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. 2018 Jun 25;14(1):203.
doi: 10.1186/s12917-018-1533-x.

Pathological changes and bacteriological assessments in the urinary tract of pregnant goats experimentally infected with Brucella melitensis

M Mazlina  1   2 , S Khairani-Bejo  2 , H Hazilawati  2 , T Tiagarahan  3 , N N Shaqinah  1 , M Zamri-Saad  4   5
Affiliations

Pathological changes and bacteriological assessments in the urinary tract of pregnant goats experimentally infected with Brucella melitensis

M Mazlina et al. BMC Vet Res. .

Abstract

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the pathological changes and distribution of B. melitensis in the urinary tract of pregnant goats following acute experimental infection. Six Jamnapari crossbred does in their third trimester of pregnancy were randomly assigned into two groups; Group 1 was uninfected control and Group 2 was inoculated conjunctival with 0.1 mL of the inoculums containing 109 cfu/mL of live B. melitensis. All does were sacrificed 30 days post-inoculation before the kidney, ureter, urinary bladder, urethra and vaginal swab were collected for isolation of B. melitensis. The same tissue samples were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for hematoxylin and eosin, and immunoperoxidase staining.

Results: None of the goats showed clinical signs or gross lesions. The most consistent histopathology finding was the infiltration of mononuclear cells, chiefly the macrophages with few lymphocytes and occasionally neutrophils in all organs along the urinary tract of the infected goats of Group 2. Other histopathology findings included mild necrosis of the epithelial cells of the renal tubules, congestion and occasional haemorrhages in the various tissues. Kidneys showed the most severe lesions. Immunoperoxidase staining revealed the presence of B. melitensis within the infiltrating macrophages and the epithelium of renal tubules, ureter, urethra and urinary bladder. Most extensive distribution was observed in the urinary bladder. Brucella melitensis was successfully isolated at low concentration (3.4 × 103 cfu/g) in the various organs of the urinary tract and at high concentration (2.4 × 108 cfu/mL) in the vaginal swabs of all infected goats. Although B. melitensis was successfully isolated from the various organs of the urinary tract, it was not isolated from the urine samples that were collected from the urinary bladder at necropsy.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates the presence of low concentrations of B. melitensis in the organs of urinary tract of pregnant does, resulting in mild histopathology lesions. However, B. melitensis was not isolated from the urine that was collected from the urinary bladder.

Keywords: Brucella melitensis; Goats; Histopathology; Immunoperoxidase; Urinary tract.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval

The experiment was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Universiti Putra Malaysia (IACUC no. R019/2014).

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Moderate congestion of the glomerulus and mild glomerulonephritis with infiltration of mainly neutrophilic cells. H&E, × 200. b Diffuse and moderately strong immunoperoxidase stain reactions in the epithelial cells of the renal tubules and in the cytoplasm of inflammatory cells infiltrating the glomeruli. IHC, × 200
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a Mild congestion and ureteritis characterized by infiltration of macrophages in the connective tissue stroma. H&E, × 200. b Positive immunoperoxidase stain reactions in the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells of the ureter and within the infiltrating macrophages. IHC, × 200
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
a Cystitis with macrophages and few lymphocytes in the connective tissue layer of the urinary bladder. H&E, × 200. b Strong golden brown immunoperoxidase staining observed intracellularly in macrophages and in the transitional epithelial cells of the urinary bladder. IP, × 200
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
a Infiltration of few macrophages at the perivascular area and the submucosa of urethra. H&E, × 100. b Positive light golden brown immunoperoxidase staining observed in the cytoplasm of the macrophages and epithelial cells of the urethra. IP, × 100
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