Astaxanthin Mitigates Thiacloprid-Induced Liver Injury and Immunotoxicity in Male Rats

Thiacloprid (TCP) is a widely used neonicotinoid insecticide with a probable toxic hazard to animals and human beings. This hazard has intensified the demand for natural compounds to alleviate the expected toxic insults. This study aimed at determining whether astaxanthin (ASX) could mitigate the hepatotoxic effect of TCP and diminish its suppressive effect on immune responses in rats. Animals received TCP by gavage at 62.1 mg/kg (1/10th LD₅₀) with or without ASX at 40 mg/kg for 60 days. Intoxicated rats showed modulation of serum transaminases and protein profiles. The hemagglutination antibody titer to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and the number of plaque-forming cells in the spleen were reduced. The cell-mediated immunity and phagocytosis were suppressed, while serum interleukins IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 were elevated. Additionally, malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine levels were increased in the liver, spleen, and thymus, with depletion of glutathione and suppression of superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. The expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase and the high mobility group box protein 1 genes were upregulated with histomorphological alterations in the aforementioned organs. Cotreatment with ASX markedly ameliorated the toxic effects of TCP, and all markers showed a regression trend towards control values. Collectively, our data suggest that the protective effects of ASX on the liver and immune system of TCP-treated animals depend upon improving the antioxidant status and relieving the inflammatory response, and thus it may be used as a promising therapeutic agent to provide superior hepato- and immunoprotection.     

Leaf morphology displays no detectable spatial organisation in the relict Quercus afares Pomel compared to the co-occurring parental species Q. canariensis Willd. and Q. suber L

?Context

Oak species display a large within-species diversity combined with significant gene flow between species. Quercus afares Pomel is an endemic species that grows as a small relict population in Northern Tunisia, together with Quercus suber L. and Quercus canariensis Willd. It is considered to be a fixed hybrid between the two latter.

?Aims

We tested (1) whether this population of Q. afares is declining with respect to the neighbouring populations of the two other species and (2) whether the spatial distribution of leaf morphology is random among individuals within this small population of Q. afares or influenced by the neighbouring species.

?Methods

Spatial distribution and diameter at breast height were recorded in the population of Q. afares. We identified two perpendicular transects across the population reaching from areas dominated by Q. canariensis to areas dominated by Q. suber and defined 20 plots along each. Eleven traits were assessed on 10 leaves collected from the upper crown of trees from the three species. A multiple correspondence analysis and an ANOVA were used to test for within and between-species diversity in leaf morphology.

?Results

Q. afares individuals occurred at a low frequency among the two other species. Nevertheless, Q. afares showed no particular evidence of decline with respect to the two other species. Leaf traits displayed a large inter-specific variability with very little overlap between Q. afares and Q. suber and some between Q. afares and Q. canariensis. A high level of diversity was detected for these traits within Q. afares, but we were unable to unravel any spatial organisation of this diversity; in Q. afares, leaf traits varied independently of the presence of neighbouring Q. suber or Q. canariensis.

?Conclusion

Q. afares seems to be a fixed species with specific leaf traits that are independent of that of the species of the neighbouring trees. This population is not suffering a detectable trend towards decline except for the lack of any visible regeneration below any of the three species.     

Molecular characterization of a new bipartite begomovirus that infects okra plants in guerrero,Mexico

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - In Mexico, okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L.) is grown mainly for export, but its production is affected by various pests and diseases. Plants with mosaic...     

Antibacterial activity of florfenicol composite nanogels against Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants

