Abstract. Amoebiasis is one of the most common protozoal diseases of reptiles, but amoebic myositis has not been reported in any animal species. An 11-year-old, male common water monitor lizard (Varanus salvator) was found dead with several subacute ulcerated skin wounds. Gross examination revealed multiple discrete to coalescing, white-yellow to gray, caseous foci scattered in the skeletal muscles and liver. The mucosa of small intestine was thickened, red, and contained many variably sized, dark red ulcers, with depressed and hemorrhagic centers. Histopathologic examination revealed severe necrotizing and granulomatous myositis, hepatitis, and enteritis accompanied by large numbers of intralesional, 10-20-mm diameter, periodic acid-Schiff-positive, amoeboid protozoa. Gene sequence analysis of a 136-bp region of the 18S ribosomal RNA amplified by polymerase chain reaction revealed 98-100% similarity with Entamoeba invadens. Aside from intestinal and hepatic involvement, no other internal organs were affected. The muscular infection by E. invadens likely resulted from a combination of direct invasion of trophozoites via skin wounds and hematogenous spread.

No abstract

No abstract

Granulomatous lymphadenitis is one of the pathognomonic lesions in post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS)-affected pigs. This unique lesion has not been reported in direct association with viral infection in pigs. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) alone is able to induce functional modulation in porcine monocytic cells in vitro to elucidate its possible role in the development of granulomatous inflammation. It was found that the proliferation activity of blood monocytes (Mo) and monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) was significantly enhanced by PCV2. During monocyte-macrophage differentiation, the PCV2 antigen-containing rate and formation of multinucleated giant cells (MGC) were significantly increased in MDM when compared to those in Mo. The MDM-derived MGC displayed a significantly higher PCV2 antigen-containing rate than did the mono-nucleated MDM. Supernatants from PCV2-inoculated MDM at 24 h post-inoculation induced an increased tendency of chemotactic activity for blood Mo. At the same inoculation time period, levels of mRNA expression of the monocytic chemokines, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and macrophage inflammatory protein-1, also significantly increased in PCV2-inoculated MDM. The results suggest that PCV2 alone may induce cell proliferation, fusion, and chemokine expression in swine monocytic cells. Thus, PCV2 itself may play a significant role in the induction of granulomatous inflammation in PMWS-affected pigs.

No abstract