Histopathological analysis of Wistar rats' central nervous system experimentally infected with T. evansi

• Grant number: 13/12575-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: February 28, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Fabiano Antonio Cadioli
• Grantee: Débora Lima Nascimento
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária (FMVA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The hemoprotozoan Trypanosoma evansi has worldwide distribution: it occurs in Africa, Asia, Europe, Central and South Americas, where infects man and several animal's species. This is an important equine disease in Brazilian Pantanal where it causes US$2,4 million economic losses per year, but in recent years the disease is expanding for nonendemic áreas. The disease caused by T. evansi is characterized by fast weight loss, intermittent fever, anemia,edema of limbs and lower body parts and, weakness. Lesions in equids' central nervous system causes hind limbs incoordination, which is popularly called as "mal das cadeiras". Rats are highly susceptible to T. evansi infection and appropriate as experimental models to understand the disease physiopathogenity. Fewer studies focusing on central nervous system histopathological alterations were made with Brazilian strains of T. evansi, which justify this study. Twenty-five Wistar rats will be used. Twenty rats will be inoculated intraperitoneally with 1,0 X 10^3 T. evansi trypomastigotes and other five remains as control group. The rats will be anesthestized and heart punction will be performed, blood collected will be used for global cell count and serum biochemistry. After euthanasia, carcass gross inspection will be made and tissue's samples will be fixed for posterior histopathological study.