Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine
Volume:16 Issue: 2, Spring 2022

Oxaliplatin (OX) is the third-generation platinum anticancer drug used to treat various types of cancers. Although oxaliplatin has a renal metabolism, the evaluation of its nephrotoxicity is limited.

This study describes the morphometry of mouse kidneys using stereology following OX treatment.

Twenty Balb/C healthy male adult mice were divided into two groups. The mice from group 1 re-ceived 3 mg/kg oxaliplatin three times a week for 21 days, and in group 2 the mice were injected with saline. The left kidneys were used to measure the kidney volume, the volume fraction of cortex and medulla, glomerular vol-ume, glomerular mean volume, glomerular number, epithelial volume, and length of the proximal (PCT) and distal (DCT) convoluted tubules.

No significant differences in total kidney volume, the volume of cortex, and medulla were observed between control and experimental animals (P≥0.05). No differences were observed in either epithelial volume of PCT and DCT or total length of PCT and DCT between the control and experimental group (P≥0.05). The glomer-ular volume fraction, total glomerular volume, mean glomerular volume, and glomerular number did not differ between control and the treated animals (P≥0.05).

The results did not demonstrate any deleterious effect of OX in the mentioned dose on kidney structure in mice. These findings may help infer contradictory outcomes of different studies in this field and promote future investigations.

Ghrelin is a regulatory peptide with endocrine and metabolic effects in mammals and birds.

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of intracerebroventricular (ICV) in-jection of ghrelin on the plasma level of some hormones and biochemical indices involved in the energy balance of neonatal chicks.

Intracerebroventricular injection of 20 or 40 pmol ghrelin/individual was done. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein 15 and 30 minutes after the ICV injection of ghrelin to measure serum parameters.

The ICV administration of 20 and 40 pmol ghrelin/individual had no effects at 15 min post-injection, but at 30 min post-injection, the triiodothyronine (T3) level significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner. The leptin level also declined significantly compared to that of the control group. There were no significant changes in other parameters, including insulin, T4, triglyceride, cholesterol, and glucose.

It can be concluded that the changes that occurred in T3 and leptin levels may have been due to the effects of ghrelin on the metabolic rate and food intake (concerning T3) and the parallel action of ghrelin and leptin (concerning leptin).

Germinated Barely and Earth Apple were used as a source of prebiotic to enhance fish health and welfare.

The effect of adding different levels of both germinated barley and earth apple powders in Cypri-nus carpio diets was evaluated.

First Diet (Control diet free of any additives), diets in treatments of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 with 2.5, 5, and 7.5 gr/kg diet of each of barley and earth apple powders respectively on an equivalent basis of protein.

T4 with 7.5 gr Earth apple was higher significantly (P≤0.05) in Gill index. T5 with 2.5 gr Barley was significantly higher (P≤0.05) in the Kidney index. Spleen somatic index was higher in all treatments except for T2 and T4. T2 and T5 were significantly higher in the Hepatosomatic index. Using germinated barely and earth apple powder in intestine indices either weight or length, the T7 with 7.5 gr Barley has more impact on the fish intestine. T3 with 5 gr Earth apple was higher significantly (P≤0.05) in each meat index in terms of Fish weight without viscera and Fish weight without viscera & head.

Earth Apple powder as a source of prebiotic enhances the health parameters in biological pa-rameters (P≤0.05).

Newcastle disease virus (NDV) is an avian pathogen that infects various birds worldwide. Recurrent outbreaks of ND consistently occurring in Iran cause substantial economic losses each year. The Northeast region of Iran has an extensive commercial poultry industry and is also a big exporter of poultry products to other countries. Therefore, consistent and dynamic surveillance of the NDV's prevalence in this geographic region is essential in controlling the disease.

The virulence of the virus is determined based on the sequence of Fusion (F) protein. However, though the Phosphoprotein (P) and Matrix (M) proteins of NDV are also involved in the evolution and pathogenicity of the virus, molecular evaluation of their genomic loci in the NDVs prevalent in Iran is limited. Here, we present data for the sequences of full-length P and M genes belonging to an NDV that caused the ND outbreak of 2011 in the Northeast of Iran.

The genomic sequences encoding full-length P and M proteins as well as that of F protein were amplified using PCR and sequenced by the Sanger sequencing. The obtained sequences, plus their translated proteins, were evalu-ated using various bioinformatics approaches, such as homology and phylogenetic analyses.

