Morphological Alterations in the Kidney of Rats with Natural and Experimental Leptospira Infection

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a widespread anthropozoonosis, with a broad array of mammalian reservoirs, occurring as rural endemics, urban outbreaks related to floods, and emergent disease associated with water sports and recreational exposure in developed countries. Rats are the major source of human infection, particularly in urban areas; however few reports have focused on the pathology of leptospirosis in this host. This study reports pathological changes in 60 kidneys from captured wild rats and compares these with changes in the kidney of Wistar rats experimentally infected with Leptospira interrogans serovar Copenhageni strain FIOCRUZ L1-130. A broad range of morphological alterations were detected in the kidneys from captured rats but interstitial nephritis was the only feature reproduced under experimental conditions. The role of interstitial nephritis in the pathogenesis of leptospirosis is reviewed and it is suggested that rats may provide a potential tool for the study of colonization mechanisms and host resistance in acute leptospiral disease.

Experimental Hamster Infection with a Strain of Leptospira borgpetersenii Ballum Isolated from a Reservoir Mouse in New Caledonia

“…[18][19][20][21][22] Interestingly, hamsters infected with virulent strains of leptospires and developing rapid acute lethal infection presented with severe damage of tubular epithelia with cell swelling, whereas hamsters presenting advanced signs of the disease (10 days postinfection) exhibited multifocal moderate nephritis with infiltrates of leukocytes and histiocytes. 23 During chronic infection, interstitial nephritis is commonly associated with fibrosis.…”

Protection against Lethal Leptospirosis after Vaccination with LipL32 Coupled or Coadministered with the B Subunit of Escherichia coli Heat-Labile Enterotoxin

“…Leptospirosis is recognized as an emerging infectious disease and affects humans and wild and domestic animals (1). Leptospires colonize the proximal renal tubules of carrier animals (34) and are shed in the urine. The disease is associated with direct or indirect contact with contaminated urine (1,25).…”

Proteomic Analysis of Leptospira interrogans Shed in Urine of Chronically Infected Hosts

“…Chronically infected mammalian hosts harbor pathogenic Leptospira species in renal tubules of the kidney, from which they are shed via urine into the environment and survive under suitable moist conditions. The rat has long been recognized as a carrier host for Leptospira species (8,31), with recent studies confirming its role in disease outbreaks in urban settings (22,29,32). Humans are infected via broken skin and mucosal surfaces during contact with contaminated environments (9).…”