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Balanites aegyptiaca (B. aegyptiaca) is an African herb with traditional medical applications. Various pathogenic factors cause hepatic fibrosis and require novel treatment alternatives. Nanoformulation-based natural products can overcome the available drug problems by increasing the efficacy of natural products targeting disease markers. The current study investigated B. aegyptiaca methanolic extract using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), and B. aegyptiaca/chitosan nanoparticles were prepared. In vivo, evaluation tests were performed to assess the curative effect of the successfully prepared B. aegyptiaca/chitosan nanoparticles. For 30 days, the rats were divided into six groups, typical and fibrosis groups, where the liver fibrosis groups received B. aegyptiaca extract, silymarin, chitosan nanoparticles, and B. aegyptiaca/chitosan nanoparticles daily. In the current investigation, phenolic molecules are the major compounds detected in B. aegyptiaca extract. UV showed that the prepared B. aegyptiaca /chitosan nanoparticles had a single peak at 280 nm, a particle size of 35.0 ± 6.0 nm, and a negative charge at − 8.3 mV. The animal studies showed that the synthetic B. aegyptiaca/chitosan nanoparticles showed substantial anti-fibrotic protective effects against CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis in rats when compared with other groups through optimization of biochemical and oxidative markers, improved histological changes, and modulated the expression of Col1a1, Acta2 and Cxcl9 genes, which manage liver fibrosis. In conclusion, the current research indicated that the prepared B. aegyptiaca/chitosan nanoparticles improved histological structure and significantly enhanced the biochemical and genetic markers of liver fibrosis in an animal model.

Fat-associated lymphoid clusters (FALCs) are novel lymphoid tissues that have been reported in the mesenteric and mediastinal fat tissue of mouse and human. It plays role in the progression of respiratory and intestinal inflammation and parasitic infestations. However, their occurrence in the chicken air sacs and mesenteric adipose tissue has not yet been identified. Here we investigated the occurrence and distribution of FALCs in the air sacs (cervical, clavicular, thoracic, and abdominal) and mesenteric adipose tissue of healthy chicken. The latter air sacs and mesentery were immediately harvested after anesthesia and cutting the chicken heads then fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde fixative solution for histopathological examination. The degree of FALCs development among different specimens was measured and statistically analyzed. Our results revealed lymphoid clusters associating with the adipose tissues in mesentery, and air sacs (clavicular, thoracic, and abdominal), but not the cervical one. Interestingly, the thoracic air sacs showed significant higher FALCs size in comparison to that of other air sac types and the mesentery. Our findings suggested other possible immunological role of the air sacs and mesentery that could have impact on the progression of air sacculitis and mesenteritis- associate diseases. However, further investigations are required for clarification of air sacs and mesenteric FALCs in the progressions of respiratory and digestive tract diseases.

Objective: This study investigated the comparative morphological analysis of the vomeronasal organ and the accessory olfactory bulb in dogs and rabbits. Materials and Methods: A total of 15 heads obtained from each adult healthy Balady dog (Canis familiaris) and New Zealand rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) of both sexes. The animals were sedated and anesthetized. Then, the heads were removed for computing topography, gross, and cross-sectional anatomy and histological techniques. Results: The vomeronasal organ was blind bilateral tubes enclosed by J-shaped cartilage on each side of the nasal septum. In dogs, it extended from the level of the upper third premolar teeth to the third incisive teeth. While in rabbits, it had no relation with the upper teeth. In cross section, the vomeronasal organ was pear-shaped in dogs and oval in rabbits. The accessory olfactory bulb was a small oval-shaped in dogs, but larger and ovoid in rabbits with clear lamination in its struc¬ture. The vomeronasal epithelium in rabbits was higher in its thickness than that of the dog. The vomeronasal duct had medial sensory and lateral respiratory epithelium. The vomeronasal glands were voluminous and of serous type in rabbits other than were seromucous in dogs. Conclusion: The most characteristic structural variations achieved in the vomeronasal organ and the accessory olfactory bulb of the dog and rabbit gave an indication that the organ was more functional in rabbits than in dogs. The detection and response to the pheromonal stimuli were referred to as the occurrence of olfactory epithelium in the vomeronasal organ. [J Adv Vet Anim Res 2019; 6(4.000): 506-515]

