Involvement of Canine Oral Papillomavirus in Generalized Oral and Cutaneous Verrucosis in a Chinese Shar Pei Dog

Abstract

Abstract. Severe papillomatosis developed in the oral cavity and spread throughout the haired skin of the trunk and limbs of an 8-month-old female Chinese Shar Pei dog. The dog had received corticosteroids prior to referral, which was associated with the onset of demodecosis and papillomatosis. Papillomavirus structural antigens were detected in biopsies by immunohistochemistry using a panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. An 8.2-kilobase papillomavirus-specific DNA molecule was detected in the cutaneous lesions by high stringency Southern blot hybridization using a cloned canine oral papillomavirus DNA probe. Restriction enzyme analysis revealed that the virus in the cutaneous lesions was identical to the canine oral papillomavirus. Discontinuation of the steroids combined with the use of a mitocide, antibiotics, and an autogenous vaccine resolved the demodecosis and papillomatosis. This case report suggests that corticosteroid-induced immunosuppression can expand the tissue tropism of papillomaviruses.Key words: Papillomavirus; skin; immunosuppression; steroids; oral cavity.The papillomaviruses are a large group of speciesspecific, double-stranded DNA viruses that infect a wide variety of vertebrate hosts, including man.33 In dogs, papillomaviruses are known to cause benign papillomas of the skin as well as the oral, ocular, and genital mucous membranes.27 To date, only the genome of the canine oral papillomavirus (COPV) has been cloned and chara~terized.~~ Based on transmission, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization studies, it is believed that more than one papillomavirus infects the dog and that each virus has a tropism for a specific anatomic site.27Florid oral papillomas in Beagle dogs has been associated with an IgA deficiency (Sundberg, unpublished data).29.3n Rare case-studies document that dogs with florid oral papillomas developed small, solitary papillomas on the planum nasale, but not widespread lesions on the haired kin.^", ^^ We report extensive papillomatosis of the haired skin as well as the oral mucosa in an iatrogenically immunosuppressed Chinese Shar Pei dog. The COPV was identified by restriction fragment analysis as the virus present in the cutaneous lesions. The presence of an oral papillomavirus in cutaneous lesions in an immunosuppressed host raises the possibility that the tissue specificity of papillomaviruses is influenced by the immune system. Materials and Methods Clinical historyAn 8-month-old, 20-kg female Chinese Shar Pei dog was referred (to EKS) with alopecia, erythematous suppurative dermatitis, and generalized exophytic papillomatosis of the oral mucosa as well as the truncal and appendicular haired skin. The papillomas had been present for 4 months. A littermate had died with severe oral papillomatosis. In the same littermate, oral papillomas had been removed surgically by the attending veterinarian but the lesions had recurred rapidly. In the dog described here, skin scrapings demonstrated the presence of mites (Demodex canis), which were responsible f...

Canine papillomatosis: a retrospective study of 24 cases (2001-2011) and immunohistochemical characterization

“…The treatment consists of surgical removal by excision, cryosurgery, or electrosurgery. The treatment with autogenous vaccines has no proven therapeutic effect in dogs, although some studies suggest that it may prevent disease (Sundberg et al 1994, Scott et al 2001. A spectrum of proliferative cutaneous lesions occurred in 12 dogs at the injection site of live canine oral papillomavirus vaccine, suggesting a viral etiology for the disease.…”

Papilomatose oral em cães: revisão da literatura e estudo de doze casos

“…Apesar de neutralizar a infecção, as imunoglobulinas (Ig) não levam à regressão dos papilomas, mas protegem cães susceptíveis quando desafiados (SUZICH et al, 1995;GHIM et al, 1997aGHIM et al, , 1997b. A deficiência de imunoglobulinas (Ig) das classes IgA ou IgM e a hipogamaglobulinemia são relatadas em cães severamente afetados (MILL;CAMPBELL, 1992;SUNDBERG et al, 1994;BREDAL et al, 1996).…”

“…Após três semanas do término da terapia pode ser observada a regressão das lesões (SUNDBERG et al, 1994;LE NET et al, 1997;LUCROY et al, 1998). O diagnóstico da papilomatose canina rotineiramente é baseado nos achados clínicos.…”

“…A hiperplasia é sustentada por uma haste fibrovascular (SHIMADA et al, 1993;BREDAL et al, 1996). A imunohistoquímica é utilizada para detecção de antígenos estruturais do Papillomavirus utilizando anticorpos monoclonais e policlonais (SUNDBERG et al, 1994).…”

Feline Papillomas and Papillomaviruses

“…25 Briefly, the tissue was digested with proteinase K (Boehringer Mannheim, Indianapolis, IN), treated with DNase free RNase A (Boerhinger Mannheim), extracted with phenol and chloroform, and precipitated with 70% ethanol. Total cellular DNA (5 g) was digested with BamHI restriction endonuclease and electrophoretically separated on a 1% agarose gel.…”