Phylogenetic analyses based on P, M, and F genes clustered our isolate together with VII.I.I GenBank se-quences from Iranian sources reported from 2011 to 2019, as well as with those reported from China. But our isolate showed less homology to vaccine strains commonly used in Iran.

Our study showed that, in addition to the newly evolving sub-genotypes, VII.1.1 variants are still circulating in the region. The weak homology in determinant regions between this strain and those used for vaccine pro-duction must be considered in vaccination programs. Further, the persistent presence of NDV genotypes already prevalent in the Far East in Iran highlights the importance of biosecurity management and dynamic surveillance in controlling ND.

Mastitis is an important disease that affects dairy herds worldwide. The Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) is the causative pathogen for mastitis. This pathogen has the tendency to biofilm forming, and may happen to antibiotic resistance.

The aim of this study was to characterize the biofilm formation of different genotypes and antibiotic resistance pattern of S. aureus isolated from the subclinical bovine mastitis in Tehran province.

The lactating dairy cows were screened for the subclinical mastitis. The isolates were identified by phenotypic method and the presence of the nuc gene. The biofilm forming and quantification was characterized using colorimetric assay. The S. aureus biofilm gene was evaluated using PCR assay. The antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was assessed using DAD method. The lowest antimicrobial concentration preventing the visible growth was construed by MIC50. The antibiotic susceptibility and MBECs for the bacteria embedded in the biofilms were determined by XTT method.

The antimicrobials susceptibility test showed penicillin and ceftiofur to be less and more effective in vitro, respec-tively. The genotypic characterization showed that the highest and the lowest frequencies for icaD (75%) and fnbB (31.2%) genes, respectively. The biofilm formation was also characterized. The MBEC results for the bacterial biofilm showed resistance to ceftiofur in the biofilm state; however, these strains were susceptible to this agent in the planktonic state.

The biofilm formation is a significant virulence factor that was detected at a high rate. It is antibiotic-resistant and responsible for the subclinical bovine mastitis that does not respond to the routine treatments.In order to control the infection achieve the effective treatment, and prevent the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, it is necessary to isolate the causative agent and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility

Prototheca spp. belongs to the family Chlorellaceae and can cause mastitis in dairy cattle herds. Several Prototheca species could be isolated in different parts of the dairy herds.

The objectives were to determine: (1) the investigation status of bulk milk tank Prototheca Spp prevalence in industrial dairy cattle herds in different area of Iran. And (2). To evaluate the fungal agent prevalence of bulk milk tank of dairy cattle herds in different seasons.

Bulk milk tank for the presence of Prototheca and fungal agents from 165 industrial dairy cattle herds complexes were tested. The population of each herd was about 850–3500 Holstein dairy cows. The samples were taken from 32 cities and 16 provinces of Iran, respectively. In total, almost 66800 Holstein dairy cows were repre-sented. The population of lactating cows included about 25800. Samples were cultured on sabouraud glucose agar (SGA) medium with chloramphenicol (100 mg/L).

Only 8 (4.84%) out of 165 samples were isolated for Prototheca spp. It had been isolated in different seasons. They were 2, 4, 1, and 1 samples in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. Candida, Fusarium, and Trichosporon spp. were isolated from 137, 2 and 1 samples, respectively. According to the obtained results, Prototheca and fungal agents are present in bulk milk tanks of industrial dairy cattle herds in different provinces of Iran.

It is concluded that exposure to Prototheca and different fungal agents could be common in the dairy cattle herds in Iran. The results are important as dairy cattle health and human sanitation hazar.

Epididymal sperm collection is allowed by using genetic material post-mortem or after orchiec-tomy from high-value animals or endangered species.

The aim of this study was to improve the accessibility of the dog epididymal sperm cryopreserva-tion system based on the appropriate dose of lecithin.

Epididymal sperm from castrated testes of mature healthy dogs in veterinary centers were collected and divided into six groups: G1: egg yolk 20% (control), G2: lecithin 0.4% (L0.4), G3: lecithin 0.8% (L0.8), G4: lecithin 1.2% (L1.2), G5: lecithin 1.6% (L1.6), and G6: lecithin 2% (L2). Evaluation of Spermatozoa was done before freezing by Motility test, Eosin- Nigrosin vital staining and Hypo-Osmotic Swelling Test (HOST) and after thawing by Computer Assisted Semen Analysis (CASA), HOST, Eosin-Nigrosin vital staining, Mitochondrial Membrane Potential (MMP) and Intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS).

