Correlation between chronic inflamation, immunostaining and parasite load in the genital system of female dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum/Correlacao entre inflamacao cronica, imunomarcacao e carga parasitaria no sistema genital de cadelas naturalmente infectadas com Leishmania infantum

The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlations among chronic inflammatory reaction, immunostaining and parasite load in the genital system of female dogs naturally infected with Leishmania infantum. Animals (n = 10) used in this study were from the Department of Vector Control and Animal Surveillance of the municipality of Caruaru, state of Pernambuco, Brazil. Fragments of the vulva, vagina, cervix, uterine body, uterine horns and ovaries were submitted to histopathological analysis, immunohistochemistry (IHC) and DNA detection of amastigotes by qPCR. Correlations were found between the IHC findings and chronic inflammatory infiltrate related to L. Infantum only in the vulva and vagina; whereas, the same inflammatory reactions without immunostaining were observed in all organs, except the ovaries. L. Infantum DNA was detected in all organs of genital system, with no difference in parasite load observed among the different organs. No correlation was reported between parasite load and inflammatory lesions in the organs evaluated, except for the uterine body, in which an inverse correlation was detected. In conclusion, the vulva and vagina were the major sites of lesions and immunostaining for L. Infantum amastigotes in the genital system of female dogs. Moreover, parasite load exerted no influence on the intensity of the lesions in the organs evaluated. Key words: canine visceral leishmaniasis, genital pathology, immunohistochemistry, qPCR. Considerando a falta de estudos sobre lesoes nos orgaos genitais de cadelas naturalmente infectadas por Leishmania infantum, o objetivo do presente estudo foi investigar a correlacao entre reacao inflamatoria crocanica, imunomarcacao e carga parasitaria, no sistema genital. Dez animais foram fornecidos pelo Departamento de Controle de Vetores e Vigilancia Animal do municipio de Caruaru, Estado de Pernambuco, Brasil. Fragmentos de vulva, vagina, cervix, corpo do utero, corno do utero e ovarios foram avaliados por descricao histopatologica, imuno-histoquimica (IHQ) e deteccao de DNA de formas amastigotas por qPCR. A relacao entre IHQ e infiltrado inflamatorio cronico relacionado com L. infantum foi observada apenas na vulva e vagina, enquanto as mesmas reacoes sem imunomarcacao foram observadas em todos os orgaos, exceto nos ovarios. DNA de L. infantum foi detectado em todos os orgaos do sistema genital, porem, sem diferenca de carga parasitaria entre eles. Nao houve correlacao entre a carga parasitaria e