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Diffuse Intralobular Liver Fibrosis in Dogs Naturally Infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi

The aim of this study was to evaluate the diffuse intralobular fibrosis in dogs naturally infected with Leishmania (Leishmania) chagasi. One hundred five infected animals with positive serologic tests for Leishmania were divided into two clinical groups: 69 symptomatic animals and 36 asymptomatic. Special staining with Gomori, Heidenhain, Silver, and Picrosirius Red was applied to characterize fibrilopoesis. The tissue parasite load was measured by immunohistochemistry and associated histomorphometric analyses. Intralobular fibrosis was observed in all dogs, and more collagen deposition was confirmed in the infected animals than in the controls by these histomorphometric studies. There were significant differences among the distinct clinical groups. In fact, symptomatic dogs showed an increased collagen deposition in the liver compared with asymptomatic ones. A peculiar diffuse intralobular fibrosis, where the collagen fibers encircled small groups of hepatocyte(s), was observed in two cases (1.9%).

Received November 23, 2007. Accepted for publication May 5, 2008.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank Dr. Hélio Chiarini-Garcia (Associate Professor), Departamento de Morfologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas da UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, for the photographic support.

Financial support: This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa Tecnológica e Científica (CNPq) (Grants 477427/2006-5; 301301/2006-9 CNPq), Brazil.

^* Address corresondence to Wagner Tafuri, Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av Antonio Carlos, 6627, Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, 31270-901, Brazil. E-mails: wagner{at}icb.ufmg.br and wltafuri{at}yahoo.com.br

Authors’ addresses: Ferdinan Melo, Marina Amaral, Patricia Oliveira, Wanderson Lima, Marina Andrade, Marilene Michalick, and Wagner Tafuri, Departamento de Patologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av Antonio Carlos, 6627, Campus Pampulha, Belo Horizonte–MG, 31270-901, Brazil, E-mails: ferdinanmelo{at}yahoo.com.br, marinaelamaral{at}yahoo.com.br, pattybio2{at}yahoo.com.br, limaw_g{at}yahoo.com.br, debrot{at}gmail.com, michalik{at}icb.ufmg.br, wagner{at}icb.ufmg.br, and wltafuri{at}yahoo.com.br. Pedro Raso and Washington Tafuri, Departamento de Anatomia Patológica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Prof. Alfredo Balena, 190, Belo Horizonte–MG, Brasil Cep 30130-100, Brazil, E-mails: altafuri{at}terra.com.br and washington.tafuri{at}cnpq.br.