1.Effect of vaccination with irradiated Toxocara canis larvae or thyme oil treatment on testicular histochemical and immunohistochemical changes of rats
Hafez, E.N. ; Hafez, M.N. ; Amin, M.M.
Tropical Biomedicine 2019;36(2):430-442
Toxocara canis is widely distributed parasite that not only presents in definitive
hosts but also occurs in paratenic hosts including human. Larvae migrate throughout the
somatic tissue causing severe inflammatory and pathological reactions. This study aims to
detect the effect of infection with Toxocara canis on testis of rats regarding
histopathological, histochemical and immunohistochemical changes and amelioration of
these changes with either vaccination with gamma radiation-attenuated embryonated
eggs or with herbal treatment with thyme. The study was conducted on eighty rats classified
into four groups (20 each): Group A (normal control); Group B (infected control); Group C
infected and treated with thyme oil (thyme-treated); and Group D vaccinated with 800 Gy
gamma radiation-attenuated embryonated eggs, and challenged with the same number of
eggs (vaccinated-challenged). Testicular tissues were stained with Haematoxylin and
Eosin (H &E) for histopathological study. Periodic acid Schiff’s (PAS), bromophenol blue
(BPB) and Feulgen’s reaction for carbohydrates, proteins and DNA, respectively were
done to examine histochemical changes. Immunohistochemical study was done through
expression of TGF-β1 and caspase-3. Infected control group B showed severe
histopathological changes with marked decrease in PAS +ve materials, total proteins and
DNA and enhanced expression of Transforming growth factor- β1 (TGF-β1) and caspase-3.
Moderate changes were observed in testicular tissues of group C treated with thyme.
Slight changes were detected in vaccinated-challenged group D. It was concluded that
Toxocara canis infection causes marked hispathological, histochemical and immunohistochemical
changes in testicular tissues of rats that can be ameliorated by vaccination
with radiation-attenuated infective stage or treated with thyme; however vaccination is
more effective in protection.