Biochemical and Pathomorphological Investigations on Rabbits with Experimentally Induced Hepatic Eimeriosis

Abstract

The present study aimed to evaluate the changes in concentrations of some biochemical parameters, as well as macro and microscopic alterations during Eimeria stiedae infection in rabbits. The experiment was performed using 12 three-month-old healthy rabbits, randomly allocated into 2 equal groups: G1 (controls, uninfected animals) and G2 (rabbits infected with E. stiedae). Blood samples were collected at time zero (prior to the infection), 6th, 24th, and 48th hours, and also 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th days after the infection. After sampling, the blood was centrifuged, plasma was separated and frozen at −20 ºC until analyzed. Thawed plasma was used for the quantitative determination of haptoglobin (Hp), total protein (TP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total cholesterol (TC), total bilirubin (TBIL), urea, and creatinine (CREA). The results in infected rabbits revealed a significant increase in Hp, AST, ALT, GGT, TBIL, and TC levels, as well as a significant decrease in ALP and urea. A weak hyperproteinemia was also observed. There were no changes in CREA concentration. At the end of the clinical investigation, all rabbits were humanely euthanized and necropsied. The post-mortem examination of the infected group revealed hepatomegaly, multifocal yellowish nodules diffusely spread over the liver surface and in the parenchyma, considerably dilated bile ducts, and biliary hyperplasia. Given the results obtained from this experiment, it can be affirmed that hepatic eimeriosis in rabbits is a severe parasitic disease leading to significant disturbances of liver histology and resulting changes in the biochemical profile of infected rabbits.

Hepatic Coccidiosis in Wild Rabbits in Greece: Parasite Detection on Liver Imprints and the Associated Biochemical Profile

“…Statistically significant differences were found for all the above-mentioned biochemical variables between the infected and non-infected animals. Our findings are well conformed to the observations of previous experimental studies in domestic rabbits [4,8,14,15] and are suggestive of the effects of E. stiedae infection on liver function. For instance, the experimental study of Jing et al showed that ALT, AST and GGT activities increased significantly and were indicative of the liver injury caused by E. stiedae infection and the parasite reproduction in liver parenchymal cells.…”

“…Liver damage and/or dysfunction were further reflected in the alterations of the blood and biochemical variables, as shown previously in experimental studies. A significant increase in the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), glutamyltransferase (GGT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities were recorded while albumin levels, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and cholesterol levels appeared to decrease [4,8,14,15]. As for the blood variables, the values of haematocrit (HCT), haemoglobin (Hg), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV), the counts of erythrocytes, lymphocytes and platelets, and the fibrinogen concentrations all decreased [4,15].…”