Clinical, anatomopathological, and immunohistochemical findings of a transitional cell carcinoma from nasal cavity, frontal and ethmoidal sinus with meningoencephalic invasion in a dog.

Background: Primary neoplasms of the nasal cavity and sinuses are uncommon in domestic animals, most of which are of epithelial origin, being adenocarcinoma the most common tumor diagnosed in this region. Some malignant nasal cavity neoplasms may invade the brain causing clinical neurological signs, as well as purulent nasal secretion and epistaxis. Case Description: A case of neoplasm is reported in a 14-year-old pincher presenting dyspnea, epistaxis, and neurological alterations. Necropsy revealed the presence of a mass in the oral cavity vestibule, and another in the whole nasal cavity with invasion of the cribiform plate, meninges and brain. Squamous cells carcinoma was diagnosed in the oral cavity and transitional carcinoma in the nasal cavity. The immunohistochemistry confirmed that the brain infiltration was of the same origin as the nasal cavity neoplasm. Conclusion: The present report describes a rare case of transitional carcinoma of the nasal cavity as well as the frontal and ethmoidal sinuses with brain invasion, confirmed by immunohistochemistry. It is extremely important for veterinarians to include neoplasms in their differential diagnoses, when these animals show chronic respiratory signs and neurological alterations that do not improve with appropriate treatment, always associating with complementary exams, for correct diagnosis establishment and prognosis formulation.

Inhibition of the classical pathway of the complement system by saliva of Amblyomma cajennense (Acari: Ixodidae).

Inhibition of the complement system during and after haematophagy is of utmost importance for tick success in feeding and tick development. The role of such inhibition is to minimise damage to the intestinal epithelium as well as avoiding inflammation and opsonisation of salivary molecules at the bite site. Despite its importance, the salivary anti-complement activity has been characterised only in species belonging to the Ixodes ricinus complex which saliva is able to inhibit the alternative and lectin pathways. Little is known about this activity in other species of the Ixodidae family. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe the inhibition of the classical pathway of the complement system by the saliva of Amblyomma cajennense at different stages of the haematophagy. The A. cajennense saliva and salivary gland extract (SGE) were able to inhibit the complement classical pathway through haemolytic assays with higher activity observed when saliva was used. The anti-complement activity is present in the salivary glands of starving females and also in females throughout the whole feeding process, with significant higher activity soon after tick detachment. The SGE activity from both females fed on mice or horses had no significant correlation (p > 0.05) with tick body weight. The pH found in the intestinal lumen of A. cajennense was 8.04 ± 0.08 and haemolytic assays performed at pH 8.0 showed activation of the classical pathway similarly to what occurs at pH 7.4. Consequently, inhibition could be necessary to protect the tick enterocytes. Indeed, the inhibition observed by SGE was higher in pH 8.0 in comparison to pH 7.4 reinforcing the role of saliva in protecting the intestinal cells. Further studies should be carried out in order to identify the inhibitor molecule and characterise its inhibition mechanism.

Mechanisms of pH control in the midgut of Lutzomyia longipalpis: roles for ingested molecules and hormones.

Control of the midgut pH in Lutzomyia longipalpis enables the insect's digestive system to deal with different types of diet. Phlebotomines must be able to suddenly change from a condition adequate to process a sugar diet to one required to digest blood. Prior to blood ingestion, the pH in the midgut is maintained at ∼6 via an efficient mechanism. In the abdominal midgut, alkalization to a pH of ∼8 occurs as a consequence of the loss of CO(2) from blood (CO(2) volatilization) and by a second mechanism that is not yet characterized. The present study aimed to characterize the primary stimuli, present in the blood, that are responsible for shutting down the mechanism that maintains a pH of 6 and switching on that responsible for alkalization. Our results show that any ingested protein could induce alkalization. Free amino acids, at the concentrations found in blood, were ineffective at inducing alkalization, although higher concentrations of amino acids were able to induce alkalization. Aqueous extracts of midgut tissue containing putative hormones from intestinal endocrine cells slightly alkalized the midgut lumen when applied to dissected intestines, as did hemolymph collected from blood-fed females. Serotonin, a hormone that is possibly released in the hemolymph after hematophagy commences, was ineffective at promoting alkalization. The carbonic anhydrase (CA) enzyme seems to be involved in alkalizing the midgut, as co-ingestion of acetazolamide (a CA inhibitor) with proteins impaired alkalization efficiency. A general model of alkalization control is presented.

The physiology of the midgut of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz and Neiva 1912): pH in different physiological conditions and mechanisms involved in its control.

Nutrient digestion and absorption after blood feeding are important events for Lutzomyia longipalpis, which uses these nutrients to produce eggs. In this context, the pH inside the digestive tract is an important physiological feature as it can markedly influence the digestive process as well as interfere with Leishmania development in infected phlebotomines. It was described previously that unfed females have an acidic midgut (pH 6). In this study, the pH inside the midgut of blood-fed females was measured. The abdominal midgut (AM) pH varied from 8.15+/-0.31 in the first 10 h post-blood meal to 7.7+/-0.17 after 24 h. While the AM was alkaline during blood digestion, the pH in the thoracic midgut (TM) remained acidic (5.5-6.0). In agreement with these findings, the enzyme alpha-glucosidase, which has an optimum pH of 5.8, is mainly encountered in the acidic TM. The capacity of unfed females to maintain the acidic intestinal pH was also evaluated. Our results showed the presence of an efficient mechanism that maintains the pH almost constant at about 6 in the midgut, but not in the crop. This mechanism is promptly interrupted in the AM by blood ingestion. RT-PCR results indicated the presence of carbonic anhydrase in the midgut cells, which apparently is required to maintain the pH at 6 in the midgut of unfed females. Investigations on the phenomenon of alkalization observed after blood ingestion indicated that two mechanisms are involved: in addition to the alkalization promoted by CO2 volatilization there is a minor contribution from a second mechanism not yet characterized. Some inferences concerning Leishmania development and pH in the digestive tube are presented.