Pulmonary cryptococcosis in slaughtered sheep: anatomopathology and culture.

Cryptococcosis is considered a zoonosis but is rare in stock animals. In humans it is imputed to be a mortality cause in immunocompromised patients. This case study reports the anatomopathology of respiratory cryptococcosis in ovine and the recuperation and identification of Cryptococcus neoformans var. neoformans from 1-year frozen lung tissue sample. The findings from haematoxylin/eosin staining microscopy and special staining showed the destruction of the columnar respiratory epithelium architecture associated to suppuration, and the growth of spherical yeast buddings sometimes involved by clear halo produced by unstained capsular substance. The agent was identified by miniApi ID32C, while variety neoformans was further identified by culture in CGB agar. The diagnosis in stock animal suggests the involvement of an exogenous source of the agent as an alert to public health and contributes for epidemiological investigations.

Neutrophils regulate the expression of cytokines, chemokines and nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide in mice injected with Bothrops atrox venom.

Bothrops atrox crude venom injected intraperitoneal (i.p.) into BALB/c mice induced local afflux of inflammatory cells, one neutrophil-rich peak after 6h and another macrophage-rich peak after 48 h. A similar pattern of local cell afflux plus edema, Delta lesions of some skeletal muscle cells, and hemorrhage were observed in mice intramuscular (i.m.) injected with the venom. Measurement of serum cytokines in neutrophil-depleted (by anti-mouse rat monoclonal antibody (mAb) RB6-8C5) and non-depleted BALB/c mice was performed by ELISA. With the exception of IL-1beta (78 pg/ml), higher levels of IL-6 (1348 pg/ml), MIP-1beta (437 pg/ml) and MIP-2 (904 pg/ml) were observed in neutrophil-depleted mice, in comparison to the values found in non-neutrophil depleted mice: IL-1beta (437 pg/ml), IL-6 (750 pg/ml), MIP-1beta (165 pg/ml) and MIP-2 (90 pg/ml). TNF-alpha was not detected. NO was detected (18 microM) 24h after venom injection in neutrophil-depleted mice. RT-PCR using representative primers detected expression of mRNA in cells from BALB/c mice injected with B. atrox venom: (a) for IL-1beta, IL-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), CXCR2, MIP-2 and RANTES in cells from mice that were neutrophil-depleted or not; (b) for CCR1, CCR5 and MIP-1beta in cells from neutrophil-depleted mice; (c) for MIP-1alpha in cells from non-neutrophil-depleted mice; (d) TNF-alpha and TGF-beta were not detected in either of the mice. These results indicate that neutrophils play a role in regulating the production of some cytokines and chemokines as well as locally expressed or liberated iNOS/NO in tissues injected with B. atrox crude venom.