Dual immunological and oxidative responses in Oreochromis niloticus fish exposed to lambda cyhalothrin and concurrently fed with Thyme powder (Thymus vulgaris L.): Stress and immune encoding gene expression.

The present study was performed to explore the immunotoxicological effects of the lambda cyhalothrin (LCH) insecticide and evaluate the efficiency of Thyme powder (TP) as a fish supplement in attenuation of LCH impact on Oreochromis niloticus (O. niloticus) fish. Fish was sampled following 30-days exposure to LCH (1/6 LC50: 0.48 µg/L) and TP (2%) supplementation, individually or in combination. The growth performance, immune status, biochemical indices, and mRNA expression pattern changes of stress and immune-encoding genes in the liver and spleen tissues, respectively, through real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, were evaluated. The findings showed that LCH exposure caused a significant lowering in most of the estimated variables including growth performance, hematological and immunological indices. Moreover, LCH disrupted the oxidant/antioxidant status and dysregulated the expression of stress and immune-related genes, downregulating the mRNA transcript level of Immunoglobulin M heavy chain (IgM), Interferon (IFN-γ), CXC-chemokine, and Toll-like receptors (TLR-7) in the spleen. However, mRNA expression of Myxovirus resistance (Mx) gene remained unaffected. In liver tissue, the heat shock protein (HSP-70) expression was upregulated, while that of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP 1A) was downregulated. TP (2%) supplementation elicited a significant modulation in aforementioned indices; however, their levels did not attain that of the control values. Our findings concluded that LCH affects the O. niloticus immune response through the negative transcriptional influence on genes linked to immunity and induction of oxidative injury of the immune organs. Besides, dietary TP (2%) could be a proper candidate to modulate the compromised immunity in response to LCH exposure in O. niloticus aquaculture.

Restoring strategy of ethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera leaves against Tilmicosin-induced cardiac injury in rats: Targeting cell apoptosis-mediated pathways.

Tilmicosin (Til), an effective macrolide antibiotic, is widely used against respiratory diseases in livestock; however, its treatment is associated with cardiac tissue impairments. In this study, the ethanolic extract of Moringa oleifera (MO) leaves was investigated at two doses (400 and 800 mg/kg body weight [bw], orally) to determine its role in counteracting the effects of Til treatment (75 mg/kg bw) on the cardiac tissue in rats, exploring the oxidative stress-mediated damage and apoptosis. A high dose of MO ethanolic extract elicits considerable changes in the body weight, reduces the mortality rate, neutralizes the impaired cardiac injury markers, improves antioxidant endpoints (total antioxidant capacity, superoxide dismutase, catalase activity, and reduced glutathione level). Also it attenuates the oxidative stress indices (total reactive oxygen species, 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine, lipid peroxides [malondialdehyde], and protein carbonyl levels) that are associated with Til injection. The co-administration of MO ethanolic extract with Til considerably modulates the expression of apoptosis pathway-encoding genes (Bcl-2, caspase-3, Bax, p53, apoptosis-inducing factor, and Apaf-1), particularly in the high-dose group. Our results support that the concurrent administration of MO ethanolic extract with Til at a dose of 800 mg/kg bw increases the protective activity of the antioxidant system and delays or slows the pathological development of cardiotoxicity mediated by Til injection.

Possible role of Arthrospira platensis in reversing oxidative stress-mediated liver damage in rats exposed to lead.

Environmental pollutants, particularly metallic elements, mobilized and released into the environment, eventually accumulate in the food chain and thus pose a serious threat to human and animal health. In the present study, the role of Arthrospira (Spirulina platensis; SP) as a protector against oxidative stress-mediated liver damage induced by an exposure to lead acetate (LA; as a metallic pollutant) was assessed. To achieve this aim, rats were orally administered with 300 mg/kg bw SP for 15 days, before and concurrently with an intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg bw LA (6 injections throughout 15 days). As a result, co-administration of SP with LA reduced the amount of lead that accumulated in both blood and liver tissue of the exposed rats and minimized the increased levels of lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, DNA oxidative damage, and liver enzyme endpoints. In addition, because of SP administration, the levels of depleted biomarkers of antioxidant status and total antioxidant capacity in LA-exposed rats improved. Moreover, SP protected the liver tissue against the changes caused by LA exposure and also decreased the reactivity of HSP70 in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. Collectively, our data suggest that SP has a potential use as a food supplement in the regions highly polluted with heavy metals such as lead.