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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Parasitology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1506532
This article is part of the Research Topic Parasites in One Health Interface View all 15 articles

Impact of trypanosomiasis on male camel infertility

Provisionally accepted
Sara Salah Abdel-Hakeem Sara Salah Abdel-Hakeem 1*Gaber Megahed Gaber Megahed 2Ahmed M. Al-Hakami Ahmed M. Al-Hakami 3Mohammed E. M. Tolba Mohammed E. M. Tolba 3Yasser F. M. Karar Yasser F. M. Karar 4
  • 1 Department of Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Asyut, Asyut, Egypt
  • 2 Department of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Asyut, Asyut, Egypt
  • 3 Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
  • 4 Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, New Valley University, ُElkharga, Egypt

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Blood parasitism is a significant clinical disease that silently undermines the livestock industry, particularly affecting camels. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of Trypanosoma evansi in Arabian camels (Camelus dromedarius) and its impact on infertility by examining serum protein fractions, lipids, reproductive indices, and the expression of heat shock protein (HSP70) during breeding season. A total of 107 male post-pubertal camels, aged between 5 and 10 years, were collected randomly from slaughtering house in Assiut Governorate, Egypt. Microscopic and serological examinations revealed that 23.4% (25/107) of the camels were infected with T. evansi. Infected camels exhibited a highly significant increase in total serum protein. The assessment of dyslipidemia, measure as binary variables for lipid profiles (cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL, and LDL), indicated a nonsignificant increase in risk of dyslipidemia in infected camels compared to healthy camels. Proteomic analysis identified four major protein fractions in the infected camels compared to healthy camels with molecular weights of 181.72, 87.59, 30.5, and 19.5 kDa using SDS electrophoresis. Testicular tissue of the infected camels showed degeneration and necrotic changes in seminiferous tubules and interstitial tissue, along with edema and congestion. There was a significant reduction in the diameter of seminiferous tubules and germinal epithelium height. A marked reduction in testosterone levels and a high expression of HSP70 in spermatogonia, spermatocytes, Sertoli cells, and Leydig cells were observed. Consequently, a combination of physiological and hormonal analyses may serve as a reliable indicator of Trypanosoma infection.

    Keywords: Camelus dromedarius, Fertility, HSP-70, proteomic, Testicular lesion, Trypanosoma evansi

    Received: 05 Oct 2024; Accepted: 12 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Abdel-Hakeem, Megahed, Al-Hakami, Tolba and Karar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sara Salah Abdel-Hakeem, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Faculty of Science, Assiut University, Asyut, 71515, Asyut, Egypt

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