Omotainse et al August 2016

 

Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences, Volume 14 (Number 2). August, 2016

 

Blood tumour necrosis factor-α and the pathogenesis of anaemia in Trypanosoma brucei infected rabbits

 

OS Omotainse1*, S Akpavie2, OL Ajayi1, EB Otesile3 & SO Omotainse1

 

  1. Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Ogun State, Nigeria

  2. Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria

  3. Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Ogun State, Nigeria

 

 

 

*Correspondence: Tel.: +2348061343367, E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Abstract

Trypanosomosis is a protozoan infection of domestic and wild animals characterized by anaemia, however, the pathogenesis of trypanosomosis-induced anaemia is not fully understood. This study evaluated the possible roles of Tumour Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the pathogenesis of anaemia induced by Trypanosoma brucei in rabbits. Twelve adult rabbits of both sexes with mean weight of 2.1 ± 0.1kg were randomly assigned into two groups of six rabbits each. Group A rabbits were intraperitoneally (i.p) infected with blood containing 2 x 106/ml of T. brucei, while group B (control) rabbits were injected with one ml of normal saline i.p. Blood was collected from the ear vein before infection and weekly thereafter for six weeks post-infection(p.i), in order to determine the packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb) concentration, red blood cell (RBC) count, reticulocyte count (RC) and serum concentrations of TNF-α. The PCV, RBC count and Hb concentration were significantly (p<0.05) lower in group A than group B rabbits throughout the duration of the study. Serum concentration of TNF-α was significantly (p<0.05) higher in group A (227.5 ± 8.1 ng/ml) than group B (51.3 ± 8.2 ng/ml) at week four post-infection. The serum concentration of TNF-α negatively correlated with PCV (r=-0.513) and Hb (r=-0.769) in group A. The study concluded that anaemia observed during experimental infection in rabbits with trypanosomosis was associated with increased levels of TNF-α.

Keywords: Anaemia, Rabbits, Pathogenesis, Trypanosomosis, Tumour Necrosis Factor- alpha

 

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