INDICATORS OF PROTEIN METABOLISM OF RABBIT FOR THE INFLUENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION WITH SPIROCHAETE AND EIMERIA

Authors

  • M. P. Prus, National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine image/svg+xml
  • Y. V. Duda National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31548/ujvs2019.04.015

Abstract

Infection disease caused Spirochaete and Eimeria affect the meat productivity of rabbits, resulting in significant economic losses in rabbit farms. To avoid the spread of diseases, it is necessary to diagnose promptly. The determination of protein fractions of blood is indicative since it is important for the diagnosis of many diseases.

In this regard, the purpose of our work was to determine the impact of the association of pathogens Treponema cuniculi and Eimeria sp. on the protein exchange of rabbits.

The work was carried out during 2016-2018. For the study, rabbits of males of 3-4 months old, with a body weight of 3.5-4.0 kg of the Californian breed, were selected based on analogs in rabbit farms. Animals received balanced standard granulated feed and water without restriction and kept in compliance with current veterinary and sanitary norms.

Laboratory research was carried out in the research laboratory of the Department of Parasitology and Veterinary Expertise DSAEU. To determine the level of infection of rabbits by pathogens, their excrements were investigated using the McMaster method. Biochemical blood tests were performed using a set of reagents from the firm "Filisіt-Diagnostika" (Ukraine, the city Dnipro).

Studies have shown that the biological material from rabbits was contaminated by Spirochaete and Eimeria on average 1155.17 ± 184.87 and 6668.97 ± 284.16 oocysts per gram of feces, respectively.

In the blood of diseased animals, the content of total protein significantly decreased to 59.56 ± 2.75 g/l (p < 0.01) compared with this indicator in animals in the control group (70.48 ± 1.70 g/l). Reduced level of total protein in rabbit blood in the experimental group by 18.33 % (p < 0.01) was due to a decrease in albumin content by 11.65% (p<0.05) compared with healthy animals. The protein ratio of serum in diseased animals was lower by 36.72 % (p < 0.05) compared with healthy rabbits due to a possible decrease in albumin content and a slight increase in globulin content.

Between the globulin fractions there was a significant increase in the content of α1-, β- and γ-globulins, respectively, by 4.31 % (p < 0.01), 2.80 % (p < 0.05) and 5.17% (p<0.05) in serum of unhealthy rabbits, while the content of α2-globulins did not substantially change compared to those of control animals. Increasing the content of α1-globulins in the blood of sick rabbits is probably due to acute inflammation in the genital tract and damage to the mucous membrane of the intestine. Consequently, the obtained data suggest that intensive immunological processes occur in experimental rabbits.

The activity of aminotransferases (AST and ALT), during investigating the effects of Treponema cuniculi and Eimeria sp., in the blood of unhealthy rabbits was decreased. Probable decrease in the activity of ALT was in the blood of diseased animals 2.78 times (p < 0.001) and AST – 1.44 times (p < 0.05) compared to the control group of rabbits, possibly due to the long-term release of the enzyme from hepatocytes, especially in case of massive destruction of liver parenchyma, and also with renal insufficiency.

In our studies in the serum of unhealthy rabbits, we showed a probable decrease in the activity of not only ALT and AST, and α-amylase in 32.39 % (p < 0.05). The pancreas can, of course, produce a sufficient amount of α-amylase, but due to the prolonged action of toxic substances, a malfunction occurs during the synthesis of the enzyme, resulting in its low activity in the blood of diseased animals.

Cholinesterase successfully protects the body from various toxins, so increasing its activity in the blood of rabbits affected by Treponema cuniculi and Eimeria sp. in 1,77 times (p<0,001), compared with healthy animals, can be explained by poisoning the organism with toxins released by pathogens and formed in the case of metabolic disorders.

According to our results for the influence of the association of Spirochaete and Eimeria, the process of cell destruction is significantly accelerated, which leads to an increase in gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity in the blood from 163.03 ± 27.45 to 250.82 ± 30.51 nmol/(c*l) ( p < 0.05).

The revealed characteristic changes in protein metabolism of rabbits are associated with the negative effects of the Treponema cuniculi and Eimeria sp. and their toxins on the intestinal, liver, pancreatic, genital organs, kidney function, as well as with the stimulation of mechanisms of non-specific resistance of an animal's organism.

Prospects for further research are the study of the development of the immune response for the effects of Treponema cuniculi and Eimeria sp. in the body of rabbits.

Keywords: Treponema cuniculi, Eimeria sp., protein metabolism, globulin fractions, enzymes.

 

References

Nordhoff, M. L., & Wieler, L. H. (2005). Incidence and significance of treponemes in animals. Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr, 118(1-2):24-36.

Duda, Y. V., Kuneva, L. V., & Shevchik, R. S. (2018). Effect of Treponema cuniculi on protein metabolism of rabbits. 1st International gap agriculture and livestock congress, abstract, 439.

Kotsiubenko, G. A. (2013). Naukovo-praktychni metody pidvyshchennia produktyvnosti kroliv. Mykolayiv, MNAU

Georgieva, T. M., Georgiev, I. P., Iliev, Y., Petrov, V. S., Vachkov, A., Kanelov, I., Zapryanova, D., Pavlova, A. I., & Eckersall, D. (2008). Blood serum concentrations of total proteins and main protein fractions in weaning rabbits experimentally infected with E. coli. Rev. Méd. Vét., 159:431-436.

Vlizlo, V. V., Fedoruk, R. S., & Ratych, I. B. (2012). Laboratorni metody doslidzhen u biolohii, tvarynnytstvi ta veterynarnii medytsyni. Dovidnyk. za red. Vlizla, V.V. Lviv. SPOLOM., 5 (2): 195-197.

Schroeder, H. W., & Cavacini, L. Jr. (2010). Structure and function of immunoglobulins. J. Allergy Clin Immunol., 125(2): 41-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2009.09.046

Eltohamy, M. M., & Eldeghedy, N. (1985). Biochemical and physiological changes in the rabbits due to coccidial infection. Indian J. anim. Sc., 55 (6): 395-397.

Downloads

Published

2019-12-17

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 4 (2019)

Section

Article

License

Relationship between right holders and users shall be governed by the terms of the license Creative Commons  Attribution – non-commercial – Distribution On Same Conditions 4.0 international (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0):https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.uk

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).