Recent Advances in Understanding the Pathogenesis ofLawsonia intracellularisInfections

Abstract

Proliferative enteropathy is an infectious disease caused by an obligate intracellular bacterium, Lawsonia intracellularis, and characterized by thickening of the intestinal epithelium due to enterocyte proliferation. The disease is endemic in swine herds and has been occasionally reported in various other species. Furthermore, outbreaks among foals began to be reported on breeding farms worldwide within the past 5 years. Cell proliferation is directly associated with bacterial infection and replication in the intestinal epithelium. As a result, mild to severe diarrhea is the major clinical sign described in infected animals. The dynamics of L. intracellularis infection in vitro and in vivo have been well characterized, but little is known about the genetic basis for the pathogenesis or ecology of this organism. The present review focuses on the recent advances regarding the pathogenesis and host-pathogen interaction of L. intracellularis infections.

Draft Genome Sequence of Lawsonia intracellularis Strain E40504, Isolated from a Horse Diagnosed with Equine Proliferative Enteropathy

“…Lawsonia intracellularis , the etiologic agent of EPE, is an obligate intracellular, motile, and Gram-negative bacterium (1). L. intracellularis is also an economically significant pig pathogen and is known to infect a wide range of domestic and wild animals (2). Despite the increasing interest in and occurrence of EPE, there are no publicly available genomes of equine-origin L. intracellularis .…”

Overview of Clinical Pathology and the Horse

“…PCR evaluation of diarrheic fecal samples is rewarding for establishing an infectious cause. [64][65][66][67][68] Malabsorptive enteric disease Malabsorption occurs in the horse when there is damage to the intestinal mucosa/ submucosa, which can result from inflammation that develops as the result of antigen/ antibody reactions, food intolerance, and true hypersensitivity lesions. The role of the cyathostomes must also be considered as they encyst and then can emerge in large numbers with disruption in the mucosa/submucosa that triggers fibrosis, which impedes absorption.…”

Detection of Lawsonia intracellularis fecal shedding in dogs in Minas Gerais, Brazil

“…PE has been described in many animal species, including sheep, hamsters, guinea pigs, foxes, ferrets and horses, and it is characterized by thickening of the intestinal epithelium due to enterocyte proliferation (McORIST & GEBHART, 2012;VANNUCCI & GEBHART, 2014). In swine, L. intracellularis has been recognized as an enteropathogen since 1931, and PE is now considered endemic in every country that has significant swine production (LAWSON & GEBHART, 2000).…”