Histomorphological, Histochemical and Ultrastructural Studies on the Healthy Liver of Yemen Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) in Southern Saudi Arabia / Estudios Histomorfológicos, Histoquímicos y Ultraestructurales en el Hígado Sano del Camaleón Velado de Yemen (Chamaeleo calyptratus) en el Sur de Arabia Saudita

SUMMARY: The livers of reptiles are being studied as a model for the link between the environment and hepatic tissue. There have been few investigations on the histology of reptile livers, and very few or no studies have examined the histology of liver of veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus). This paper describes the histomorphological, histochemical and ultrastructural characterization of the liver of veiled chameleons in southern Saudi Arabia. Seven Chamaeleo calyptratus were captured in the summer season in Abha City, Aseer region, southern Saudi Arabia. Chamaeleon liver samples were processed for histomorphology, histochemistry and ultrastructure analyses. Morphologically liver of Chamaeleo calyptratus was observed as a large dark brown organ with lighter speckles, which represent melanin deposits. It located at the ventral part of abdominal cavity forward of the stomach. Its dimensions approximately were 3.7 x 2 cm. The liver was a bilobed organ divided into two lobes, right and left lobes. The right one was bigger than the others. The gallbladder was well developed and had an elongated shape, situated between the two lobes and contained the bile for the digestion. Microscopically, the liver was found to be covered by a thick layer of connective tissue, which formed the hepatic capsule. Hepatic parenchyma probably appeared in cross sections as hepatic glandular-like alveoli "acini" or follicular structures with various diameters, each acinus contains approximately four to six hepatocytes, surrounded by sinusoidal capillaries filled with abundant melanomacrophages, which are absent in birds and mammals. Melanomacrophages are common in the hepatic parenchyma's perisinusoidal areas, particularly near portal spaces. Hepatocytes are polyhedral or pyramidal with and mostly contained large, rounded nuclei mostly peripherally located, with prominent dark oval nucleoli. Some of nuclei are eccentric or central position. The cytoplasm appeared spongy or vacuolated and more eosinophilic when stained by hematoxylin-eosin and strongly reactive to PAS staining technique, indicating abundant glycogen content. The reticular fibers that surround hepatocytes, blood arteries, and sinusoids supported the hepatic parenchyma. The blood sinusoids are seen interspersed among hepatocytes of varying sizes. The sinusoidal lumen was bordered by flattened endothelial cells and includes elliptical nucleated erythrocytes and liver macrophages as phagocytes, which are also known as Kupffer cells. Branches of the portal vein, hepatic artery, small bile duct, and lymph vessels were detected in the hepatic portal area "tract" or triad which made up of connective. Hematopoietic tissue was observed in subcapsular region and portal triads. Ultrastructurally, the hepatocyte appeared polyhedric containing a single large rounded basal or eccentric vesicular nucleus with prominent nucleolus. Extensive network of rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) often arranged in an array parallel to the nuclear membrane with many mitochondria, and Golgi apparatus were described. The cytoplasm contained glycogen granules, vesicles or vacuoles scattered throughout the cytoplasm especially at the apical region were reported. The bile canaliculi and the hepatic "Kupffer" cells were also discussed. This is the first study on the histological characterization of the healthy liver of Yemen veiled chameleon in southern Saudi Arabia. The findings reported here should be used as a reference to compare with the pathological abnormalities of the liver in this animal.

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Larval cestodes infecting commercial fish of Alexandria coast along the Mediterranean Sea: morphology and phylogeny.

Members of the order Trypanorhyncha are cestode parasites that are frequently found infecting the muscles of several marine fish species, affecting fish health and resulting in consumers' rejection. Seventy-five specimens of marine fish were freshly caught from boat landing sites at the Alexandria coast along the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt, including two Carangids, the greater amberjack Seriola dumerili and the gulley jack Pseudocarans dentex; two Serranids, the Haifa grouper Epinephelus haifensis and the mottled grouper Mycteroperca rubra. Forty-five fish were infected; the infection was recorded as blastocysts embedded in fish flesh. Blastocysts were isolated and ruptured; the generated plerocerci were described morphologically, where, four different species were recovered; Callitetrarhynchus gracilis, Callitetrarhynchus speciosus, Protogrillotia zerbiae, and Grillotia brayi. The taxonomic position of these parasites was justified by multiple-sequence alignment and a phylogenetic tree was constructed following maximum likelihood analysis of the 18s rRNA sequences of the recovered worms. The accession numbers MN625168, MN625169, MN611431and MN611432 were respectively assigned to the recovered parasites. The results obtained from the molecular analyses confirmed the morphological records of the recovered parasites. Since metacestodes are found in the musculature of infected fish specimens, it is necessary to remove these areas in the commercialization of fish.

