Antithrombin (AT), which is mainly synthesized in the liver, is an acute-phase plasma protein in mammalian species. Here, we demonstrated that sheep anti-human AT antibody cross-reacted with the humoral fluids in amphioxus Branchiostoma belcheri tsingtauense as well as human serum. The concentration of AT in the humoral fluids in amphioxus decreased slightly at first and then increased after the acute challenge with lipopolysaccharide, while the level of total proteins remained unchanged. These suggest the presence of the same acute-phase response pattern in amphioxus, as observed in some mammalian species. Immunohistochemically, AT was localized in the hepatic diverticulum. It is clear that the hepatic diverticulum in amphioxus is homologous to the vertebrate liver with respect to AT synthesis. This lends support to the hypothesis originally suggested by Müller that the vertebrate liver evolved from the hepatic diverticulum of an amphioxus-like ancestor during early chordate evolution.
Biochemical changes in the liver, kidneys and gills of rosy barbs due to toxicity of CCl4 were measured after 96 hour exposure. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinin (CRN), levels were measured. Significant increase in ALP, ALT, LDH and BUN activities were observed in the liver in the treated groups compared to controls (P < 0.05). AST level was significantly higher in the kidneys. This study indicates that the enzymatic activity was comparatively higher in the liver than kidneys or gills, suggesting that the liver is the target organ of CCL4 toxicity to rosy barbs.Keywords: Toxicity, Rosy Barb, CCl4doi:10.3126/on.v3i1.330Our Nature (2005)5:20-25
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