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. 2021 May 20;9(5):1097.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9051097.

Neospora caninum and/or Toxoplasma gondii Seroprevalence: Vaccination against PCV2 and Muscle Enzyme Activity in Seropositive and Seronegative Pigs

Labrini V Athanasiou  1 , Vasileios G Papatsiros  1 , Victoria M Spanou  1 , Eleni G Katsogiannou  1 , Anna Dedousi  2
Affiliations

Neospora caninum and/or Toxoplasma gondii Seroprevalence: Vaccination against PCV2 and Muscle Enzyme Activity in Seropositive and Seronegative Pigs

Labrini V Athanasiou et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii affect both humans and animals worldwide. To investigate their seroprevalence and differences in seropositivity between pigs vaccinated and unvaccinated against porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2), as well as differences in muscle enzyme activity between seropositive and seronegative pigs, blood samples were collected from 380 sows. Antibodies against T. gondii and N. caninum were detected by an indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) assay, while the activities of creatine kinase (CK) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) were biochemically assessed. Out of the 364 sows finally included in the study, 4.4%, 3.5%, and 0.5% were seropositive to T. gondii, N. caninum, or both. A significantly higher percentage of seropositivity against T. gondii and/or N. caninum in PCV2 unvaccinated pigs compared with vaccinated pigs was observed. Increased serum activities of CK and AST were detected in 71.43% and 100% of only against T. gondii (T+) and 63.64% and 90.91% of only against N. caninum (N+) seropositive sows, respectively, and were significantly higher compared to seronegative animals. T. gondii and N. caninum seropositivity, especially in presumed immunocompromised pigs, and the evidence of muscle damage highlight their importance as a zoonotic pathogen and animal model of human infection, respectively.

Keywords: Neospora caninum; PCV2; Toxoplasma gondii; aspartate aminotransferase; creatine kinase; immunosuppression; pigs; serology; vaccination.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Image of indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) assay observed by a Nikon Eclipse fluorescence microscope (objective ×40). (a) Neospora caninum positive IgG antibody reaction, serum titer 1:100; (b) Toxoplasma gondii positive IgG antibody reaction, serum titer 1:128.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Dot and box and whisker plots of: (a) creatine kinase (CK) in pigs seronegative to both N. caninum and T. gondii (Neg), seropositive to N. caninum and seronegative to T. gondii (N+), and seropositive to T. gondii and seronegative to N. caninum (T+); (b) aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in pigs seronegative to both N. caninum and T. gondii (Neg), seropositive to N. caninum and seronegative to T. gondii (N+), and seropositive to T. gondii and seronegative to N. caninum (T+).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The percentages of sows with increased creatine kinase (CK), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and both CK-AST serum activities, as well as the percentages of serum enzyme levels within reference interval (WRI), are presented in percentage stacked columns in (a) seropositive to T. gondii sows (T+) group; (b) seropositive to N. caninum sows (N+) group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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