Vet World   Vol.10   May-2017  Article-16

Immunopathological response of leukocytes against microfilariae and adult worms in white rats infected with Setaria cervi

Background and Aim: Aim of this study was to see the immunopathological changes against the microfilariae (Mf) and adult worms of a bovine filarid, Setaria cervi in the tissues of vital organs of experimentally infected white rats. The effect of diethylcarbamazine (DEC) was also observed on the Mf, as leukocytes especially lymphocytes produce immunoglobulins which opsonize and increase the efficacy of DEC against circulating Mf. Effect of this drug was also assessed on liver enzymes in the microfilaremic rats.

Materials and Methods: Microfilaremia was established by implanting adult worms intraperitoneally and by the infusion of Mf recovered from the uterus of gravid female worms. DEC was administered orally for six consecutive days in the rats having patent infection. Differential leukocyte count was recorded every 3rd day, and liver enzymes were estimated every 10th day in both treated and untreated rats. Pathological changes were observed in HE stained sections of vital organs where Mf or adult worms were trapped.

Results: Destruction and reduction in microfilarial density were noticed in microfilaremic rats treated with DEC. Trapped Mf and embedded worms revealed heavy cellular infiltrations by defensive cells which surrounded and attached with the body surface of the Mf as well as adult worms for their destruction and piece meal clearance. Immune-mediated pathology was observed in the tissue sections of lungs, spleen, and liver. Liver enzymes were elevated during the period of higher parasitemia.

Conclusion: There was a moderate level of immunopathology against the Mf and adult worms by the leukocytes in experimentally infected microfilaremic rats. Mf were in the process of degeneration where they got trapped. Moderate increase in liver enzyme was noticed which was slightly more in untreated group. Although a fraction of Mf gets killed in the peritoneum, majority of them successfully enter the systemic circulation and survive for about 54 days, which is sufficient enough for conducting immunological and chemotherapeutic studies. Keywords: differential leukocyte count, liver enzymes, microfilariae, pathology, Setaria cervi, white rats.

Keywords: differential leukocyte count, liver enzymes, microfilariae, pathology, Setaria cervi, white rats.

How to cite this article: Kausar S, Khan W (2017) Immunopathological response of leukocytes against microfilariae and adult worms in white rats infected with Setaria cervi, Veterinary World, 10(5): 562-568.

Received: 24-12-2016  Accepted: 10-04-2017     Published online: 30-05-2017

Corresponding author: Wajihullah Khan   E-mail: wajihullahkhan@yahoo.co.in

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2017.562-568

Copyright: Kausar and Khan, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.