Clinical, pathological, and laboratory diagnoses of diseases of harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena), live stranded on the Dutch and adjacent coasts from 2003 to 2016

Harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in the North Sea live in an environment heavily impacted by humans, the consequences of which are a concern for their health. Autopsies carried out on stranded harbour porpoises provide an opportunity to assess health problems in this species. We performed 61 autopsies on live-stranded harbour porpoises, which died following admission to a rehabilitation centre between 2003 and 2016. The animals had stranded on the Dutch (n = 52) and adjacent coasts of Belgium (n = 2) and Germany (n = 7). We assigned probable causes for stranding based on clinical and pathological criteria. Cause of stranding was associated in the majority of cases with pathologies in multiple organs (n = 29) compared to animals with pathologies in a single organ (n = 18). Our results show that the three most probable causes of stranding were pneumonia (n = 35), separation of calves from their mother (n = 10), and aspergillosis (n = 9). Pneumonia as a consequence of pulmonary nematode infection occurred in 19 animals. Pneumonia was significantly associated with infection with Pseudalius inflexus, Halocercus sp., and Torynurus convolutus but not with Stenurus minor infection. Half of the bacterial pneumonias (6/12) could not be associated with nematode infection. Conclusions from this study are that aspergillosis is an important probable cause for stranding, while parasitic infection is not a necessary prerequisite for bacterial pneumonia, and approximately half of the animals (29/61) probably stranded due to multiple causes. An important implication of the observed high prevalence of aspergillosis is that these harbour porpoises suffered from reduced immunocompetence.

Immunological and pathological investigations of non-specific reactive hepatitis in shelter dogs

The aim of this study was to describe the gross, histopathological and immunohistochemical features of non-specific reactive hepatitis (NSRH) in stray dogs. To perform this study the livers of 23 dogs of different breed and sex were used. The tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin–eosin, and immunohistochemically. The results of this work showed that NSRH was characterized by the infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells scattered throughout the liver parenchyma and in the portal stroma, and associated with inflammatory and non-inflammatory diseases in other organ systems. The inflammatory infiltrate of NSRH was composed of CD3+ T lymphocytes and HLA-DR+ lymphocytes, as well as IgG+ plasma cells and alpha-1-antitrypsin+ macrophages in the portal spaces and hepatic sinusoids.

Immunohistochemical investigation of the cross-reactivity of selected cell markers in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lymphoid tissues of Franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei)

A considerable amount of knowledge on natural and anthropogenic pathologic conditions affecting different cetacean species has been gained over the last decades. Nonetheless, the immunopathological bases for most of these processes have been poorly documented or remain unknown. Comparative immunopathological investigations in these species are precluded by the limited number of specific antibodies, most of which are not commercially available, and the reduced spectrum of validated and/or cross-reactive ones. To partially fill in this gap of knowledge, a set of commercially available primary antibodies were tested for cross-reactivity against leukocytes and cytokines in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) lymphoid tissues (lymph nodes, spleen and thymus) of three bycaught, apparently healthy and fresh Franciscanas (Pontoporia blainvillei) using immunohistochemistry. On the basis of similar region specificity within the lymphoid organs, cellular morphology and staining pattern with human control tissues, 13/19 primary antibodies (caspase 3, CD3, CD57, CD68, FoxP3, HLA-DRα, IFNγ, IgG, IL4, IL10, Lysozyme, TGFβ and PAX-5) exhibited satisfactory cross-reactivity. Our results expand the spectrum of suitable cross-reactive primary antibodies in FFPE cetacean tissues. Further comparative immunopathological studies focused on infectious diseases and ecotoxicology may benefit from establishment of baseline expression of immunologically relevant molecules in various cetaceans species.