Bioinformatics Research Through Image Processing of Histopathological Response to Stonefish Venom

Abstract

The present study utilizes coastal and environmental engineering to investigate the histopathological effects of Synanceia verrucosa venom on Albino BALB/c mice. S. verrucosa is the most hazardous venomous marine fish that belong to the family Synanceiidae, generally known as the "Reef Stonefish". Crude venom was collected from venom glands of the dorsal spines of stonefish samples taken from the Jordanian coastline of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea. The mice were given intramuscular injections of the venom. Consequently, the research evaluated the acute toxicity and influence on selected serum biomarker enzymes, as well as possible histological alterations of the soleus skeletal muscles. The mice 24 h LD 50 was 0.107 µg toxin/kg mouse body weight. After the treatment using venom sublethal dose, the serum biomarkers, including Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), were significantly improved (P≤0.05). In addition, Lipid Peroxidation (LPO) contents were significantly increased (P≤0.05) after venom treatment. Moreover, we combined routine medical procedures and artificial intelligence-assisted image analysis for a rapid qualitative and quantitative diagnosis of stonefish injury, based on the histophotography of mice tissue samples during the observation period (1, 2, and 3 hours respectively). The novelty of our method is that we could detect severe and mild damage with an accuracy of 93% and 91%, respectively. The most histological abnormalities in muscles were the great variety in diameters, content, and widespread among randomly distributed muscle fibres. In addition, loss of the tissue's striated appearance was noticed in toxin-treated groups compared with the control group. Consequently, our findings indicate the Stonefish's harmful influences that may endanger human life and highlight the need for appropriate measures to be considered. This, in turn, can ensure beach safety in the Gulf of Aqaba.