Malondialdehyde levels in serum of dogs infected with Babesia canis

Abstract

Babesiosis is a common tick born disease of dogs in tropical and subtropical regions of the world caused by different species of Babesia. The aim of the present study was to confirm the presence of oxidative stress by examining serum malondialdehyde (MDA), an end product of lipid peroxidation, in 35 dogs naturally infected with Babesia canis (B. canis). MDA was examined in 14 healthy dogs as well. Blood smears were prepared from peripheral blood and they showed the presence of B. canis in infected dogs. B. canis was confirmed using the PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) method. On the basis of clinical and laboratory data the 35 infected dogs were clinically classified into two groups, complicated (seven dogs) and uncomplicated (28 dogs). The noted complications were renal dysfunction (5/7), hepatic dysfunction (3/7), muscular involvement (2/7) and ARDS (1/7). Levels of blood urea nitrogen concentration (BUN), creatinin, total bilirubin, alanin aminotranspherase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (AP), and gammaglutamil aminotranspherase (GGT) were significantly increased in dogs with complicated versus uncomplicated babesiosis. Furthermore the uncomplicated group of dogs was, depending on the severity of anaemia, classified as suffering from severe, moderate or mild disease. Levels of serum MDA were significantly higher in sick dogs (36.90 μmol/l ± 13.95) than healthy animals (8.13 μmol/l ± 1.78). There was no significant statistical difference in serum MDA levels between dogs with complicated (38.48 μmol/l ± 12.11) and uncomplicated babesiosis (36.50 μmol/l ± 14.55). Comparison of the groups based on the severity of anaemia showed that there was no significant statistical difference in serum MDA levels between them. The study demonstrated the involvement of oxidative damage in dogs naturally infected with B. canis.

Status of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes in goats naturally infected with Babesia ovis

“…In addition, the negative correlation between percentage of parasitemia and PCV values in the current study may be due to destruction of B. ovis-infected erythrocytes. Similar findings have been reported by previous studies (Ambawat et al 1999, Bicek et al 2005, Crnogaj et al 2010). …”

“…The erythrocytes membrane is rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), a primary target for reactions involving free radicals, and very susceptible to lipid peroxidation (Sahoo et al 2001, Kumar et al 2006, Saleh 2009. No report is available about erythrocytic oxidative changes in B. ovis-infected goats; however, in accordance with the findings of other studies (Commins et al 1988, Chaudhuri et al 2008, Deger et al 2009, Crnogaj et al 2010, our results indicated that the lipid peroxidation in erythrocytes of affected goats increased MDA production.…”

“…The high concentration of lipid peroxides from dogs with babesiosis can probably be ascribed to multiplications of B. gibsoni (Otsuko et al 2001, Kumar et al 2006. However, high level of MDA concentration in B. canis-infected dogs could be related to enhanced lipid peroxidation and also because of decreased kidney function (Crnogaj et al 2010).…”

“…Lipid peroxidation is a general mechanism whereby free radicals induce tissue damage, and is implicated in several diverse pathological conditions (Asri-Rezaei and Dalir-Naghadeh 2006). Lipids especially polyunsturated fatty acids (PUFA) are sensitive to oxidation, leading to the term lipid peroxidation or the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), of which, malondialdehyde (MDA) is the most abundant (Crnogaj et al 2010). Determination of MDA allows detection of the degree of lipid peroxidation and the level of free oxygen radicals indirectly (Deger et al 2009).…”

Clinical babesiosis and molecular identification of Babesia canis and Babesia gibsoni infections in dogs from Serbia

“…In this study the mortality of dogs infected with B. canis reached 8.62%. Numerous studies on babesiosis caused by the same species, which were carried out in Europe, indicate that the mortality ranges from 1.5% to 20%, being the highest in Hungary (20%) (Máthé et al, 2006) and Croatia (11 to 13.9%) (Matijatko et al, 2009;Matijatko et al, 2010;Crnogaj et al, 2010) and the lowest (1.5%) in France (Martinod et al, 1986). However, due to the small number of dogs infected with B. gibsoni, to comment on the mortality rate in these animals is not justifiable.…”