Metabolic disturbance and hepatic tissue damage induced by <i>Eimeria papillata</i> infection

Abstract

Coccidiosis is a parasitic disease, prevalent all over the world and has a significant impact on poultry production. The current study aimed to investigate the metabolic change as well as the hepatic inflammatory response caused by Eimeria papillata  infection. Female Balb/c mice were orally infected with 103 sporulated oocysts of E. papillata. Plasma levels of alanine (ALT) and aspartate (AST) aminotransferases, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Ö-glutamyl transferase (Ö GT), total bilirubin,  cholesterol,  triglycerides and glucose were assessed, and liver tissue sections were examined under a microscope. The level of CYP3A11, CYP7A1, UGT1A1, and SULT2A1 were determined using quantitative real-time PCR. The data showed that infection of mice with E. papillata induced metabolic disturbance, inflammation and injury of the liver. This was evidenced (i) as increases in  inflammatory cellular infiltrations, dilated sinusoids, and vacuolated hepatocytes, (ii) as increased plasma levels of ALT, AST, ALP, Ö GT, total bilirubin, cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose, (iii) as decreased mRNA expression of CYP3A11, UGT1A1, and SULT2A1, respectively and (iv) as increased mRNA level of CYP7A1. The data provide evidence that E. papillata parasites are able to induce a metabolic disturbances and hepatic tissue injury. Investigation of the expression profile of CYP, UGT and SULT genes in the hepatic tissues may help elucidate the underlying mechanism for  regulation of the transcription of genes in the process of pathogenesis.

Key words: gene expression, liver, metabolism, mice, Eimeria papillata.