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BMC microbiology2002; 2; 3; doi: 10.1186/1471-2180-2-3

Serovar distribution of a DNA sequence involved in the antigenic relationship between Leptospira and equine cornea.

Abstract: Horses infected with Leptospira present several clinical disorders, one of them being recurrent uveitis. A common endpoint of equine recurrent uveitis is blindness. Serovar pomona has often been incriminated, although others have also been reported. An antigenic relationship between this bacterium and equine cornea has been described in previous studies. A leptospiral DNA fragment that encodes cross-reacting epitopes was previously cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Results: A region of that DNA fragment was subcloned and sequenced. Samples of leptospiral DNA from several sources were analysed by PCR with two primer pairs designed to amplify that region. Reference strains from serovars canicola, icterohaemorrhagiae, pomona, pyrogenes, wolffi, bataviae, sentot, hebdomadis and hardjo rendered products of the expected sizes with both pairs of primers. The specific DNA region was also amplified from isolates from Argentina belonging to serogroups Canicola and Pomona. Both L. biflexa serovar patoc and L. borgpetersenii serovar tarassovi rendered a negative result. Conclusions: The DNA sequence related to the antigen mimicry with equine cornea was not exclusively found in serovar pomona as it was also detected in several strains of Leptospira belonging to different serovars. The results obtained with L. biflexa serovar patoc strain Patoc I and L. borgpetersenii serovar tarassovi strain Perepelicin suggest that this sequence is not present in these strains, which belong to different genomospecies than those which gave positive results. This is an interesting finding since L. biflexa comprises nonpathogenic strains and serovar tarassovi has not been associated clinically with equine uveitis.
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Publication Date: 2002-02-13 PubMed ID: 11869455PubMed Central: PMC65704DOI: 10.1186/1471-2180-2-3Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research studies the genetic similarities in different strains of a bacterium, Leptospira, which is known to cause severe eye inflammation leading to blindness in horses. Even though Leptospira Pomona is frequently blamed, the study discovered that the segment of DNA responsible for an antigenic relationship with horse corneas is found in numerous Leptospira strains.

Background

  • Horses infected with the bacterium Leptospira often develop clinical disorders, one of the most serious being recurrent uveitis, which can lead to blindness.
  • While the serovar Pomona strand of the bacteria is commonly implicated in these cases, other strands have also been observed in infected animals.
  • Past research has indicated an antigenic relationship or “mimicry” between these bacteria and the cornea of horses.
  • The DNA fragment encoding this similarity was previously isolated and replicated in lab conditions using Escherichia coli bacteria.

Methods and Results

  • A sub-section of this DNA fragment was further isolated and analyzed.
  • Bacterial DNA from a variety of sources was examined using PCR with primer pairs designed to amplify the specific region of interest.
  • Reference strains of several serovars including canicola, icterohaemorrhagiae, pomona, pyrogenes, wolffi, bataviae, sentot, hebdomadis and hardjo all showed products of the expected size, indicating the presence of the specific DNA segment.
  • Similarly, bacteria isolates from Argentina belonging to the Canicola and Pomona serogroups also amplified the specific DNA region.
  • The L. biflexa serovar patoc and L. borgpetersenii serovar tarassovi, on the other hand, showed negative results, indicating absence of the particular DNA sequence in these strains.

Conclusion

  • The DNA sequence responsible for the antigen mimicry with equine cornea is not found exclusively in the serovar pomona, but also in several other strains of Leptospira.
  • The results gathered from L. biflexa and L. borgpetersenii interestingly suggest that this sequence is not present in these strains. This is significant because L. biflexa comprises nonpathogenic strains and serovar tarassovi has not been clinically associated with equine uveitis.

Cite This Article

APA
Lucchesi PM, Parma AE, Arroyo GH. (2002). Serovar distribution of a DNA sequence involved in the antigenic relationship between Leptospira and equine cornea. BMC Microbiol, 2, 3. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-2-3

Publication

BMC microbiology
ISSN: 1471-2180
NlmUniqueID: 100966981
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 2
Pages: 3

Researcher Affiliations

Lucchesi, Paula M A
  • Lab, Inmunoquímica y Biotecnología, Depto, Sanidad Animal y Medicina Preventiva, Fac, Cs, Veterinarias, Universidad Nacional del Centro Pcia, Buenos Aires, Argentina. paulaluc@vet.unicen.edu.ar
Parma, Alberto E
    Arroyo, Guillermo H

      MeSH Terms

      • Animals
      • Antigens, Bacterial / genetics
      • Cornea / immunology
      • Cornea / microbiology
      • Corneal Diseases / immunology
      • Corneal Diseases / microbiology
      • Corneal Diseases / veterinary
      • DNA, Bacterial / genetics
      • Horse Diseases / genetics
      • Horse Diseases / immunology
      • Horses
      • Leptospira / genetics
      • Leptospira interrogans serovar pomona / genetics
      • Leptospirosis / genetics
      • Leptospirosis / immunology
      • Leptospirosis / veterinary

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      Citations

      This article has been cited 1 times.
      1. Guedes IB, Oliveira de Souza G, Fernandes de Paula Castro J, de Souza Filho AF, Cavalini MB, Taniwaki SA, Maia ALP, Pereira IC, Heinemann MB. Identification of Pathogenic Leptospira Species in the Urogenital Tract of Water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) From the Amazon River Delta Region, Brazil. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:269.
        doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.00269pubmed: 32478114google scholar: lookup
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