Hematological, Physiological, Histopathological and Immunological Effects of Pinworm (Aspiculuris tetraptera) Infection in Laboratory Mice

Dalia Fouad, Asma Hajla, Farid S. Ataya and Ebtsam Al-Olayan

Background and Objective: Many animal houses in the Middle East are infected with some common parasites like Aspiculuris tetraptera. Some researchers consider this infection as normal although it could have unforeseen impacts on experimental assays and study outcomes. This study aimed to investigate the effects of A. tetraptera infection on the haematological, physiological, histopathological and immunological parameters of laboratory mice in the King Saud University’s animal house. Materials and Methods: Twenty-five mice were used in this experiment, twenty were used as the experimental group following natural infection with A. tetraptera, while the other five were not infected and used as the control group. This study involved blood cell count liver and kidney function tests, lipid profile and histological and immunological examination of tissue samples. Statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS software and unpaired T-Tests. Results: Haematological tests revealed marked increases in the white blood cell count (WBC) of infected mice when compared with the control group, whereas no significant changes were observed in Red Blood Cells (RBC) count. Physiological analysis of liver function revealed significant increases in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in serum of infected mice indicating liver injury. The lipid profiles of infected mice showed significant increases in total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-c and LDL-c. In addition, histological and immune histochemical evaluations of IL-6 and TNF-α in the liver, kidney and spleen showed significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion: Taken together, these results support the hypothesis that A. tetraptera infection interferes with research results as indicated by altered blood cell count, liver function, lipid profile and abnormal tissue histology over the normal uninfected mice.

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