Disseminated aspergillosis in a dog: an immunohistochemical study.

An immunohistopathological study of a case of disseminated aspergillosis in a 4-year-old female German shepherd dog was carried out to characterize the cellular infiltrate within the granulomatous lesions of various organs. Polyclonal antibodies specific for canine immunoglobulins IgG, IgM, IgA, complement C3c, human CD3 antigen (pan T-lymphocyte marker), human lysozyme and alpha-1-antitrypsin and a monoclonal antibody for myeloid/ histocyte antigen (MAC 387) (macrophage marker) were used. In the mycotic granulomata of the heart, liver, spleen and kidneys a correlation was found between the numbers of CD3+ T lymphocytes and lysozyme+ macrophages (r = 0.9944, P = 0.0056), and between the numbers of CD3+ T lymphocytes and MAC 387+ macrophages (r = 0.9943, P = 0.0057).