**5. Conclusions**

FE eczema causes loss of weight, skin lesions and liver damage principally. The biochemical parameters of the blood samples sugges<sup>t</sup> that GGT and AST are elevated in animals affected. Lesions such as liver atrophy and cirrhosis are characterized by a ductular reaction with the associated presence of HSCs, KCs, lymphocytes and neutrophils. These features vary depending on the time of previous exposure to the toxin, with a pro-inflammatory character in the acute phases and an anti-inflammatory, and therefore profibrotic, component in the chronic cases. T-lymphocyte infiltrates persist in chronic forms, in association with increased levels of HSCs, which could contribute to recruit lymphocytes within the liver stroma in order to maintain an effective immune response. Considering that the vascular and ductal system of the ovine liver have strong similarities

to the human organ, sheep have remarkable potential as a suitable animal model to study the pathogenesis and the interaction of toxicosis that result in liver damage.

**Author Contributions:** Design and supervision, M.C.F.; design and writing the paper, M.F. (Miguel Fernández) and M.C.F.; draft preparation, M.F. (Miguel Fuertes); sample collection and histopathological analysis, M.F. (Miguel Fernández), M.F. (Miguel Fuertes), V.P. and M.C.F.; plot and clinical information, J.M.; mycological study A.L.G.-P.; statistical analysis J.B. and J.E. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This work was supported by the research funds of the Ruminant Health and Pathology research group of the University of León.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to the type of study in which the blood samples were obtained during regular veterinary clinical services and with post mortem tissue samples that are routinely collected after the death of animals.

**Data Availability Statement:** Supporting data is available to applicants through the correspondence address.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors wish to thank Antonio Martínez for providing the animals for this study and Marta Silva for technical assistance.

**Conflicts of Interest:** None of the authors has any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.
