Colonization of the reproductive tract of males by Leptospira spp. applying experimental infection in hamsters as a model

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a disease of the reproductive sphere, which can be eliminated through semen, a very worrying aspect in herds of production animals, especially in regions where there is a predominance of natural mating. The objective of this work is to evaluate the colonization capacity and understand the behavior of different isolates of Leptospira spp. in the reproductive system during the course of infectious dissemination in the animal organism. Therefore, an experimental infection will be contracted in a golden Syrian hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) from a collection of 12 strains of Leptospira spp., belonging to different species and serogroups, all bred in Brazil from the kidney and urine of cattle and buffaloes in the Amazon region. Animals inoculated with these cultures will be euthanized according to the day of infection (one, two, three, seven, 15 and 30), having the post reproductive tract organs (testis, epididymis, seminal rejection and vas deferens) received, in addition to edge. These biological materials will be evaluated by qPCR, histopathology (hematoxylin and eosin staining and Warthin-Starry staining) and bacterial culture. This form will be quantitatively and qualitatively evaluated for the presence of leptospires as well as their DNA, in addition to the observation of possible lesions. Thus, there will be elucidations regarding the state of genital carrier related to the stage of infection in infected animals. (AU)