2018 journal article
Lymphocyte Subsets in the Adrenal Glands of Dogs With Primary Hypoadrenocorticism
VETERINARY PATHOLOGY, 55(1), 177–181.
author keywords: Addison's disease; hypoadrenocorticism; endocrine diseases; adrenal gland; immunophenotype; lymphocyte subsets; dogs
journals.sagepub.com (publisher PDF)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: August 6, 2018
Primary hypoadrenocorticism, or Addison’s disease, is an autoimmune condition common in certain dog breeds that leads to the destruction of the adrenal cortex and a clinical syndrome involving anorexia, gastrointestinal upset, and electrolyte imbalances. Previous studies have demonstrated that this destruction is strongly associated with lymphocytic-plasmacytic inflammation and that the lymphocytes are primarily T cells. In this study, we used both immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization to characterize the T-cell subtypes involved. We collected postmortem specimens of 5 dogs with primary hypoadrenocorticism and 2 control dogs and, using the aforementioned techniques, showed that the lymphocytes are primarily CD4+ rather than CD8+. These findings have important implications for improving our understanding of the pathogenesis and in searching for the underlying causative genetic polymorphisms.
