Immunohistochemical investigation of the damage to and repair of myelin, and astrocyte activity in small ruminants resulting from with natural meningoencephalitic listeriosis

Abstract

Meningoencephalitic listeriosis is a significant bacterial disease in various species. Common characteristics include microabscesses in the brainstem, midbrain and cerebellum. Many aspects of damage to the central nervous system caused by the disease remain obscure. We investigated central nervous system damage by assessing the presence of biomarkers such as galactocerebroside (GAL-C), glial fibrilary acidic protein (GFAP) and myelin basic protein (MBP) in brain tissues of sheep and goats of various ages, which naturally infected with listeriosis. We examined sections of pons, medulla oblongata, rostral colliculus, cerebellum, thalamus and cornu ammonis and found increased MBP (P < 0.01), GAL-C (P < 0.01) and GFAP (P < 0.01) expression. Ihis studv showed that myelin damage in meningoencephalitic listeriosis was an important neuropathological finding. The most prominent finding of this study is the beginning of the regeneration as soon as myelin damage occurs.