Visualization of poikilocytosis as an emerging erythrocytic biomarker for fish health assessment

Abstract

Fish health assessment is essential for maintaining sustainable aquatic ecosystems and ensuring the well‐being of wild and farmed fish populations. Hematological parameters are crucial indicators of fish health, with poikilocytosis emerging as a fundamental marker with significant diagnostic value. Poikilocytosis refers to abnormally shaped erythrocytes in bloodstream, reflecting underlying physiological and pathological conditions. Poikilocytosis can occur in various fish species and can be influenced by environmental stressors, infectious agents, nutritional deficiencies, and exposure to pollutants. Morphological alterations in erythrocytes, such as acanthocytes, echinocytes, dacrocytes, schistocytes, spherocytes, and codocytes are common poikilocytes in fish. Understanding the relationship between poikilocytosis and fish health has important implications for disease diagnosis, monitoring, surveillance, and management. By quantifying poikilocytic changes, researchers and veterinarians can differentiate normal variations from pathological conditions, facilitating targeted interventions and treatment strategies. While most studies have focused on heavy metal toxicity, stressors, nutritional deficiencies, pollutants, and therapeutics, the etiological induction of poikilocytosis in fish health has been overlooked. Nonetheless, poikilocytosis remains a valuable biomarker for assessing fish health and their environment. This review highlights piscine poikilocytosis as a significant fish hematological biomarker and its importance in understanding their health and culture conditions.

Exploring the Molecular Characteristics and Role of PDGFB in Testis and Epididymis Development of Tibetan Sheep

“…It was found that the PDGFB protein was distributed in red blood cells inside the blood vessel, germ cells, and Leydig cells in the seminiferous tubule space of the testes of Tibetan sheep at different developmental periods. As the most abundant circulating cells in the mammalian blood, red blood cells are essential for life and metabolism, and their main role is the transportation of oxygen via the circulatory system and the delivery of oxygen to organs and cells in the body including the reproductive system [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Also, red blood cells participate in the transport and delivery of nutrients through the circulating system [ 24 ].…”