic variants in the , , , , , , , , , and genes were found, which could explain the susceptibility of this breed to infection.