Intrahistiocytic Storage of Clofazimine Crystals in a Cat

Authors

Nathan D. Helgert, Murray State UniversityFollow
Debra L. Miller, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Jacqueline C. Whittemore, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Mee-Ja M. Sula, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Document Type

Peer Reviewed/Refereed Publication

Publication Date

12-17-2020

Publication Title

Veterinary Pathology

Department

Breathitt Veterinary Center

College/School

Hutson School of Agriculture

Abstract

A 13-year-old castrated male Maine coon cat with a 5-year history of atypical mycobacteriosis was euthanized and submitted for necropsy. The cat had been kept in clinical remission since diagnosis using a combination of the antimycobacterial drug clofazimine and additional multimodal antimicrobial therapy. Grossly, tissues were diffusely discolored red-brown to yellow. Histologically, the myocardial interstitum was expanded by numerous, often multinucleated cells, which were distended by uniformly shaped acicular cytoplasmic spaces. These cells were immunopositive for CD18 and immunonegative for desmin, suggesting a histiocytic rather than muscular origin. Macrophages in other tissues contained similar acicular spaces. Ultrastructurally, the spaces were surrounded by 2 lipid membranes, resembling an autophagosome. Based on the clinical history and histologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural data, we diagnosed clofazimine crystal storage. To our knowledge, this is the first report of clofazimine storage in a cat or within myocardial interstitial macrophages.

Comments

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an Article published in vol. 58, issue 2 of Veterinary Pathology by Sage Journals, available at https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0300985820980717

Recommended Citation

Helgert, N. D., Miller, D. L., Whittemore, J. C., & Sula, M.-J. M. (2021). Intrahistiocytic Storage of Clofazimine Crystals in a Cat. Veterinary Pathology, 58(2), 396–400. https://doi.org/10.1177/0300985820980717

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License