Larval cestodes infecting commercial fish of Alexandria coast along the Mediterranean Sea: morphology and phylogeny / Cestóides larvais infectando peixes comerciais da costa de Alexandria ao longo do Mar Mediterrâneo: morfologia e filogenia

Members of the order Trypanorhyncha are cestode parasites that are frequently found infecting the muscles of several marine fish species, affecting fish health and resulting in consumers' rejection. Seventy­five specimens of marine fish were freshly caught from boat landing sites at the Alexandria coast along the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt, including two Carangids, the greater amberjack Seriola dumerili and the gulley jack Pseudocarans dentex; two Serranids, the Haifa grouper Epinephelus haifensis and the mottled grouper Mycteroperca rubra. Forty-five fish were infected; the infection was recorded as blastocysts embedded in fish flesh. Blastocysts were isolated and ruptured; the generated plerocerci were described morphologically, where, four different species were recovered; Callitetrarhynchus gracilis, Callitetrarhynchus speciosus, Protogrillotia zerbiae, and Grillotia brayi. The taxonomic position of these parasites was justified by multiple-sequence alignment and a phylogenetic tree was constructed following maximum likelihood analysis of the 18s rRNA sequences of the recovered worms. The accession numbers MN625168, MN625169, MN611431and MN611432 were respectively assigned to the recovered parasites. The results obtained from the molecular analyses confirmed the morphological records of the recovered parasites. Since metacestodes are found in the musculature of infected fish specimens, it is necessary to remove these areas in the commercialization of fish.(AU)

Os membros da ordem Trypanorhyncha são cestoides parasitos, frequentemente encontrados infectando os músculos de várias espécies de peixes marinhos, afetando a saúde dos peixes e resultando na rejeição por parte dos consumidores. Setenta e cinco espécimes de peixe marinho foram capturados, recentemente, nos locais de desembarque em barcos na costa de Alexandria, ao longo do Mar Mediterrâneo no Egito, incluindo dois Carangídeos, o maior "amberjack" Seriola dumerili e o "gulley jack" Pseudocarans dentex; dois Serranídeos, a garoupa Haifa Epinephelus haifensis e a garoupa mosqueada Mycteroperca rubra. Quarenta e cinco peixes foram infectados e a infecção foi registada como blastocistos embutidos na carne do peixe. Os blastocistos foram isolados e rompidos e os pleurocistos gerados foram descritos morfologicamente, nos quais, quatro espécies diferentes foram recuperadas: Callitetrarhynchus gracilis, Callitetrarhynchus speciosus, Protogrillotia zerbiae, e Grillotia brayi. A posição taxonômica destes parasitos foi justificada pelo alinhamento de sequências múltiplas e foi construída uma árvore filogenética após a análise de máxima probabilidade das sequências de rRNA dos anos 18 dos vermes recuperados. Os números de adesão MN625168, MN625169, MN611431 e MN611432 foram respectivamente atribuídos aos parasitos recuperados. Os resultados obtidos a partir das análises moleculares confirmaram os registos morfológicos dos parasitos recuperados. Uma vez que se encontram metacestodes na musculatura de espécimes de peixe infectados, é necessário remover estas áreas na comercialização de peixe.(AU)

Kidney mass and relative medullary thickness of rodents in relation to habitat, body size, and phylogeny.

We tested the hypotheses that relative medullary thickness (RMT) and kidney mass are positively related to habitat aridity in rodents, after controlling for correlations with body mass. Body mass, mass-corrected kidney mass, mass-corrected RMT, mass-corrected maximum urine concentration, and habitat (scored on a semiquantitative scale of 1-4 to indicate increasing aridity) all showed statistically significant phylogenetic signal. Body mass varied significantly among habitats, with the main difference being that aquatic species are larger than those from other habitats. Mass-corrected RMT and urine concentration showed a significant positive correlation (N=38; conventional r=0.649, phylogenetically independent contrasts [IC] r=0.685), thus validating RMT as a comparative index of urine concentrating ability. RMT scaled with body mass to an exponent significantly less than 0 (N=141 species; conventional allometric slope=-0.145 [95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.172, -0.117], IC allometric slope=-0.132 [95% CI=-0.180, -0.083]). Kidney mass scaled to an exponent significantly less than unity (N=104 species; conventional slope=0.809 [95% CI=0.751, 0.868], IC slope=0.773 [95% CI=0.676, 0.871]). Both conventional and phylogenetic analysis indicated that RMT varied among habitats, with rodents from arid areas having the largest values of RMT. A phylogenetic analysis indicated that mass-corrected kidney mass was positively related to habitat aridity.