Immunotoxicity and disease resistance in Japanese quail (Corturnix coturnix japonica) exposed to malathion

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of malathion on the immune system of wild birds, using Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) as a model. Quail were exposed to malathion in drinking water at environmentally realistic concentrations (0 ppm, 1 ppm, and 10 ppm). In the fifth week, several arms of the immune response were tested using the T-cell based phytohemagglutinin (PHA) skin test, the B-cell mediated antibody response, and the chemiluminescence assay measuring innate immunity. After the sixth week of malathion exposure, quail were challenged with E. coli O2. The bursa of Fabricius and the spleen were assessed for histopathology. No clinical signs of malathion toxicity were observed. Morbidity or mortality subsequent to E. coli exposure tended (P = 0.08) to be higher in the high exposure group (50.0%) compared to the control (22.2%) group. There was no difference in the innate immune response in the malathion exposed birds, however, humoral immunity was suppressed (P = 0.03) with the higher malathion exposure. Histopathological evaluation revealed an immunosuppressive effect of malathion on the bursa of Fabricius; bursal atrophy, decreased B-cell density and increased apoptosis in the medulla, and increased connective tissue thickness of the follicular epithelium. Antibody suppression was correlated with bursal changes and peripheral blood lymphocyte count, the organ and cells involved in antibody production. Following the same pattern as other immunotoxicity tests, the PHA T-cell proliferative response also tended to be suppressed in the high exposure group. This study provides evidence that subchronic, moderate malathion exposure is immunotoxic to quail and that testing integrated, functional immunity using an infectious challenge is a better predictor of immunotoxicity than individual responses to immunotoxicity tests. The secondary antibody response, circulating lymphocyte populations, and bursal histopathology were the most sensitive indicators of immune status, as these predicted decreased disease resistance with malathion exposure.

The effects of ozonated, chlorinated, celestite stone-treated, natural spring and pine resin-treated waters on performance, oxidative stress and carcass parameters in Japanese quail

“…This decrease was also confirmed by Shim and Vohra (1984). Nain et al (2011) reported that the average daily consumption of water was 29.8 ml/bird on a 12:12 light: darkness program at 3 weeks of age. The water consumption of the female quail at 7 weeks of age was 55.37 g/day, and the daily water consumption/live weight ratio was 1.66 g/g determined by Minvielle et al (2007).…”

“…The water consumption of the female quail at 7 weeks of age was 55.37 g/day, and the daily water consumption/live weight ratio was 1.66 g/g determined by Minvielle et al (2007). In our experiment, the daily consumptions of water in all groups were similar to Marks (1981), Nain et al (2011) and Minvielle et al (2007). The reason for the increased serum MDA of the Resin-treated Water group may have been because of Figure 2: Effects of the waters on average daily water intake / live weight of quails decreased oxygen metabolism in cells because of acidic water.…”

“…Lott et al (2003) reported a correlation of 98% between water consumption and feed consumption. Although water quality of poultry or quail has been researched or reviewed in Turkey (Cemek et al, 2011;Eleroglu et al 2013;Ozdogan et al 2016) and the world (Marks, 1981;Minvielle et al, 2007;Ragab, 2008;Nain et al, 2011), and we could not find a study on poultry or quail on the effect of the sources of water similar to those used in our experiment.…”

Environmental Exposure and Health Effects Associated with Malathion Toxicity

“…Symptoms of exposure to malathion include headache, nausea and vomiting, burning eyes, difficulty breathing, and lethargy. Malathion exposure has been associated with metabolic disorders [19], oxidative stress [20], immunotoxicity [21], inflammation [22], and hepatotoxicity [23]. Malathion has also been reported to induce genetic damage in a variety of laboratory studies, including a study of mice fed with malathion-treated grains.…”

Changes in glucose metabolism and reversion of genes expression in the liver of insulin-resistant rats exposed to malathion. The protective effects of N-acetylcysteine

“…The longterm health effects after an acute or chronic exposure to OPs have been extensively studied (Moretto and Colosio, 2011;Starks et al, 2012;Grandjean and Landrigan, 2014). Metabolic disorders (Lasram et al, 2009), oxidative stress (Alp et al, 2011), immunotoxicity (Nain et al, 2011), inflammation (Mostafalou et al, 2012) and hepatotoxicity (Kalender et al, 2010) have also been reported. Furthermore, OPs are known to produce variety of biochemical and metabolic changes, some of which may be responsible for the adverse biological effects reported in man and animals such as type 2 diabetes.…”