Bone Marrow Pathology in Dogs and Cats with Non-Regenerative Immune-Mediated Haemolytic Anaemia and Pure Red Cell Aplasia

SummaryMany dogs and cats with immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA) lack a bone marrow erythroid regenerative response. To better understand the failure of the bone marrow to respond to the anaemia, bone marrow pathology associated with non-regenerative IMHA and pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) was reviewed. Eighty-two affected dogs and 57 affected cats were identified from a population presenting to a referral hospital over a 10-year period. Fifty-five dogs had non-regenerative IMHA (38 had bone marrow erythroid hyperplasia and 17 had erythroid maturation arrest) and 27 had pure red cell aplasia (PRCA). Twenty-eight cats had non-regenerative IMHA (24 had erythroid hyperplasia and 4 had erythroid maturation arrest) and 29 had PRCA. A variety of pathological changes were observed in bone marrow aspirates and core biopsy specimens taken from these animals. These changes included dysmyelopoiesis, myelonecrosis, myelofibrosis, interstitial oedema, haemorrhage, acute inflammation, haemophagocytic syndrome, lymphocyte aggregation, and lymphocyte or plasma cell hyperplasia. In both dogs and cats, dysmyelopoiesis, myelonecrosis, myelofibrosis, interstitial oedema, haemorrhage, acute inflammation and haemophagocytic syndrome were primarily noted in bone marrow specimens where there was evidence of erythroid hyperplasia. These animals were also more often neutropenic and thrombocytopenic, and had decreased 60 day survival when compared with dogs or cats with non-regenerative anaemia associated with erythroid maturation arrest or PRCA. Therefore, the pathogenesis of the non-regenerative anaemia in non-regenerative IMHA may involve both antibody-mediated destruction of bone marrow precursor cells and pathological events within the bone marrow that result in ineffective erythropoiesis.