Nutritional Modulation of the Immune Response Mediated by Nucleotides in Canine Leishmaniosis

Abstract

Leishmaniasis is an emerging, uncontrolled, and neglected zoonotic disease. Climate change is contributing to its ongoing global expansion. The dog is the main reservoir; hence the importance of implementing effective treatment, prevention, and control measures in this animal species to protect public health. However, although the standard treatment for canine leishmaniosis (CanL) is effective, it does not provide full parasitological clearance, and side effects and drug resistance have been described. The host’s immune system plays a key role in the establishment and evolution of leishmaniasis. Dietary nucleotides modulate the immune response and, given their reported efficacy and safety in sick and clinically healthy Leishmania-infected dogs and because they represent a sustainable option with no associated side effects or resistance, they could be included within the prevention, treatment, and control strategies for leishmaniasis. This article briefly summarizes the scientific literature on CanL management, including unresolved issues, and reviews the scientific evidence on immunomodulatory effects of dietary nucleotides in different animal species. It also proposes a CanL management algorithm, including nucleotides. It is concluded that nutritional modulation of the immune response with nucleotides can contribute to better management of leishmaniasis following a One Health approach, especially in the COVID-19 era.

Effects of Dietary Nucleotide Supplementation on Performance, Profitability, and Disease Resistance of Litopenaeus vannamei Cultured in Indonesia under Intensive Outdoor Pond Conditions

“…Nucleotides are low-molecular-weight intracellular compounds which, besides being the building blocks of DNA and RNA, play important roles in physiological and biochemical processes [ 20 , 34 , 35 ]. They have also been reported to improve shrimp health by modulating their immune response [ 21 , 36 , 37 ].…”

“…More specifically, several publications support the benefits of Nucleoforce ® , a proprietary brand of nucleotide-rich yeast extract developed by Bioiberica S.A.U. (Palafolls, Spain), which is highly sustainable, as it can be obtained through a fermentation process following a circular bioeconomy approach [ 20 ]. In a recent study with this nucleotide extract in PWS, our research group demonstrated a positive effect in PWS receiving diets in which fish meal (FM) had been partially replaced with soybean meal (SBM).…”

Bronchoscopy and Lung Fine-Needle Aspiration for Antemortem Evaluation of Pulmonary Involvement in Dogs with Naturally Occurring Canine Leishmaniosis

“…Dogs with stage 1 CanL have mild disease that can go undetected by the owner, which is the most likely reason why they were underrepresented with only three included in this study. High parasitic load is associated with more intense immune complex formation, greater serum IFAT titers, and more severe clinicopathological manifestations of the disease [ 2 , 3 , 40 ] Due to the exclusion criteria of the present study, we only included one dog with stage 4 CanL. Consequently, the lower parasite population in lung tissue and, therefore, milder lesions could be justified by the milder cases enrolled in the study.…”

“…The outcome of the infection ranges from local elimination of the parasite to parasite dissemination and development of mild to severe clinical signs and/or clinicopathological abnormalities. Cells of the mononuclear phagocytic system, neutrophils, eosinophils, hepatocytes, endothelial and dendritic cells, and fibroblasts can be infected by Leishmania parasites; therefore, a variety of different organs can be affected, justifying the clinical polymorphism of the disease [ 1 , 2 , 3 ].…”

Feeding the microbiota–gut–brain axis: Nucleotides and their role in early life

“…In weaned mice, supplementation with dietary NTs modulates a proportion of gamma-delta T cells in the gut intraepithelial lymphocyte compartment, enhances interleukin 7 and antigen-specific IgA responses produced by gut epithelial cells, inhibits antigen-specific IgE antibody responses, and promotes the development of the early gut mucosal immune system (Nagafuchi, 2007). NT supplementation can also promote increases of immune factors, such as IgA, IgM, and insulin-like growth factor 1, in the GIT in the early stage of life and reduce the levels of inflammatory factors such as cortisol and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the body (Segarra, 2021). The elevated concentration of adenosine in vivo can activate adenosine A2a receptors on the surfaces of immune cells and gut epithelial cells and is expected to be a potential target for the treatment of chronic enteritis (Ye & Rajendran, 2009).…”