Wilkinson Vicky, Richards Shane A, Carver Scott, Næsborg-Nielsen Christina, Cray Carolyn, Rossi Gabriele
School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia.
Division of Comparative Pathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2024 Jun 26;11:1403221. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1403221. eCollection 2024.
Sarcoptic mange, caused by epidermal infection with , negatively impacts the health, welfare, and local abundance of bare-nosed wombats () in Australia. Improved understanding of the host immune response to disease and its contribution to pathophysiology could be used to inform management actions for this species and . To evaluate the immune response of bare-nosed wombats to sarcoptic mange, we validated three assays (haptoglobin, agarose gel electrophoresis, and micro-erythrocyte sedimentation rate) measuring non-specific markers of inflammation using serum samples from free-living wombats from Tasmania ( = 33). We then analysed correlations between the assay results for each non-specific marker of inflammation and wombat's sarcoptic mange scores, and performed histopathological examinations to investigate association of the acute phase response with systemic amyloidosis. We present evidence that haptoglobin and erythrocyte sedimentation rate increased, and albumin decreased, in association with sarcoptic mange scores. This research demonstrates links between the acute phase response and sarcoptic mange severity in bare-nosed wombats, highlighting the utility of non-specific markers of inflammation for aiding assessment of the systemic effects of mange. Showing the value of agarose gel electrophoresis, we also identified specific acute phase proteins warranting future evaluation and found evidence of an immunoglobulin response in mange-affected wombats, revealed by increasing γ-globulins in association with apparent disease severity. Meanwhile, owing to its relatively low resource requirements and rapidity, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate assay may be useful as a point-of-care test to support therapeutic decisions in the field. Our methods and findings are likely to be applicable to a range of other clinical and population health scenarios in captive and free-living wombats, and species impacted by sarcoptic mange globally.
由疥螨感染表皮引起的疥癣，对澳大利亚裸鼻袋熊的健康、福祉和当地数量产生负面影响。更好地了解宿主对疾病的免疫反应及其对病理生理学的作用，可用于为该物种的管理行动提供参考。为了评估裸鼻袋熊对疥癣的免疫反应，我们验证了三种检测方法（触珠蛋白、琼脂糖凝胶电泳和微量红细胞沉降率），使用来自塔斯马尼亚自由生活袋熊（n = 33）的血清样本测量炎症的非特异性标志物。然后，我们分析了每种炎症非特异性标志物的检测结果与袋熊疥癣评分之间的相关性，并进行了组织病理学检查，以研究急性期反应与系统性淀粉样变的关联。我们提供的证据表明，触珠蛋白和红细胞沉降率升高，白蛋白降低，与疥癣评分相关。这项研究证明了裸鼻袋熊急性期反应与疥癣严重程度之间的联系，突出了炎症非特异性标志物在辅助评估疥癣全身影响方面的作用。通过显示琼脂糖凝胶电泳的价值，我们还确定了值得未来评估的特定急性期蛋白，并发现了受疥癣影响的袋熊中有免疫球蛋白反应的证据，表现为γ球蛋白随着明显的疾病严重程度增加。同时，由于红细胞沉降率检测相对资源需求低且速度快，它可能作为一种即时检测方法，有助于在野外做出治疗决策。我们的方法和发现可能适用于圈养和自由生活袋熊以及全球受疥螨感染的其他物种的一系列其他临床和种群健康情况。
