Histological and immunohistochemical evaluations of the bone marrow from femur and sternal manubrium of dogs reactive for leishmaniasis by DPP® and ELISA tests

Abstract As the bone marrow is one of the most organs affected by canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), samples from this are frequently taken for parasitological tests, with occurrence of myelodysplastic changes, with consequent anemia, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the histological and immunohistochemical changes in the bone marrow of the femur and sternal manubrium of dogs reactive for leishmaniasis by DPP® and ELISA tests. For this, thirteen canines from the epidemiological routine for CVL carried out by the Directorate of Zoonosis Surveillance of Goiânia (DVZ), GO, Brazil, were subjected to anatomopathological examination. 46.2% of bone marrow samples from the femur showed a higher proportion of the red series, and 53.9% of bone marrow of the sternal manubrium evidenced a higher proportion of the red series. Also, there were varied macrophage hyperplasia, hemosiderosis, and megakaryocytic emperipolesis. Amastigote forms of Leishmania spp. in the bone marrow of the femur and sternal manubrium to histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluations were observed, with good agreement them, but without difference in the parasite intensity between the bone marrow of these anatomical sites. It was concluded that bone marrow of the femur and sternal manubrium of dogs reactive for leishmaniasis by DPP® and ELISA tests has histological changes resulting from the disease, regardless of the parasite presence or intensity, with macrophage hyperplasia, hemosiderosis, and emperipolesis being the main medullary changes in these animals. Also, the bone marrow of the femur and sternal manubrium are useful anatomical sites for the diagnosis of CVL by direct methods.