To assess the possible involvement of canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1) in naturally occurring cases of canine chronic
liver disease, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay was developed to detect a conserved region of the
major core protein gene (pVII) of CAV-1 in
formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded liver sections. Results were compared with a standard
avidin-
biotin immunoperoxidase complex technique that detected CAV-1
antigens using a commercial monoclonal anti-adenovirus antibody. Seventeen cases of
cirrhosis and 28 cases of
chronic hepatitis with piecemeal
necrosis and progressive
fibrosis were selected for the study.
Formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded liver sections of 2 cases of
infectious canine hepatitis (ICH) and crude
DNA extract from CAV-1 (ATCC VR 293 Utrecht strain) served as positive controls. A 411-base-pair viral region was amplified and sequenced as CAV-1 pVII in both cases of
infectious canine hepatitis and in the CAV-1 crude
DNA extract. The 2 ICH cases were positive for CAV-1
antigens by the immunoperoxidase method. CAV-1
DNA or
antigens were not detected by either technique in any of the 45 cases of chronic
liver disease selected for the study. These results indicate that both PCR and immunohistochemistry are reliable and rapid techniques for detecting CAV-1 in
formalin-fixed,
paraffin-embedded liver sections of dogs with ICH. Several possibilities may explain the negative results obtained with both techniques in this study, including the noninvolvement of CAV-1 in canine
chronic hepatitis and
cirrhosis and the possibility that the virus causes initial damage, provokes a self-perpetuating chronic
liver disease, and disappears.