Detection and localization of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae DNA in lungs from naturally infected pigs by in situ hybridization using a digoxigenin-labeled probe.

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae DNA was detected in 20 naturally infected pigs by in situ hybridization using a nonradioactive digoxigenin-labeled DNA probe. A 520-base-pair DNA probe targeting a reiterative sequence of the M. hyopneumoniae genome was generated by the polymerase chain reaction. All 20 pigs infected with M. hyopneumoniae had distinct and positive hybridization signals without background staining. A strong hybridization signal was detected mainly in the luminal surface of bronchial and bronchiolar lining epithelial cells, whereas no hybridization signal was seen in the cytoplasm of bronchial and bronchiolar lining epithelial cells. When hybridization signal was detected in the luminal surface of bronchial and bronchiolar lining epithelial cells, a given bronchus or bronchiole had peribronchiolar lymphoid hyperplastic tissues. Hybridization signals were not seen in the peribronchiolar lymphoid hyperplastic tissues. A less intense signal was detected in the interstitial and alveolar macrophages randomly scattered in the thickened alveolar septa and spaces. Hybridization signal was rarely detected in the type I pneumocytes. The in situ hybridization technique developed in this study was useful for detection of M. hyopneumoniae nucleic acids in tissues taken from naturally infected piglets and may be a valuable technique for studying the pathogenesis of M. hyopneumoniae infection.