فصلنامه آسیب شناسی درمانگاهی دامپزشکی
سال هفدهم شماره 1 (پیاپی 65، بهار 1402)

Various studies have shown the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects of Descorainia sophia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective ability of Descorainia sophia ethanolic extract in liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride in male Wistar rats. In this experimental study, 60 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 10 groups of 6 consisting of normal control, intoxified control (intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 ml/kg of carbon tetrachloride), normal experimental (Descorainia sophia ethanolic extract at doses of 10, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg via intragastric gavage) and intoxified experimental (intraperitoneal injection of 0.5 ml/kg of carbon tetrachloride and Descorainia sophia ethanolic extract at doses of 10, 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg via intragastric gavage). After 28 days, the levels of antioxidant enzymes viz. superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and level of malondialdehyde in liver homogenate were evaluated. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and the Tukey post hoc test with statistical significance defined as p<0.05. Our results showed that administration of carbon tetrachloride significantly decreased the levels of antioxidant enzymes and increased the level of malondialdehyde in the intoxified control group in comparison to normal control group (p<0.001). Also, the administration of Descorainia sophia ethanolic extract significantly increased the levels of antioxidant enzymes and decreased the level of malondialdehyde in the liver of intoxified experimental groups in comparison with the intoxified control group (p<0.05) in a dose dependent manner. The results of the study indicated that Descorainia sophia removes free radicals and reduces oxidative stress caused by carbon tetrachloride in hepatic tissue of rats probably due to its flavonoid compounds.

Varicocele is a pathological dilation of the venous network of the spermatic cord and considering that magnesium oxide nanoparticles play a key role in various physiological functions, the aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of nanoparticles on sperm characteristics affected by experimental varicocele. A total of 54 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 9 equal groups including healthy control group (untouched animals), sham-operated group (underwent sham surgery), three healthy experimental groups (animals in these groups received magnesium oxide nanoparticles at doses of 1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg respectively by gavage for 6 weeks), varicocele control group (varicocele was induced by renal vein ligation) and three experimental varicocele groups (in addition to varicocele induction, magnesium oxide nanoparticles were given at doses of 1.25, 2.5 and 5 mg/kg respectively by gavage for 6 weeks). At the end of the 6th week, the abdomen was opened and semen samples were collected from the tail of the epididymis to determine the indices of concentration, survival and motility of sperm and the data were statistically analyzed (p<0.05). The results showed that magnesium oxide nanoparticles were able to significantly increase the concentration, viability, progressive, moderate and non-progressive movements of sperm compared to the varicocele group (p<0.001) and also caused a significant decrease (p<0.001) in the number of non-moving sperms in the varicocele experimental groups. Therefore, magnesium oxide nanoparticles may possibly reduce the destructive effects of varicocele due to their antioxidant activity and be effective in its treatment by improving sperm properties during varicocele.

Herpesviruses can cause significant economic losses to the equine industry worldwide. Equine herpes virus type 1 (EHV-1) and type 4 (EHV-4) cause respiratory signs, abortion, neonatal death and in some cases distal limb edema and myeloencephalopathy in susceptible horses. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of EHV-1 and EHV-4 infection in club horses of Urmia in relation to age, gender, breed and clinical signs. Sera from 51 horses were tested by indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA) for detection of specific antibodies against EHV-1 and EHV-4 and data were analyzed by chi-squared, fisher’s exact and logistic regression tests. A total of 9 samples (17.65%) (95% CI: 7.2-28.0) were found to be positive for specific antibodies of EHV-1 and EHV-4. Seropositivity was not affected by age (p=0.593), sex (p=0.651), breed (p=0.874) and clinical signs (p=0.824). Although in regression analysis it was found that odds of infection based on age was increased by 1.51% for every 4 year decrease in age and odds of infection was 1.549% more in females compared with males. Also age, gender and breed of horses explains 0.449, 0.437 and 0.217% of infection rate fluctuations, respectively. In conclusion, the results indicate relatively high exposure of equine herpes virus types 1 and 4 in club horses of Urmia.

Aerobic exercise and L-carnitine consumption are associated with increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes and reducing inflammatory processes, but their mechanisms in the face of kidney ischemia-reperfusion injury are not fully known. The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of aerobic exercise and L-carnitine consumption simultaneously on renal damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion in male rats. In this experimental study, 42 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into six equal groups and subjected to an eight-week aerobic exercise and six-week L-carnitine intake. At the end, mice were subjected to 45 minutes of kidney ischemia by surgery, and after 24 hours of blood supply, all mice were euthanized at the same time and sampling was done to evaluate the oxidant-antioxidant activity in their renal tissue. Finally, the data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's post hoc test using spss-26 software. In the rats of the ischemia-reperfusion group compared to the control group, a significant decrease in the activities of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity and a significant increase in malondialdehyde was observed (p<0.05). The interventions of aerobic exercise and L-carnitine had a significant effect on increasing the activity of catalase, glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity and reducing malondialdehyde (p<0.05). Performing aerobic exercise and taking L-carnitine supplement at the same time is more effective in terms of increasing antioxidant activities and improving the renal pathological changes of rats, indicating their synergistic effect in protecting the kidney against damage caused by ischemia-reperfusion.

The ability of sperm to perform fertilization depends on various characteristics such as movement, viability, and sufficient volume. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of Thymus vulgaris essential oil on the motility characteristics of ram sperm using phase-contrast microscope and CASA (Computer Assisted Sperm Analyzer) software. For this purpose, semen was collected twice a week from four rams. Initial evaluations included volume, wave motility, progressive motility, non-progressive motility and survival percentage of sperms. Then sperm samples were mixed with standard index Tris-based diluent, 20% egg yolk, 7% glycerol, plus 0, 100, 200 and 400 µg of Thymus vulgaris essential oil per ml. After bringing the temperature of the sperm samples to 5 degrees Celsius in the refrigerator, they were placed at 4 cm above liquid nitrogen for 10 minutes and finally immersed in it. The samples were thawed on days 0 and 30 of the experiment. Traits which were investigated during freezing and thawing days included total and progressive motility, non-progressive motility, viability percentage, MDA (Malondialdehyde) and CASA characteristics. The results showed that the percentage of viability and mobility decreased significantly during the experiment (p<0.001). The treatments of 100, 200 and 400 µg Thymus vulgaris essential oil had the most significant percentages compared to the control group in the characteristics of progressive and total motility, viability and CASA (p<0.001). Malondialdehyde had significantly decreased in the 100 and 200 treatments compared to the 400 and control treatments (p<0.001). The results of the present study showed that diluents containing Thymus vulgaris essential oil improve sperm motility and viability during freezing.

Neosporosis is a disease caused by a protozoan called Neospora caninum, which is characterized by abortion in cows and nerve and muscle paralysis of various organs, especially the hind limbs of dogs. This disease was identified for the first time in 1984 in Norway. The dog is the only definitive host and also the intermediate host of protozoa and contamination can also be seen in cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and deer. The importance of neosporosis disease is related to causing abortion in ruminants (especially cows) and the economic losses caused in industrial livestock farming, which has caused many studies to be conducted in Iran and rest of the world. The disease was first reported in Iran in 2004, and since that year, many studies have been conducted about it. In this review article, an attempt has been made to introduce the protozoa that causes the disease and its evolution, as well as the methods of diagnosing the disease, and provide an overview of the studies conducted on this disease in Iran, from the beginning to the present day.