Rebollada-Merino Agustín, Giorda Federica, Pumarola Martí, Martino Laura, Gomez-Buendia Alberto, Romani-Cremaschi Umberto, Casalone Cristina, Mattioda Virginia, Di Nocera Fabio, Lucifora Giuseppe, Petrella Antonio, Domínguez Lucas, Domingo Mariano, Grattarola Carla, Rodríguez-Bertos Antonio
Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Section of Anatomic Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
World Organisation for Animal Health Collaborating Centre for the Health of Marine Mammals, Italian National Reference Centre for Diagnostic Activities in Stranded Marine Mammals (C.Re.Di.Ma), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, Italy.
Vet Pathol. 2025 Mar;62(2):226-236. doi: 10.1177/03009858241250336. Epub 2024 May 17.
Neurobrucellosis is a shared condition of cetaceans and humans. However, the pathogenesis and immune response in cetacean neurobrucellosis has not been extensively studied. In this multicentric investigation, 21 striped dolphin () neurobrucellosis () cases diagnosed over a 10-year period (2012-2022) were retrospectively evaluated. For each case, morphological changes were assessed by evaluating 21 histological parameters. Furthermore, the immunohistochemical expression of antigen, glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), and a selection of inflammatory cell (IBA-1, CD3, and CD20) and cytokine (tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α], interferon-gamma [IFN-γ], interleukin [IL]-1β, IL-2, and IL-6) markers were investigated. Inflammation of the leptomeninges, ependyma, and/or choroid plexus was lymphohistiocytic, containing macrophages/microglia (IBA-1+), T-cells (CD3+), and B-cells (CD20+) in equal proportion. B-cells occasionally formed tertiary follicles. GFAP expression showed astrocytosis in most cases. Expression of TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-2 indicated an intense proinflammatory response, stimulating both macrophages and T-cells. Our results showed that the inflammation and neuroinflammation in neurobrucellosis of striped dolphins mimic human neurobrucellosis and in vitro and in vivo studies in laboratory animals. Cetacean disease surveillance can be exploited to expand the knowledge of the pathogenesis and immunology of infectious diseases, particularly brucellosis, under a One Health approach.
神经型布鲁氏菌病是鲸类和人类共有的疾病。然而，鲸类神经型布鲁氏菌病的发病机制和免疫反应尚未得到广泛研究。在这项多中心调查中，回顾性评估了在10年期间（2012 - 2022年）诊断出的21例条纹海豚神经型布鲁氏菌病病例。对于每个病例，通过评估21个组织学参数来评估形态学变化。此外，还研究了布鲁氏菌抗原、胶质纤维酸性蛋白（GFAP）、一系列炎性细胞（离子钙结合衔接分子1 [IBA-1]、CD3和CD20）以及细胞因子（肿瘤坏死因子-α [TNF-α]、干扰素-γ [IFN-γ]、白细胞介素[IL]-1β、IL-2和IL-6）标志物的免疫组化表达。软脑膜、室管膜和/或脉络丛的炎症为淋巴细胞-组织细胞性炎症，同等比例地含有巨噬细胞/小胶质细胞（IBA-1+）、T细胞（CD3+）和B细胞（CD20+）。B细胞偶尔形成三级滤泡。在大多数病例中，GFAP表达显示星形细胞增生。TNF-α、IFN-γ和IL-2的表达表明存在强烈的促炎反应，刺激巨噬细胞和T细胞。我们的结果表明，条纹海豚神经型布鲁氏菌病中的炎症和神经炎症与人类神经型布鲁氏菌病以及实验动物的体外和体内研究相似。在“同一健康”方法下，可利用鲸类疾病监测来扩展对传染病，特别是布鲁氏菌病的发病机制和免疫学的认识。