BackgroundFlorfenicol might be ineffective for treating Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants (SCVs) mastitis.ObjectivesIn this study, florfenicol-loaded chitosan (CS)-sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) composite nanogels were prepared to allow targeted delivery to SCV infected sites.MethodsThe formulation screening, the characteristics, in vitro release, antibacterial activity, therapeutic efficacy, and biosafety of the florfenicol composite nanogels were studied.ResultsThe optimized formulation was obtained when the CS and TPP were 10 and 5 mg/mL, respectively. The encapsulation efficiency, loading capacity, size, polydispersity index, and zeta potential of the optimized florfenicol composite nanogels were 87.3% ± 2.7%, 5.8% ± 1.4%, 280.3 ± 1.5 nm, 0.15 ± 0.03, and 36.3 ± 1.4 mv, respectively. Optical and scanning electron microscopy showed that spherical particles with a relatively uniform distribution and drugs might be incorporated in cross-linked polymeric networks. The in vitro release study showed that the florfenicol composite nanogels exhibited a biphasic pattern with the sustained release of 72.2% ± 1.8% at 48 h in pH 5.5 phosphate-buffered saline. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of commercial florfenicol solution and florfenicol composite nanogels against SCVs were 1 and 0.25 µg/mL, respectively. The time-killing curves and live–dead bacterial staining showed that the florfenicol composite nanogels were concentration-dependent. Furthermore, the florfenicol composite nanogels displayed good therapeutic efficacy against SCVs mastitis. Biological safety studies showed that the florfenicol composite nanogels might be a biocompatible preparation because of their non-toxic effects on the renal tissue and liver.ConclusionsFlorfenicol composite nanogels might improve the treatment of SCV infections.     

Immunohistochemical and histopathological findings of ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (Jaagsiekte) in Egyptian sheep

Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) is a naturally occurring retrovirus-induced transmissible lung cancer in sheep. Lungs and associated (bronchial and mediastinal) lymph nodes of seven sheep with OPA were examined. Lungs had few multifocal consolidated slightly elevated gray to white masses ranging from 0.5 to 3 cm in diameter. Histopathologically, these masses appeared as well-differentiated acinar adenocarcinoma with little evidence of anaplasia. The acini composed of well-differentiated cuboidal to low columnar epithelium with clear or vacuolated cytoplasm and low mitotic index. No metastases were observed in the bronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes of any animal. The presence of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) was demonstrated in the lungs by immunohistochemistry. JSRV protein was detected in all tumor epithelial cells, histologically normal alveolar type II cells, and few bronchiolar epithelial cells, alveolar macrophages, lymphocytes, and plasma cells. This study is the first to confirm the presence of natural OPA in Egypt.     

Composition and insecticidal activity of essential oil from Ruta graveolens,Mentha pulegium and Ocimum basilicum against Ectomyelois ceratoniae Zeller and Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection - The aim of this research was to explore the chemical composition and evaluate the insecticidal activities of Ruta graveolens, Mentha pulegium and Ocimum...     

Influence of low levels of dietary aflatoxins on Eimeria tenella infections in broilers

The present study was conducted to evaluate the adverse effects of an interaction between low levels of dietary aflatoxins (AF) and Eimeria tenella infection on broiler chicks. A set of 1-day-old chicks were raised for 35 days in the following groups: a control group, a group fed AF, a group fed AF and inoculated with E. tenella (AF + E.ten), and a group inoculated with E. tenella alone. AF in the contaminated diet were given at 200 ppb starting from the seventh day after hatching while E. tenella was inoculated at a dose of 5 × 10⁴ sporulated oocysts per chick at the 14th day after hatching. Worsened performance traits and high mortality were all observed in the treated birds, particularly the AF + E.ten group. Lesion scores and oocyst outputs were not different within groups. Chickens fed with AF had significantly increased serum ALT and ALP activities as well as decreased albumin content. They also showed hepatomegaly, hepatocytic vacuolation and necrosis, an atrophied bursa of Fabricius, and a thymus with tissue depletion. E. tenella-infected broilers displayed a significant reduction in packed cell volume, hemoglobin content and lymphocyte percentage, and showed hemorrhagic typhlitis. The deficits in hepatic function and hematologic parameters as well as the gross pathological, and histopathological changes, were more common and more severe in the group that was exposed to both aflatoxicosis and coccidiosis than in the groups exposed to either treatment alone. Thus, the combination of aflatoxicosis and E. tenella infection may influence the course of coccidial infection due to additive effects.     