In our previous study, we revealed the ameliorative therapeutic effect of dexamethasone (Dex) for Lupus nephritis lesions in the MRL/MpJ-Fas lpr/lpr (Lpr) mouse model. The female Lpr mice developed a greater number of mediastinal fat-associated lymphoid clusters (MFALCs) and inflammatory lung lesions compared to the male mice. However, the effect of Dex, an immunosuppressive drug, on both lung lesions and the development of MFALCs in Lpr mice has not been identified yet. Therefore, in this study, we compared the development of lung lesions and MFALCs in female Lpr mice that received either saline (saline group “SG”) or dexamethasone (dexamethasone group “DG”) in drinking water as a daily dose along with weekly intraperitoneal injections for 10 weeks. Compared to the SG group, the DG group showed a significant reduction in the levels of serum anti-dsDNA antibodies, the size of MFALCs, the degree of lung injury, the area of high endothelial venules (HEVs), and the number of proliferating and immune cells in both MFALCs and the lungs. A significant positive correlation was observed between the size of MFALCs and the cellular aggregation in the lungs of Lpr mice. Therefore, this study confirmed the ameliorative effect of Dex on the development of lung injury and MFALCs via their regressive effect on both immune cells’ proliferative activity and the development of HEVs. Furthermore, the reprogramming of MFALCs by targeting immune cells and HEVs may provide a therapeutic strategy for autoimmune-disease-associated lung injury.

The potential effects of anthocyanin-rich roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. extract (ARRE) on the growth, carcass traits, intestinal histomorphology, breast muscle composition, blood biochemical parameters, antioxidant activity, and immune status of broiler chickens were evaluated. In the present study, Hibiscus acidified ethanolic extract was reported to have a total anthocyanin content of about 359.3 mg cyanidin 3-glucoside/100 g DW, total polyphenol concentration (TPC) of about 598 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g DW, and total flavonoids (TFs) of about 100 mg quercetin equivalent (QE)/100 g DW. Two-hundred-fifty one-day-old chicks (Ross 308 broiler) (87.85 gm ± 0.32) were randomly allotted to five experimental groups and fed on basal diets supplemented with five levels of ARRE: 0, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg Kg−1 for 35 days. Dietary ARRE addition did not improve the birds’ growth and carcass traits. Supplemental ARRE increased the n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) (ω-3) percentage in the breast muscle. Dietary ARRE increased the villous height, and the ARRE100 group raised the villus height to crypt depth ratio. Dietary ARRE increased the immunoexpression of immunoglobulin G (IgG) in the spleen. The serum thyroxine hormone (T4) level was higher in the ARRE200 group. The serum growth hormone level was increased by ARRE addition in a level-dependent manner. According to the broken-line regression analysis, the optimum inclusion level of ARRE was 280 mg Kg−1. All levels of supplemental ARRE decreased the serum triglyceride level. The serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was increased in the ARRE100-ARRE400 groups, the serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) level was increased in the ARRE200 group, and the serum malondialdehyde (MDA) level was decreased by increasing the ARRE level. Supplemental ARRE significantly increased the serum levels of lysozymes and IL10. The serum complement 3 (C3) level was increased in ARRE200 and ARRE400 groups. It can be concluded that dietary ARRE addition had many beneficial effects represented by the improvements in the bird’s metabolic functions, blood biochemistry, intestinal morphology, antioxidant activity, immune status, and higher ω-3 content in the breast muscles. However, it had no improving effect on the birds’ growth.

Recently, we clarified the function of mediastinal fat-associated lymphoid clusters (MFALCs) in the progression of several respiratory diseases. However, their role has not yet been identified in the lung asthmatic condition. Hence, we compared the immune cells in lung and MFALCs of C57BL/6N mice on days 3 and 7 following intranasal instillation of either papain (papain group “PG”) or phosphate buffer saline (PBS) (vehicle group “VG”). The PG showed significantly prominent MFALCs, numerous goblet cells (GCs), and higher index ratios of different immune cells (macrophages, natural helper cells (NHC), B- and T-lymphocytes) within the MFALCs and lung than in the VG on both days 3 and 7. Interestingly, a tendency of decreased size of MFALCs and a significant reduction in the number of GCs and immune cells were observed within the MFALCs and lung in the PG on day 7 than on day 3. Furthermore, the quantitative parameters of these immune cells in MFALCs were significantly and positively correlated with the size of MFALCs and immune cells in the lung. This suggested that the possible crosstalk between immune cells within MFALCs and the lung could play a critical role in the progression and recovery of the acute inflammatory lung asthma.