Research Information System
KAFKAS UNIVERSITESI VETERINER FAKULTESI DERGISI, no.3, pp.353-363, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
In the present study 49 sheep fetuses naturally infected with Brucella melitensis were morphologically and immunohistochemically evaluated in association with bacteriologic culture. B. melitensis was isolated from nine fetuses of the 28 cases of which bacteriological analysis was performed and further immunohistochemical investigations were performed to those B. melitensis positive cases. Histopathological changes of nine sheep fetuses were mainly bronchopneumonia in the lungs and lymphoreticular hyperplasia in the liver and spleen. Nine sheep fetal lungs microbiologically infected with B. melitensis were also immunohictochemically positive. However, the antigen was not detected in any of the thymus examined. Intracellular antigenic localization was identified mainly in macrophages, neutrophils and hepatocytes. CD3(+) T lymphocytes were determined with varying intensities in the liver, lungs, spleen, kidney, heart, bronchial lymph node, small intestines and abomasum of the aborted sheep fetuses. Local humoral response were limited and reflected as a few lambda light chain positive (lambda-Ig) cells in only two lungs and one abomasum addition to spleens and lymph nodes of the aborted fetuses. In the present study determination of the Brucella causative agents with use of immunohistochemistry showed that this method could be useful as complementary method in cases where bacteriologic culture and serology is not available, in cases where sample fixed in formaldehyde or in suspicious cases where culture is negative. Furthermore, abortuses in sheep fetuses could occur not only as a result of plasentitis but also limited humoral and cellular response of the fetuses.