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Depletion of follicular dendritic cells in tonsils collected from PMWS-affected pigs

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Abstract

Post-weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) is a relevant, worldwide disease caused by porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). Microscopically, PMWS is mainly characterized by lymphocytic depletion, macrophage infiltration and syncytia in lymphoid tissues. Some data suggest that follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) could be infected by PCV2, thus likely playing a role in the pathogenesis of PMWS. The present paper aims at assessing, qualitatively and quantitatively, the FDCs’ network in the soft palate tonsils of clinically healthy and PMWS-affected pigs. Consecutive tissue sections were tested by immunohistochemistry to detect PCV2, FDCs and macrophages. FDCs and PCV2 antigens were quantitatively assessed by means of the Image J software and results submitted to statistical analysis. Our data demonstrated that FDCs are significantly reduced in PMWS-affected pigs compared with healthy pigs and that FDCs’ depletion should be considered among microscopic features of PMWS. It is reasonable to hypothesize that depletion of FDCs further compromises the immune response and enhances the occurrence and the severity of secondary infections, which are relevant for the clinical manifestation of PMWS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Loc. Piano d’Accio, 64100, Teramo, Italy

    Giuseppe Marruchella, Luca Valbonetti & Nicola Bernabò

  2. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna “G. Pegreffi”, Via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Ciriaco Ligios

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  1. Giuseppe Marruchella
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  2. Luca Valbonetti
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  3. Nicola Bernabò
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  4. Ciriaco Ligios
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Correspondence to Giuseppe Marruchella.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest. All authors contributed to this work and agreed to its publication.

Ethical approval

The present study only included animals who died spontaneously and were slaughtered in compliance with local rules. Pigs were slaughtered according with the European legislation about animal welfare at the abattoir (Council Regulation No 1099/2009).

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Marruchella, G., Valbonetti, L., Bernabò, N. et al. Depletion of follicular dendritic cells in tonsils collected from PMWS-affected pigs. Arch Virol 162, 1281–1287 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-017-3244-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00705-017-3244-1

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