Impact of protein malnutrition on histological parameters of experimentally infected animals with Giardia lamblia

Abstract

Giardiasis is one of the most common parasitic diseases worldwide, and the disease is an important cause of diarrhoea and malabsorption in children and immunosuppressed individuals. However, there is no evidence that characterises malnutrition as an aggravating factor for this disease. We evaluated changes in villi structures to examine the association between malnutrition and Giardia lamblia infection. We used 32 gerbils, divided into 4 groups: Control (CT) and Control Infected (CTIn), which each received a 20% protein diet, Malnourished (MN) and Malnourished Infected (MNIn), which each received a 5% protein diet. Groups CTIn and MNIn were inoculated with 1×10(6) trophozoites of G. lamblia, while the remaining groups were mock infected. Seven days post-infection, all groups were sacrificed, and the proximal portions of the small intestines were collected for the analysis of villus height, mucus area and extent of Giardia infection. Gerbils fed with a low-protein diet had significantly lower body weights. Malnourished infected animals presented significantly increased production of mucus, suggesting a synergism occurs between malnutrition and Giardiasis, potentially to control the adhesion of Giardia in the mucosa. Villus height was significantly lower in group MNIn compared to CTIn. This work suggests that malnutrition contributes to severity of Giardiasis by decreasing the intestinal absorption capacity via shortening of the villi.

Obesity-induced diet leads to weight gain, systemic metabolic alterations, adipose tissue inflammation, hepatic steatosis, and oxidative stress in gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus)

“…Due to their size, ease of handling, and similarity to patterns found in humans (Eckmann, 2003; Araújo et al, 2008), the gerbil ( Meriones unguiculatus ) is a model already widespread in many parts of the world and well established for the study of various diseases such as giardiasis (Ventura et al, 2013), Helicobacter pylori infection and stomach cancer (Kodama, Murakami & Fujioka, 2004; Júnior et al, 2016), hearing disorders (Abbas & Rivolta, 2015), and more recently, as a good model for the study of visceralization of Leishmania major (Bakırcı et al, 2015). Li et al (2016), selectively bred a group of spontaneously hyperglycemic diabetic Mongolian gerbils and established a spontaneous diabetic gerbil line with insulin resistance and leptin resistance as well as decreased adiponectin level in the serum.…”

Giardia Alters Commensal Microbial Diversity throughout the Murine Gut

“…Encysting trophozoites are thought to increase ATP production via AdiHP, as glucose catabolized for energy is diverted to synthesize N-acetylgalactosamine, a component of the cyst wall. Competition for arginine between the parasite and host could directly influence the observed severe malnutrition and increased susceptibility to villus shortening (4,83). The enrichment of denitrifiers, such as the Betaproteobacteria (Rhodocyclaecae) (Fig.…”

Probiotic effect of Bifidobacterium longum 5 1A and Weissella paramesenteroides WpK4 on gerbils infected with Giardia lamblia

“…We chose gerbils for experimentation because they are excellent models for studies of the pathophysiology of giardiasis, due to their size, ease of handling and similarity to the standards of human disease. In addition, gerbils are highly susceptible to oral infection with a small number of cysts or trophozoites (Ventura et al, ; Ribeiro et al, ).…”