Evaluation of the inhibitory effect of ivermectin on the growth of Babesia and The ileria parasites in vitro and in vivo

Background:Treatment is the principle way to control and eliminate piroplasmosis. The search for newchemotherapy againstBabesiaandTheileriahas become increasingly urgent due to parasite resistance to currentdrugs. Ivermectin (IVM) was the world’s first endectocide, capable of killing a wide variety of parasites and vectors,both inside and outside the body. It is currently authorized to treat onchocerciasis, lymphatic filariasis,strongyloidiasis, and scabies. The current study documented the efficacy of IVM on the growth ofBabesiaandTheileriain vitro and in vivo.Methods:The fluorescence-based assay was used for evaluating the inhibitory effect of IVM on fourBabesiaspecies, includingB.bovis,B.bigemina,B.divergens,B.caballi, andTheileria equi, the combination with diminazeneaceturate (DA), clofazimine (CF), and atovaquone (AQ) on in vitro cultures, and on the multiplication of aB.microti-infected mouse model. The cytotoxicity of compounds was tested on Madin–Darby bovine kidney (MDBK), mouseembryonic fibroblast (NIH/3 T3), and human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cell lines.Results:The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values determined for IVM againstB.bovis,B.bigemina,B.divergens,B.caballi,andT.equiwere 53.3 ± 4.8, 98.6 ± 5.7, 30.1 ± 2.2, 43.7 ± 3.7, and 90.1 ± 8.1μM, respectively. Toxicityassays on MDBK, NIH/3 T3, and HFF cell lines showed that IVM affected the viability of cells with a half-maximaleffective concentration (EC50) of 138.9 ± 4.9, 283.8 ± 3.6, and 287.5 ± 7.6μM, respectively. In the in vivo experiment, IVM,when administered intraperitoneally at 4 mg/kg, significantly (p< 0.05) inhibited the growth ofB.microtiin mice by63%. Furthermore, combination therapies of IVM–DA, IVM–AQ, and IVM–CF at a half dose reduced the peakparasitemia ofB.microtiby 83.7%, 76.5%, and 74.4%, respectively. Moreover, this study confirmed the absence ofB.microtiDNA in groups treated with combination chemotherapy of IVM + DA and IVM + AQ 49 days after infection.Conclusions:These findings suggest that IVM has the potential to be an alternative remedy for treating piroplasmosis

The effects of trans-chalcone and chalcone 4 hydrate on the growth of Babesia and Theileria

BackgroundChemotherapyis a principletoolforthecontrolandpreventionof piroplasmosis.Thesearchfora newchemotherapyagainstBabesiaandTheileriaparasiteshasbecomeincreasinglyurgentdueto thetoxicsideeffectsof anddevelopedresistanceto thecurrentdrugs.Chal-coneshaveattractedmuchattentiondueto theirdiversebiologicalactivities.Withtheaimtodiscovernewdrugsanddrugtargets,in vitroandin vivoantibabesialactivityoftrans-chal-cone(TC)andchalcone4 hydrate(CH)aloneandcombinedwithdiminazeneaceturate(DA),clofazimine(CF)andatovaquone(AQ)wereinvestigated.Methodology/PrincipalfindingsThefluorescence-basedassaywasusedforevaluatingtheinhibitoryeffectof TCandCHonfourBabesiaspecies,includingB.bovis,B.bigemina,B.divergens,B.caballi,andT.equi,thecombinationwithDA,CF,andAQonin vitrocultures,andonthemultiplicationof aB.microti–infectedmousemodel.Thecytotoxicityof compounds wastestedonMadin–Darbybovinekidney(MDBK),mouseembryonicfibroblast(NIH/3T3),andhumanforeskinfibroblast(HFF)celllines.Thehalfmaximalinhibitoryconcentration(IC50) valuesof TCandCHagainstB.bovis,B.bigemina,B.divergens,B.caballi,andT.equiwere69.6±2.3,33.3±1.2,64.8±2.5,18.9±1.7,and14.3±1.6μMand138.4±4.4,60.9±1.1,82.3±2.3,27.9±1.2,and19.2±1.5μM,respectively.In toxicityassays,TCandCHaffectedtheviabil-ityof MDBK,NIH/3T3,andHFFcelllinesthewithhalfmaximumeffectiveconcentration(EC50) valuesof 293.9±2.9,434.4±2.7,and498±3.1μMand252.7±1.7,406.3±9.7,and466±5.7μM,respectively.In themouseexperiment,TCreducedthepeakparasitemiaofB.microtiby71.8%whenadministeredintraperitoneallyat 25mg/kg.Combination therapiesof TC–DAandTC–CFweremorepotentagainstB.microtiinfectionin micethantheirmonotherapies.Conclusions/SignificanceIn conclusion,bothTCandCHinhibitedthegrowthofBabesiaandTheileriain vitro,andTCinhibitedthegrowthofB.microtiin vivo.Therefore,TCandCHcouldbecandidatesforthetreatmentof piroplasmosisafterfurtherstudies

High Salt Diet Affects the Reproductive Health in Animals: An Overview

Salinity is a reliable issue of crop productivity loss in the world and in certain tropical and subtropical zones. However, tremendous progress in the genetic improvement of plants for salinity tolerance has been made over several decades. In light of this, halophytic plants can be used as animal feeds and have promising features because they are a good feed resource. However, the main constraint of saline pasture systems is the extreme concentration of NaCl salt in drinking water and forage plants for grazing animals. Ecological reports revealed that excess diet salt causes mortality and morbidity worldwide. Animal fed halophytic forages may have adverse effects on growth performance and reproductive function in males and females due to inducing reductions in hormone regulation, such as testosterone, FSH, LH, and leptin. It was indicated that high salt intake promotes circulating inflammatory factors in the placenta and is associated with adversative effects on pregnancy. This review focuses on the scientific evidence related to the effect of high salt intake on growth performance, spermatogenesis, sperm function, and testicular morphology changes in male animals. In addition, the review will also focus on its effect on some female reproductive features (e.g., ovarian follicle developments, placental indices, and granulosa cell function)