Histopathological comparison of pulmonary artery lesions between raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and domestic dogs experimentally infected with Dirofilaria immitis

First report of pneumonia caused by Angiostrongylus vasorum in a golden jackal

Angiostrongylosis caused by metastrongyloid nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum is an emerging parasitic disease in Europe and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is considered as a main reservoir species for this parasite. Little is known about the role of other wild canids in the epidemiology of angiostrongylosis. The present paper provides the first description of pathomorphological lesions caused by A. vasorum in a golden jackal (Canis aureus). The paper describes a case of co-infection with A. vasorum and Dirofilaria immitis in a one-year-old female golden jackal, legally hunted near the City of Kovin, South Banat, Serbia. The postmortem examination revealed severe pneumonia, proliferative endarteritis, the presence of two adult males of D. immitis in the right atrium, and the presence of 15 adult forms of A. vasorum (11 females and 4 males) in the pulmonary arteries. Native microscopy of an impression smear of the lung tissue found numerous larvae compatible with the A. vasorum first larval stage. This paper provides the first evidence that angiostrongylosis exists in the golden jackal in Serbia and confirms that the golden jackal should be considered as a very suitable definitive host for A. vasorum. The results suggest the possibility that the golden jackal may act as reservoir species and as an important transmitter of A. vasorum larvae.

Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase and galectin from Dirofilaria immitis participate in heartworm disease endarteritis via plasminogen/plasmin system

The interaction between parasitic protozoa and helminths, both in the blood and in tissues and the fibrinolytic system of their hosts is usually considered as a survival parasite mechanism since this system is the physiological route responsible for degrading fibrin clots. The broad-range proteolytic activity of plasmin, the final enzyme of the route, implies that its recruitment by these parasites is an important mechanism that mediates their invasion and establishment in the hosts. However, recent studies have proposed a dual role for plasmin by linking its over-production with pathological mechanisms at vascular level. Most of these studies have been conducted in Dirofilaria immitis, a blood-borne parasite that survives in the pulmonary arteries of its host for years while it produces a chronic inflammatory disease, whose main pathogenic mechanism is the appearance of proliferative endarteritis. Recently, the participation of two proteins from D. immitis, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (DiGAPDH) and galectin (DiGAL), in the activation of the fibrinolytic system of its host has been demonstrated, which has been a priori associated with parasite survival mechanisms. The aim of the present paper was to study the role of plasmin generated by these proteins in the emergence of proliferative endarteritis. An in vitro model of canine endothelial and smooth muscle cells, as well as the two parasitic recombinant proteins were employed. The results show that DiGAPDH and DiGAL stimulate the proliferation and migration of both cell types, as well as the degradation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) via plasminogen (PLG)/plasmin system, being all of these mechanisms related to the appearance of proliferative endarteritis. Due to the high degree of evolutionary conservation of these antigens, these data support the hypothesis of the survival/pathology ambivalence in the interactions between parasites and the fibrinolytic system of their hosts and represent an advance in the knowledge of the mechanisms involved in the emergence of proliferative endarteritis in the cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis (heartworm disease).

Fibrinolysis and proliferative endarteritis: two related processes in chronic infections? The model of the blood-borne pathogen Dirofilaria immitis

The interaction between blood-borne pathogens and fibrinolysis is one of the most important mechanisms that mediate invasion and the establishment of infectious agents in their hosts. However, overproduction of plasmin (final product of the route) has been related in other contexts to proliferation and migration of the arterial wall cells and degradation of the extracellular matrix. We have recently identified fibrinolysis-activating antigens from Dirofilaria immitis, a blood-borne parasite whose key pathological event (proliferative endarteritis) is produced by similar mechanisms to those indicated above. The objective of this work is to study how two of this antigens [actin (ACT) and fructose-bisphosphate aldolase (FBAL)] highly conserved in pathogens, activate fibrinolysis and to establish a relationship between this activation and the development of proliferative endarteritis during cardiopulmonary dirofilariasis. We demonstrate that both proteins bind plasminogen, enhance plasmin generation, stimulate the expression of the fibrinolytic activators tPA and uPA in endothelial cell cultures and are located on the surface of the worm in contact with the host’s blood. ELISA, western blot and immunofluorescence techniques were employed for this purpose. Additionally, the implication of lysine residues in this interaction was analyzed by bioinformatics. The involvement of plasmin generated by the ACT/FBAL and plasminogen binding in cell proliferation and migration, and degradation of the extracellular matrix were shown in an “in vitro” model of endothelial and smooth muscle cells in culture. The obtained results indicate that ACT and FBAL from D. immitis activate fibrinolysis, which could be used by the parasite like a survival mechanism to avoid the clot formation. However, long-term overproduction of plasmin can trigger pathological events similar to those described in the emergence of proliferative endarteritis. Due to the high degree of evolutionary conservation of these antigens, similar processes may occur in other blood-borne pathogens.

Can the activation of plasminogen/plasmin system of the host by metabolic products of Dirofilaria immitis participate in heartworm disease endarteritis?

Background

Proliferative endarteritis is one of the key pathological mechanisms of cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis, a cosmopolitan parasitosis caused by Dirofilaria immitis affecting dogs and cats around the world. It has been shown that the excretory/secretory antigens from D. immitis adult worms (DiES) bind plasminogen (PLG) and activate fibrinolysis, which can lead to a survival mechanism for the parasite in its intravascular environment. However, overproduction of plasmin (final product of the route) has been related to pathological processes similar to those described in proliferative endarteritis. The aim of this study is to relate the appearance of this pathological condition with the activation of the PLG/plasmin system of the host by DiES.

Methods

Cell proliferation through the crystal violet technique, cell migration by wound healing assay and degradation of the extracellular matrix by measuring collagen degradation and levels of matrix metalloproteinases were studied in an “in vitro” model using canine vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells. These cells were treated with a mixture of DiES + PLG. Untreated cells, cells only stimulated with DiES or with PLG, or with a mixture of DiES + PLG + εACA (an inhibitor of the PLG-plasmin conversion) were employed as controls. In addition, the effect of DiES on the expression of the fibrinolytic activators tPA and uPA, the inhibitor PAI-1 and the PLG receptor Annexin A2 was analyzed in both types of cultures by western blot.

Results

Plasmin generated by DiES + PLG binding produced a significant increase in the cell proliferation and migration of the endothelial and smooth muscle cells, as well as an increase in the destruction of the extracellular matrix based on a further degradation of Type I Collagen and an increased level of matrix metalloproteinase-2. DiES also induce an increase in the expression of tPA and uPA in endothelial cells in culture, as well as a decrease in the expression of PAI-1 in both types of cells.

Conclusions

Our study reports an interrelationship between plasmin caused by fibrinolysis activation by metabolic products of D. immitis and the appearance of pathological events similar to those described in the emergence of proliferative endarteritis in the cardiopulmonary dirofilariosis.