Antibacterial activity of enrofloxacin loaded gelatin-sodium alginate composite nanogels against intracellular Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants

BackgroundThe poor intracellular concentration of enrofloxacin might lead to treatment failure of cow mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus small colony variants (SASCVs).ObjectivesIn this study, enrofloxacin composite nanogels were developed to increase the intracellular therapeutic drug concentrations and enhance the efficacy of enrofloxacin against cow mastitis caused by intracellular SASCVs.MethodsEnrofloxacin composite nanogels were formulated by an electrostatic interaction between gelatin (positive charge) and sodium alginate (SA; negative charge) with the help of CaCl₂ (ionic crosslinkers) and optimized by a single factor test using the particle diameter, zeta potential (ZP), polydispersity index (PDI), loading capacity (LC), and encapsulation efficiency (EE) as indexes. The formation mechanism, structural characteristics, bioadhesion ability, cellular uptake, and the antibacterial activity of the enrofloxacin composite nanogels against intracellular SASCVs strain were studied systematically.ResultsThe optimized formulation was comprised of 10 mg/mL (gelatin), 5 mg/mL (SA), and 0.25 mg/mL (CaCl₂). The size, LC, EE, PDI, and ZP of the optimized enrofloxacin composite nanogels were 323.2 ± 4.3 nm, 15.4% ± 0.2%, 69.6% ± 1.3%, 0.11 ± 0.02, and −34.4 ± 0.8 mV, respectively. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the enrofloxacin composite nanogels were spherical with a smooth surface and good particle size distributions. In addition, the enrofloxacin composite nanogels could enhance the bioadhesion capacity of enrofloxacin for the SASCVs strain by adhesive studies. The minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal concentration, minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration, and minimum biofilm eradication concentration were 2, 4, 4, and 8 μg/mL, respectively. The killing rate curve had a concentration-dependent bactericidal effect as increasing drug concentrations induced swifter and more radical killing effects.ConclusionsThis study provides a good tendency for developing enrofloxacin composite nanogels for treating cow mastitis caused by intracellular SASCVs and other intracellular bacterial infections.     

Garlic and hepatic coccidiosis: prophylaxis or treatment?

A study was conducted to investigate the protective and therapeutic effects of crude garlic (Allium sativum) against experimental infection with Eimeria stiedae in rabbits. Forty rabbits were divided into four groups of ten rabbits each: a healthy control group (HC); a challenged-garlic-protected group (CGP) which received a daily dose of 0.5 g/kg body weight (bwt) crude garlic for five successive days before challenge with E. stiedae; a challenged-garlic-treated group (CGT) which was treated with a daily dose of 0.5 g/kg bwt crude garlic for five successive days post-challenge; and an infected control group (IC). The challenge dose was 5?×?10⁴ sporulated E. stiedae oocysts per rabbit. Mortality rate, body weight gain, feed conversion ratio and faecal oocyst count were evaluated throughout the experiment. At the end of the experiment, all rabbits were killed and histopathological examination was performed. No mortalities were recorded in the HC and CGP groups, whilst mortality was found to be 20% and 40% in the CGT and IC groups, respectively. CGP rabbits had better body weight gain and lower numbers of oocysts than those in the CGT and IC groups. Hepatic lesions were less severe in the CGP group than in the CGT and IC groups. These results showed that oral administration of crude garlic ameliorated the adverse impacts of hepatic coccidiosis on rabbits when used as a prophylactic, but garlic was less effective as a therapeutic.     

Genotyping of kappa-casein gene in Egyptian buffalo bulls

The present work is undertaken mainly for genotyping of kappa-casein gene in buffalo bulls. DNA was extracted from the frozen semen of nine buffalo bulls used in artificial insemination in addition to 40 blood samples of male buffalo calves for identification and genotyping of kappa-casein gene by PCR-RFLP assay. Different restriction endonucleases, including HindIII, HinfI and Taq1 were used. The PCR product of the primer specific for K2 and KY gives the specific band at size 379 and 280 bp respectively. Digestion of 379 bp fragment K2 by restriction endonuclease HindIII generated two fragments of 156 and 223 bp. For fragment 280 bp kappa-casein KY, the above mentioned endonuclease generated two fragments of 180 and 100 bp. Digestion of the 379 bp PCR product with HinfI resulted two restriction fragments of 288 and 91 bp. On the other hand, the amplified DNA (379 bp) from buffalo remained undigested by Taq1 restriction enzyme.In conclusion, the PCR-RFLP technique demonstrated that bulls were monomorphic for the kappa-casein gene; they possess only allele B in homozygosis form.