In frozen samples, total motility and proportion of sperm with intact plasma membrane integrity based on the HOS test were lesser in all groups treated with different concentrations of lecithin than in the control group (P≤0.05). However, beat cross frequency (BCF) was higher in all groups treated with different concentrations of lecithin as compared with the control group (P≤0.05). Yet progressive motility, the proportion of live sperm based on the Eosin- Nigrosin test, VAP, VSL, VCL, STR, LIN, and ALH did not differ among various experimental groups (P>0.05). The proportion of sperm with morphological defects did not differ between fresh and frozen sam-ples and among various experimental groups (P>0.05). Mitochondrial membrane potential was greater in the control group than 0.4% lecithin group (P=0.026). The proportion of sperm positive for ROS was lesser in the control group than 0.4% lecithin group (P=0.049).

The high potential toxicity of epsilon toxin (Etx) produced by Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) type D, has made it the third most lethal clostridial toxin behind botulinum and tetanus, therefore, having a pure and concentrated Etx is very important.

The aim of this study was to purify Etx as pure as possible with an applicable, cost-effective, multistep purification protocol with the lowest and shortest time.

The purification of the Etx was carried out in multiple consecutive steps; ammonium sulfate precipi-tation, dialysis, size exclusion chromatography by G50, two concentration steps, and ultrafiltration. The Etx activity after different steps was evaluated by the minimum lethal dose (MLD) calculation, according to the standard oper-ating procedure. Toxin quantification was determined using Lowry technique, and its presence and specificity was tracked to identify pure Etx by SDS- PAGE and western blotting. Finally, the purity of Etx was evaluated by capil-lary electrophoresis.

The purified Etx formed a single band of about 32.9 kDa in SDS-PAGE and blotting. The pure Etx concentration was calculated to be 3.9 mg/ml and its MLD value was the dilution of 1/24000 after the ultrafiltration step. The presented purification processes to purify Etx resulted in ~ 87-fold concentration and 88.6% purity.

Due to this high Etx purity, the processes used in this study can provide the technical knowledge of toxin production in a larger industrial scale that can be used in development of clostridial toxoid vaccines, as well as quality control and/or diagnostic tests.

Nanoparticles are popular carriers for gene therapy and drug delivery. Their low toxicity effects, as well as their ability to accumulate and enter mammalian cells, illustrate their importance.

The aim of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of molybdenum trioxide nano-particles on liver structure and function.

Thirty-five adult Wistar rats were studied and placed in five groups. The control group took any drug, the solvent group received normal saline, and groups 3, 4, and 5 received 50, 100, and 200 mg/kgBW molybdenum trioxide nanoparticles (MoO3 NPs), respectively, by intraperitoneal injection for 35 days. In the end, serum levels of AST, ALT, ALP, T3, T4, TSH, and VLDL were investigated. Moreover, liver tissue was evaluated in terms of morphometrical, histological, histochemical, and image analysis. The Hematoxylin-Eosin, Masson's Trichrome, and Periodic Acid Schiff staining methods were utilized for liver tissue evaluation.

The results showed that molybdenum trioxide nanoparticles significantly increased serum levels of the liver enzymes and thyroid hormones and decreased TSH in MoO3 NPs groups compared with control and solvent groups. Also, histomorphometric and histochemical evaluation and image analysis of liver tissue indicated adverse effects of MoO3 NPs on liver tissue. They showed that the accumulation of carbohydrates in hepatocytes was de-creased, and collagen fibers stained by Masson's Trichrome staining were increased in MoO3 NPs groups.

It can be concluded that nanoparticles such as MoO3 NPs affect and damage the histological structure of the hepatocytes. Also, MoO3 NPs can alter serum levels of liver enzymes by affecting and damaging hepatocytes.

The accessory hepatic lobe is an extremely rare anomaly reported in humans and animals. A large domed solid mass and two smaller masses were noticed during thorax dissection in a six-year-old mixed breed male dog with no previous history of the disease, which was fixed to be used in the anatomy hall. The masses were placed adjacent to the diaphragm, between the lung's right and left caudal lobs. The masses with a common thick vascular pedicle had pierced the diaphragm and run to the falciform ligament of the liver. Histological findings showed liver tissue and hepatocytes were arranged radially around the central vein. There were sinusoids between the hepatocyte plates, dilated as telangiectasia in some areas. The study of the pedicle revealed a normal elastic artery, normal vein, and normal biliary duct crossed to the falciform ligament in the abdomen. The macroscopic and microscopic findings revealed type I intrathoracic ectopic liver.