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Morphological and molecular characterization of Linguatula serrata and evaluation of the health status of the infested dogs

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Abstract

Linguatula serrata is a neglected parasitic zoonosis with less research recorded throughout the globe on the physiological and immunological alteration of dogs infested by these zoonotic parasites. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of L. serrata infestation on the dogs after experimental infestation with the nymphs by determining oxidative stress levels and immunological genes of cellular immunity. Larvae of L. serrata were collected from the infested goat mesenteric lymph nodes by cutting it, and the nymphs were liberated; these nymphs were mixed with saline at 37–40 °C for experimental infestation of dogs and observed infestation to puppies using viable nymphal stages (movable, not traumatized or dead). Blood and sera samples were sampled from the dog after 6 months of infestation. The nasal mucosa and its mucus were collected from the infested dogs as well as negative controls for evaluation of gene expression such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and gamma interferon (IFN-γ) activity and interleukin (1β and 6). Infested dogs exhibited lower hemoglobin concentration, packed cell volume (PCV), and total erythrocyte count than non-infested control dogs. Dogs had high AST and ALT levels, leukocytosis with prominent eosinophilia, and low hematological values. The oxidative stress was higher in experimentally infested dogs than control non-infested dogs. The genetic characterization of the nymphal stage of L. serrata was recorded as the first confirmation in Egypt. The four examined genes were expressed regularly against nasopharynx linguatulosis in experimentally infested dogs. This study is the first report on the genetic characterization of L. serrata from goat origin in Egypt.

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to the staff workers for handling dogs during this experiment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, 12211, Giza, Egypt

    Marwa M. Attia & Olfat A. Mahdy

  2. Department of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, 12211, Giza, Egypt

    Soliman M. Soliman

  3. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, 12211, Giza, Egypt

    Salma I. El-Samannoudy

  4. Department of Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, 71526, Assiut, Egypt

    Hasnaa Thabit

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  1. Marwa M. Attia
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. MAM conceived and designed the study. MAM, OAM, and HT performed the parasitological examination; SMS applied data collection; and SIE applied analysis of data. All authors write the manuscript; revised it. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Marwa M. Attia.

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This study was approved and follow the guidelines of the Ethical Committee of the Assiut University, Faculty of Science with number 17300858.

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These experiments were performed in compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines.

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Attia, M.M., Mahdy, O.A., Soliman, S.M. et al. Morphological and molecular characterization of Linguatula serrata and evaluation of the health status of the infested dogs. Comp Clin Pathol 33, 105–114 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-023-03527-5

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