Abstract
Sarcocystis spp. are intracellular protozoan parasites with an intermediate-definitive host life cycle based on a prey–predator relationship. Sarcocystis infection is common among different vertebrates including humans. The pathogenicity of Sarcocystis spp. is of varied significance including a possible lethal effect for the host. The goal of the present study was to investigate the inflammatory activity of Sarcocystis spp. in different organs of naturally infected camels. The tongue, esophagus, heart, diaphragm, and skeletal muscles were collected from 50 camels, and the tissues assessed for the presence of Sarcocystis spp. by macroscopic examination, light microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Moreover, expression of the interleukin (IL)-6 was analyzed using reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Microscopic Sarcocystis spp. cysts were found in camels. TEM identified the cysts as Sarcocystis camelicanis (S. camelicanis). Sarcocystis infection increased inflammation by stimulation of IL-6 expression in different organs of the camels, particularly in those from the Al-Qassim region.
Highlights
Sarcocystis species are apicomplexan protozoa in the class Conoidosida and the subclass Coccidia [1] and are intracellular parasites that infect mammals, reptiles, and birds [2,3]
The objective of the present study was to analyze the mRNA expression of cytokine IL-6 in camels naturally infected with Sarcocystis spp. from two different regions in Saudi Arabia to disclose the effect of IL-6 on the disease development
Tissue samples were collected by veterinarians during post-mortem inspections of animals slaughtered at the West Abattoir in Riyadh and Onaizah Modern Slaughterhouse in Al Qassim, Saudi Arabia between February and October, 2018
Summary
Sarcocystis species are apicomplexan protozoa in the class Conoidosida and the subclass Coccidia [1] and are intracellular parasites that infect mammals, reptiles, and birds [2,3]. Sarcocystis infection may cause severe diseases in their intermediate hosts sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs [4]. Sarcocystis spp. are immunogenic in intermediate hosts; information on cellular and humoral immune responses is available only from responses against antigens derived from bradyzoites [9]. Immune cell activation during sarcocystosis is similar to the activation pattern during an intracellular parasite infection, where immune cells such as lymphocytes and macrophages are activated and invade the viscera and muscles [9]. Lymphocytes from peripheral circulation demonstrate a blastogenic reaction when activated by antigen-specific Sarcocystis spp., regardless of whether these cellular events contribute to the restoration of the host from the disease [4]. Immune animals that resist fatal infections display cell-mediated immune response to resist sarcocysts, License 4.0 (CC BY)
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