biotinyltyramide and Anemia

Haemobartonella felis is an epierythrocytic bacterium suspected to be the causative agent of feline infectious anemia. Previous studies with a polymerase chain reaction assay have identified a mycoplasmal 16S rRNA gene sequence that coincides with clinical disease and the presence of organisms in the blood. Tissues from a cat experimentally infected with H. felis were used for in situ hybridization studies to physically link this 16S rRNA gene to the organisms on the red cells. A biotin-labeled probe was used in conjunction with tyramide signal amplification to visualize the hybridization signal. This study clearly demonstrates a specific hybridization signal on the red cells in the tissues of the H. felis-infected cat. This in situ hybridization study is the final step in fulfilling the molecular guidelines for disease causation and proves that H. felis, a mycoplasmal organism, is the causative agent of feline infectious anemia.

Topics: Anaplasmataceae; Anaplasmataceae Infections; Anemia; Animals; Bacteremia; Biotin; Cat Diseases; Cats; Colorimetry; DNA Probes; In Situ Hybridization; Kidney; Liver; Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Bacterial; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tyramine