To assess muscle breakdown during avian coccidiosis, the level of the nonmetabolizable amino acid 3-methylhistidine (3MH) was determined in muscle, plasma and excreta from chickens infected with Eimeria acervulina. The changes in 3MH levels during infection were assessed at 1–29 days postinoculation (DPI) in animals given 5 × 105 oocysts per bird. The effect of levels of parasitism were evaluated at 8 DPI in birds receiving 5 × 103, 5 × 104, 5 × 105 or 1 × 106 oocysts each. The 3MH levels of plasma, muscle, and excreta samples were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography after derivatization with fluorescamine. Weight gains, breast muscle weight, eviscerated weight, plasma carotenoid levels, dry weight of muscle, and gross lesion scores were also determined. Infected birds had significantly elevated plasma and muscle 3MH at 4 and 8 DPI following a single dose of E. acervulina. The increase in 3MH levels had an inverse relationship with the time course of weight gain and plasma carotenoid levels. Plasma and muscle 3MH levels returned to control values by 15 DPI and remained unchanged from control values through the remainder of the experiment (29 DPI). Breast weight was decreased in infected birds, but the ratio of breast weight to eviscerated body weight was unchanged. Excretion of 3MH decreased relative to controls at 4 and 8 DPI and returned to control levels on 15 DPI. The plasma and muscle levels of 3MH were related to severity of infection; however, levels of excreted 3MH were not. The results suggested that muscle breakdown, as assessed by plasma and muscle levels of 3MH, increased during the acute stage of E. acervulina infection. The underlying causes for this muscle breakdown was unclear but could involve a physiological response to anorexia and decreased food intake during the acute phase of infection. Levels of excreted 3MH did not increase during infection and this may be the result of decreased excreta output during infection. Plasma and muscle levels of 3MH were correlated with severity of E. acervulina infections but may not be as sensitive an indicator of infection as plasma carotenoid levels or other physiological parameters.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
August 2000
PATHOLOGY|
August 01 2000
EIMERIA ACERVULINA INFECTION ELEVATES PLASMA AND MUSCLE 3-METHYLHISTIDINE LEVELS IN CHICKENS
R. H. Fetterer;
R. H. Fetterer
Parasite Biology and Epidemiology Laboratory, Livestock and Poultry Sciences Institute, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland 20750
Search for other works by this author on:
P. C. Allen
P. C. Allen
Parasite Biology and Epidemiology Laboratory, Livestock and Poultry Sciences Institute, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Beltsville, Maryland 20750
Search for other works by this author on:
J Parasitol (2000) 86 (4): 783–791.
Citation
R. H. Fetterer, P. C. Allen; EIMERIA ACERVULINA INFECTION ELEVATES PLASMA AND MUSCLE 3-METHYLHISTIDINE LEVELS IN CHICKENS. J Parasitol 1 August 2000; 86 (4): 783–791. doi: https://doi.org/10.1645/0022-3395(2000)086[0783:EAIEPA]2.0.CO;2
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionCiting articles via
SEROPREVALENCE OF TOXOPLASMA GONDII AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS IN ONE-HUMPED CAMELS (CAMELUS DROMEDARIUS) IN QATAR
Sonia Boughattas, Hashim Alhussain, Ahmed Gawish, Nahla O. Eltai
SCOLICIDAL POTENCY OF BILE AGAINST ECHINOCOCCUS GRANULOSUS
İsa Caner Aydın, Noyan İlhan, Ahmet Şeker, Cem Batuhan Ofluoğlu, Fırat Mülküt, Nuri Emrah Göret, Kenan Çetin, Erdal Polat, Gökhan Aygün, Hasan Fehmi Kücük
SYNONYMIZATION OF PLACOBDELLA PICTA (VERRILL, 1872) (HIRUDINEA: GLOSSIPHONIIDAE) WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SPECIES REVEALED BY MOLECULAR SPECIES DELIMITATION
Anna J. Phillips, Dennis J. Richardson, Charlotte I. Hammond, Brett C. Gonzalez, Eric A. Lazo-Wasem, William E. Moser
A RE-EVALUATION OF ZYGOCOTYLE (DIGENEA, PARAMPHISTOMOIDEA) BASED ON NEW GENETIC DATA SUPPORTS ITS SYNONYMIZATION WITH WARDIUS
Tyler J. Achatz, Dawn W. Cleveland, Sarah A. Orlofske, Robert C. Jadin, Jason Block, Lisa K. Belden, Hudson A. Pinto, Vasyl V. Tkach
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF GYRINICOLA YAMAGUTI, 1938, FROM THE MONTEZUMA FROG, RANA MONTEZUMAE, IN THE TRANSITION ZONE BETWEEN THE NEARCTIC AND NEOTROPICS
Matthew A. Walker, Rogelio Aguilar-Aguilar, Virginia León-Règagnon, F. Agustín Jiménez