Table 1.
List of inflammatory markers and primers used in this study.
Fig 1.
Petechial haemorrhages were observed in the lungs from day 1 p.i. and became severe from day 3 p.i. onwards. Kidneys became progressively pale from day 6 p.i. onwards. No notable changes were observed in the liver. C: Control; D1-D7: Day 1 to Day 7. The arrow shows a petechial haemorrhage.
Fig 2.
Gross finding in dissected areas.
The yellowish discolouration was observed on adipose tissue on day 6 p.i. in infected hamsters. C: control; D6: day 6 p.i.
Fig 3.
Histopathological lesions in the lung of infected hamsters.
Congestion and haemorrhage occurred as early as day 1 p.i. while dilated and collapsed alveoli occurred on days 6 and 7 p.i. and in dead hamsters. CG: Congestion, H: Haemorrhage, CA: Collapsed alveoli, ST: Septal thickening, DA: Dilated alveoli. C: Control, D1-D7: Day 1- day 7 and DD: Dead. Magnification: x100, bar: 100 μm.
Fig 4.
Histopathological lesions in the liver of infected hamsters.
Congestion occurred as early as day 1 p.i. while infiltration of inflammatory cells, disorganized hepatocyte cords and swelling of hepatocytes occurred on day 4 p.i. onwards. SC: Sinusoid congestion, IC: Infiltration of inflammatory cells, DHC: Disorganized hepatocyte cords, SH: Swollen hepatocytes and H: Haemorrhage. C: Control, D1-D7: Day 1- day 7 and DD: Dead. Magnification: x100, bar: 100 μm.
Fig 5.
Histopathological lesions in kidneys of infected hamsters.
Congestion occurred as early as day 3 p.i., haemorrhage, infiltration of inflammatory cells, dilation and collapse of Bowman’s space on day 4 p.i. and dilation of tubule and degeneration of epithelial cells in proximal and distal tubules occurred on day 5 p.i. onwards. CG: Congested glomerulus, CB: Collapse of Bowman’s space, DB: Dilated Bowman’s space, DT: Dilated tubule, DPD: Degeneration of epithelial cells in proximal and distal tubules, IC: Infiltration of inflammatory cells, and H: Haemorrhage. C: Control, D1-D7: Day 1- day 7 and DD: Dead. Magnification: x100, bar: 100 μm.
Table 2.
Histological scoring in hamsters infected with L. interrogans strain HP358.
Fig 6.
Leptospiral load in blood and organs tissues of hamsters infected with L. interrogans HP358.
D1-D7: day 1 to day 7; DD: dead hamsters. The leptospiral copies number in blood and organs can be found in S1 Table.
Fig 7.
The pattern of WBC, neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes and platelets levels in control (blue line) and infected hamsters (red line).
D1-D7: Day 1 to day 7. *P≤0.05, **P≤0.01, ***P≤0.001.
Fig 8.
Serum level of total bilirubin, direct bilirubin, CK, ALT, AST, creatinine and urea in control (blue line) and infected hamsters (red lines).
The biochemical measurements convey the function state of the liver and kidney. D1-D7: Day 1 to Day 7. *P≤0.05, **P≤0.01, ***P≤0.001.
Fig 9.
Modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzyme in the blood of control (blue line) and infected hamsters (red line).
Total RNA was extracted from whole blood on day 1 and days 3 to 7 p.i.. D1-D7: Day 1 to day 7. *P≤0.05. The fold gene expression value can be found in S2 Table.
Fig 10.
Modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in the lungs of control (blue line) and infected hamsters (red line).
Total RNA was extracted from lungs on day 1 p.i. and days 3 to 7 p.i. D1-D7: Day 1 to day 7. DD: dead. **P≤0.01, ***P≤0.001. The fold gene expression value can be found in S2 Table.
Fig 11.
Modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in the liver of control (blue line) and infected hamsters (red line).
Total RNA was extracted from liver on day 1 p.i. and days 3 to 7 p.i. D1-D7: Day 1 to day 7. DD: dead. *P≤0.05, **P≤0.01, ***P≤0.001.The fold gene expression value can be found in S2 Table.
Fig 12.
Modulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and enzymes in the kidneys of control (blue line) and infected hamsters (red line).
Total RNA was extracted from kidneys on day 1 p.i. and days 3 to 7 p.i. D1-D7: Day 1 to day 7. DD: dead. *P≤0.05, **P≤0.01, ***P≤0.001. The fold gene expression value can be found in S2 Table.
Fig 13.
Modulation of chemokines in blood, lungs, liver and kidneys of control (blue line) and infected hamsters (red line).
D1-D7: Day 1 to day 7. DD: dead *P≤0.05, **P≤0.01, ***P≤0.001. Control. The fold gene expression value can be found in S3 Table.
Fig 14.
Expression of TGF-β1 in blood, lungs, liver and kidneys of control (blue line) and infected hamsters (red line).
D1-D7:Day 1 to day 7. DD: dead. *P≤0.05, **P≤0.01, ***P≤0.001.The fold gene expression value can be found in S4 Table.
Table 3.
Summary of disease progression in hamsters infected with L. interrogans strain HP358.