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Pathologic effects ofSphaerospora dicentrarchi Sitjà-Bobadilla and Alvarez-Pellitero, 1992 andS. testicularis Sitjà-Bobadilla and Alvarez-Pellitero, 1990 (Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) parasitic in the Mediterranean sea bassDicentrarchus labrax L. (Teleostei: Serranidae) and the cell-mediated immune reaction: A light and electron microscopy study

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Abstract

In the present study, the pathogenic effects ofSphaerospora dicentrarchi andS. testicularis, histozoic and coelozoic myxosporean parasites of the Mediterranean sea bassDicentrarchus labrax L., respectively, are described. The infection caused by the latter, which usually invades the testes and neighboring tissues, is considered to represent parasitic castration.S. dicentrarchi seems to be harmless except in massive infections, which probably result in organic disfunctions. The cellular host reaction generated byS. testicularis depends on the location of the parasite and is more intense than that produced byS. dicentrarchi. In both sphaerosporoses, macrophages, granulocytes, lymphocytes, plasmacytes, and fibroblast-like cells are involved. The role of the different immune cells is discussed.

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Sitjà-Bobadilla, A., Alvarez-Pellitero, P. Pathologic effects ofSphaerospora dicentrarchi Sitjà-Bobadilla and Alvarez-Pellitero, 1992 andS. testicularis Sitjà-Bobadilla and Alvarez-Pellitero, 1990 (Myxosporea: Bivalvulida) parasitic in the Mediterranean sea bassDicentrarchus labrax L. (Teleostei: Serranidae) and the cell-mediated immune reaction: A light and electron microscopy study. Parasitol Res 79, 119–129 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00932257

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