Mast cell typing in aortic onchocerciasis and the immunohistochemical demonstration of Wolbachia bacteria

Abstract

In this study, the presence of endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria was determined by immunohistochemical methods in 8 out of 43 paraffin-embedded bovine aortic tissues that were macroscopically and microscopically diagnosed with aortic onchocerciasis in the archive of the Harran University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Pathology. By means of the enzyme histochemical and immunohistochemical staining methods, it was ascertained that the tryptase-containing subtype of mast cells (MCT) was involved in the inflammatory response in the bovine aortae with onchocerciasis. The aim of this study was to elucidate the pathogenesis of aortic onchocerciasis lesions caused by Onchocerca armillata in Turkey and to demonstrate the presence of endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria in these lesions.