Evaluation of CD4+ and CD8+ T-Lymphocytes count and CD4+:CD8+ ratio in Maine Coon cats with chronic gingivitis and infected or not with herpesvirus type 1 and/or calicivirus

Author(s)

Alexandre Gonçalves Teixeira Daniel

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ/SBD)
• Defense date: 2011-01-31

Examining board members

Archivaldo Reche Junior; Marco Antonio Gioso; Maria Anete Lallo

• Advisor: Archivaldo Reche Junior

Abstract

Chronic untreatable feline gingivitis is widely recognized as one of the major oral diseases seen in feline patients. It can be either triggered or exacerbated by virus such as feline immunodeficiency virus, feline herpesvirus type 1 and calicivirus. One may therefore propose that lymphocytes T CD4+ and T CD8+ depletion can play an important role in initiating and maintaining the inflammatory gingival disease. Maine Coon cats are highly predisposed to juvenile untreatable gingivitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether Maine Coon cats are more predisposed to calicivirus infection and to verify, quantitatively, their immunological cellular response mediated by lymphocytes T CD4+ and TCD8+. The main idea was to investigate the influence imposed by lymphocyte counts in gingivitis development and progression within this breed; for this, we selected non-Maine Coon cats (with and without gingivitis) to serve as controls. Mean absolute values of total lymphocytes in Maine Coon cats presented with gingivitis were inferior than the same values taken for both Maine Coon cats free of oral disease and non-Maine Coon cats with chronic gingivitis (p<0,05); lymphocytes TCD4+ average values in Maine Coon cats with chronic gingivitis were also lower than the ones taken from cats of the same breed but without oral disease (p<0,05). Maine Coon cats have lower CD4+:CD8+ ratio when compared to non-Maine Coon cats with chronic gingivitis as well as with Maine Coon cats without oral disease (p<0,05). The calicivirus is highly involved with the occurrence of gingivitis, no matter the breed being evaluated. The action virus imposes in changing cellular immunology was not significant, at least considering the cellular variables studied. All these lead us to point out a possible breed predisposition to the gingival inflammation, with modification of some cellular components related with cellular immunity. Furthermore, concerning practical terms, these results serve as a relevant alert to the clinicians regarding the use of glucocorticoids for treating chronic gingivitis in this breed, in order to prevent further impairment of cellular immunity of these animals. (AU)