Paraquat dichloride has been used by farmers as a herbicide to kill the grass. On the other hand, paraquat dichloride is harmful if enters to the body, causing Parkinson's disease, since it is disrupting dopamine production in the substantia nigra pars compacta or dopamine pathways Nigro striatal pathway. The study was done to fi nd out the histological changes of catecholaminergic neurons and Nigro striatal pathway caused by paraquat dichloride treatment in Wistar rats as a model of Parkinson's disease.Twenty-two Wistar rats 3,5 months old were divided into 4 groups, 5 rats each. Group I (control group) were injected with aquabidest, while groups II, III, and IV were injected intraperitoneally with paraquat dichloride in aquabidest, with the dosage 5 , 10 and 15 mg/kg bw respectively. The rats were injected once per week for 6 weeks. Three days after the last injection, the rats were anesthetized using xylasin (2 mg/kg) and ketamine (20 mg/kg) intramuscularly, and then were intracardiac perfused using physiological saline as prerinse solution, followed by 10% buffered formalin solution as a fi xative. After animals were fi xed, the brains were removed and embedded in paraffi n block and cut in 12 μm thickness for immunohistochemistry staining using tyrosine hydroxylase antibody. The results of staining then were observed under light microscope and analyzed descriptively.The results showed that the catecholaminergic neurons were distributed in the substantia nigra pars compacta in all treatment groups, however, the cell density were found decreased only in group IV. Catecholaminergic neurons appear in the bipolar and multipolar form, while dopamine 'Nigro striatal pathway' was found exist in all treatment groups. From our study, histologycally the decreased of catecholaminergic neurons is only found in rats that received paraquat dichloride in dose 15 mg/kg bw for 6 weeks.

Abstract. To examine the genetic origin of the domestic pig, the distribution of wild boar, and human-mediated translocation of the domestic pig, we collected 223 samples from domestic pigs and wild boars from eight Indonesian islands, sequenced the control region of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from each sample, and compared these sequences with previously determined sequences from East and Southeast Asian domestic pigs and wild boars. Three Sus species (S. scrofa, S. verrucosus, and S. celebensis) were identified on the Indonesian islands. The mtDNA sequences of three Indonesian Sus species were diverse, and they clustered into three lineages with low bootstrap values (an S. scrofa group including East and Southeast Asian domestic pigs and wild boars, a group including indigenous S. scrofa together with S. verrucosus from Sumatra and Java Islands, and an S. celebensis group from Sulawesi Island). The mtDNA haplotypes of S. scrofa wild boars from three (Sumbawa, Flores and New Guinea) islands and domestic pigs from two (Lombok and Timor) islands east of the Wallace Line, and some S. scrofa wild boars from Sumatra and Java Islands were related to Vietnamese pig mtDNA sequences in the East and Southeast Asian domestic pig and wild boar clade, supporting that ancient immigrants likely introduced domestic pigs from the Asian continent to east Indonesian islands. The mtDNA haplotypes of S. celebensis were broadly divided into three groups, which were distributed in the north and southwest areas, central area and southeast area of Sulawesi Island.

Host mucins have crucial physical roles in preventing the parasitic establishment and maturation, and also in expelling the invading parasites. However, some parasites utilize mucinase enzymes to facilitate the infection. Recently, we have identified a mucinase enzyme of the liver fluke Opisthorchis viverrini, Ov-M60-like-1, which exhibits metallopeptidase activity against bovine submaxillary mucin substrate. Here, we aimed to study the localization of this enzyme in O. viverrini and the bile duct of hamsters using immunohistochemistry and functional analysis by mucin digestion in hamsters and mice tissues. The results showed that Ov-M60-like-1 was detected strongly in the tegument, tegumental cells, vitelline glands and mature eggs with miracidium. Expression in the gut, ovary and testis of the parasite was moderate while parenchyma showed slight colour intensity. In addition, the mucinase was also detected in the host biliary epithelial cells and goblet cells surrounding the worm. The mucinase assay revealed that the Ov-M60-like-1 could digest neutral mucin in the parenchyma, testis and seminal receptacle, but not the mucin in the tegument, tegumental cells and vitelline glands of the worm. The enzyme can also digest mucin in the cholangiocytes and modified the mixture type in the bile duct goblet cells of the infected hamsters, a susceptible host. In contrast, the enzyme was unable to digest neutral, acid and mixture mucin in the bile duct of the mice, a non-susceptible host. These findings indicate that Ov-M60-like-1 may have functions in both housekeeping tasks and host–parasite interactions, especially in modification of host susceptibility.