Detection of Aspergillus-specific antibodies by agar gel double immunodiffusion and IgG ELISA in feline upper respiratory tract aspergillosis

Abstract

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Immunohistochemical Analysis of Leucocyte Subsets in the Sinonasal Mucosa of Cats with Upper Respiratory Tract Aspergillosis

“…Feline upper respiratory tract aspergillosis (URTA), which encompasses both sino-orbital aspergillosis (SOA) and sinonasal aspergillosis (SNA), is usually reported in immunocompetent cats. To date, only five of more than 60 cats with URTA have been identified as having concurrent, potentially immunosuppressive diseases including diabetes mellitus in three cats, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection in one and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) infection in another (Goodall et al, 1984;Furrow and Groman, 2009;Malik et al, 2004;Barrs et al, 2015;Kano et al, 2015). Recent studies have also detected anti-Aspergillus spp.…”

“…Recent studies have also detected anti-Aspergillus spp. antibodies (of the immunoglobulin [Ig]G class) in the serum of cats with URTA, suggesting appropriate systemic humoral immunity (Barrs et al, 2015).…”

“…Purebred brachycephalic cats of Persian lineage are over-represented in reports of feline SOA (Barrs et al, 2012(Barrs et al, , 2015. While these cats have clear morphological abnormalities that cause turbulent airflow and mucosal oedema within the sinuses and nasal cavity (Hendricks, 1992), a defect in innate immunity, which could allow fungal colonization and infection is also possible .…”

Evaluation of Serum Aspergillus‐Specific Immunoglobulin A by Indirect ELISA for Diagnosis of Feline Upper Respiratory Tract Aspergillosis

“…Although invasive mycoses often are associated with immune compromise of the host, the majority of cats with either form of URTA appear to be systemically immunocompetent, based on lack of concurrent disease, production of serum IgG, and low detection rates of the fungal antigen galactomannan in serum . Reports of comorbidities that could be associated with systemic immunocompromise are limited to diabetes mellitus in 3 cases and feline leukemia virus or feline immunodeficiency virus infection in 2 others . A robust Aspergillus ‐specific IgG response has been identified in cats with URTA, and detection of Aspergillus ‐specific IgG by ELISA was both sensitive (95.2%) and specific (92.7%) for diagnosis .…”

“…Reports of comorbidities that could be associated with systemic immunocompromise are limited to diabetes mellitus in 3 cases and feline leukemia virus or feline immunodeficiency virus infection in 2 others . A robust Aspergillus ‐specific IgG response has been identified in cats with URTA, and detection of Aspergillus ‐specific IgG by ELISA was both sensitive (95.2%) and specific (92.7%) for diagnosis . Whether detection of serum Aspergillus ‐specific IgA could be useful in diagnosis of URTA in cats has not been investigated.…”