Differences in the intensity of infection caused by Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype II and III - Comparison using quantitative real-time PCR

<p><em>Encephalitozoon cuniculi</em> Genotype II Concentrates in Inflammation Foci</p>

“…The sporadic presence of E. cuniculi spores in the feces of an infected individual has also been demonstrated in other studies. 26,27,29,32,41 A positive correlation between the frequency of excretion and the intensity of infection was observed in BALB/c and SCID mice; while BALB/c mice excreted intermittently with an infection intensity of 3.2×10 6 , SCID mice excreted almost daily with an intensity of 1.2×10 8 spores per gram of feces. 32,38,39 Similarly, a child without clinical signs of the disease has been shown to excrete 1.2×10 5 spores per gram of stool, 44 whereas an immunodeficient individual can excrete up to 4.4×10 8 Systemic E. cuniculi infections acquired by ingesting spores are also initiated in the gut epithelial cells followed by the invasion of other tissues.…”

“…However, they are able to multiply successfully in an appropriate host to an enormous amount without any obvious signs of infection in immunocompetent hosts, revealing that high infectivity, high pathogenicity, or both do not necessarily predict the level at which a microsporidian pathogen impacts the host population. 33,39,41 The problematics are complicated by the fact that microsporidia are often overlooked and underdiagnosed, resulting in the increased possibility of hidden infections causing huge damage and various non-specific pathologies prior getting detected and successfully treated. 28 Environmentally resistant life cycle stages of microsporidia, spores, are excreted in feces, urine, or sputum causing infection by ingesting contaminated food or water and less often by inhaling infectious spores.…”

“…The rapid spreading of Encephalitozoon has been reported in murine models, where systemic infection was reported within several days. 32 , 39 , 41 However, spores of E. cuniculi are not motile, short distance dispersal in the host is limited to a unique mechanism of invasion of host cells that involves a highly specialized structure, the 10–50 μm long polar tube, which is responsible for the delivery of this organism to the host cell. Nevertheless, Encephalitozoon organisms may replicate to produce mature spores in a variety of immune cells including resident and trafficking macrophages and other phagocytic cells such as neutrophils, monocytes, dendritic cells, and eosinophils which may contribute to the spread of E. cuniculi throughout the host organism, 46 , 47 suggesting that induction of chemokines for inducing innate immune inflammation may also promote recruitment of host cells for continued infection and dissemination 48 – 50 On the other hand, there may be a situation in which microsporidia occurring in the area of induced inflammation are eliminated due to the increased occurrence of IFNγ-, LPS-, and TNFα-activated macrophages 10 ,– 50 – 54 by the means of cytotoxic cytokines, cationic proteins, lipid mediators, metalloproteinases, and components of the oxygen burst.…”

Development of a Quantitative PCR Method for Specific and Quantitative Detection of Enterocytospora artemiae, a Microsporidian Parasite of Chinese Grass Shrimp (Palaemonetes sinensis)

“…In contrast, real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR), which is associated with advantages such as high specificity as well as high sensitivity, consumes less time and allows the copy number of the initial DNA template in the sample to be quantitated. The qPCR detection process is completed in a relatively closed and independent system, which prevents cross contamination of the sample and environment (Kotková et al, 2018;Li et al, 2019). In this study, we designed a nested PCR method, leading to the establishment of a qPCR protocol that detects EAM using SYBR Green I fluorescent dye.…”

Pathology in Practice

“…1,2 Four non-host-specific genotypes are known to exist, with genotype I typically associated with rabbits. 3 This genotype has the potential for zoonotic transmission as an opportunistic pathogen, which suggests that fundamental knowledge of the clinical presentation and diagnosis of the disease may be beneficial for veterinary practitioners as well as their clients. [4][5][6] Pathogen transmission occurs horizontally via ingestion of E cuniculi spores in contaminated urine and vertically in utero with infected does.…”