The effect of Toxoplasma gondii on plasma serotonin concentration in sheep

Vet World Vol.11 October-2018 Article-22

Research Article

Veterinary World, 11(10): 1500-1505

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2018.1500-1505

Annamaria Castello¹, Giuseppe Bruschetta², Renato Paolo Giunta¹, Anna Maria Fausta Marino¹, and Alida Maria Ferlazzo²

1. Italian National Reference Center for Toxoplasmosis (Ce.Tox) - Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Sicily (IZS), Via Passo Gravina 195, 95125 Catania, Italy.
2. Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Polo Universitario dell'Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy.

Background and Aim: Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite that commonly infects warm-blooded animals, including humans. Virtually all species can be infected, but a species-specific variability is evident, in terms of both type and severity of the symptoms encountered. As serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT]) plays an important regulatory role in both physiological and immune responses, the aim of this research was to assess whether toxoplasmosis disease could affect plasma 5-HT concentration and/or hematochemical parameters in a particularly susceptible species to infection as sheep.

Materials and Methods: 5-HT plasma levels were analyzed in platelet-poor plasma fraction by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Blood count and hematochemical parameters were evaluated. Total proteins (TPs), glucose (Glu), and lactate dehydrogenase were determined by a spectrophotometer.

Results: Results showed significantly higher levels in plasma 5-HT, monocytes, and TP and significantly lower levels of Glu, in infected sheep compared to the control group.

Conclusion: Results could support the hypothesis of an effect of toxoplasmosis infection on plasma 5-HT concentrations in sheep. More research is needed to assess the function of 5-HT in the regulation of infected sheep's immune responses. Keywords: monocytes, plasma, serotonin, serum, sheep, toxoplasmosis.

Keywords: monocytes, plasma, serotonin, serum, sheep, toxoplasmosis.

How to cite this article: Castello A, Bruschetta G, Giunta RP, Marino AMF, Ferlazzo AM (2018) The effect of Toxoplasma gondii on plasma serotonin concentration in sheep, Veterinary World, 11(10): 1500-1505.

Received: 29-05-2018 Accepted: 19-09-2018 Published online: 26-10-2018

Corresponding author: Anna Maria Fausta Marino E-mail: annamaria.marino@izssicilia.it

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2018.1500-1505

Copyright: Castello, 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.