Hijová E, et al. J Vet Sci. 2013 Dec;14(4):387-393. https://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.2013.14.4.387

The aim of this study was to investigate the use of a standardized animal model subjected to antibiotic treatment, and the effects of this treatment on the course of dextran sodium sulphate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. By decontamination with selective antibiotics and observation of pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis (UC) induced chemically by exposure of mice to various concentrations of DSS, we obtained an optimum animal PGF model of acute UC manifested by mucin depletion, epithelial degeneration and necrosis, leading to the disappearance of epithelial cells, infiltration of lamina propria and submucosa with neutrophils, cryptitis, and accompanied by decreased viability of intestinal microbiota, loss of body weight, dehydration, moderate rectal bleeding, and a decrease in the selected markers of cellular proliferation and apoptosis. The obtained PGF model did not exhibit changes that could contribute to inflammation by means of alteration of the metabolic status and the induced dysbiosis did not serve as a bearer of pathogenic microorganisms participating in development of ulcerative colitis. The inflammatory process was induced particularly by exposure to DSS and its toxic action on compactness and integrity of mucosal barrier in the large intestine. This offers new possibilities of the use of this animal model in studies with or without participation of pathogenic microbiota in IBD pathogenesis.

SUMMARY: Here we examine 3157 foxes from 6 districts of the Slovak Republic in order to determine for the first time the distribution, prevalence and identity ofMesocestodesspp. endemic to this part of central Europe. During the period 2001–2006, an average of 41·9% of foxes were found to harbourMesocestoidesinfections. Among the samples we confirmed the widespread and common occurrence ofM. litteratus(Batsch, 1786), and report the presence, for the first time, ofM. lineatus(Goeze, 1782) in the Slovak Republic, where it has a more restricted geographical range and low prevalence (7%). Using a combination of 12S rDNA, CO1 and ND1 mitochondrial gene sequences together with analysis of 13 morphometric characters, we show that the two species are genetically distinct and can be differentiated by discrete breaks in the ranges of the male and female reproductive characters, but not by the more commonly examined characters of the scolex and strobila. Estimates of interspecific divergence withinMesocestoidesranged from 9 to 18%, whereas intraspecific variation was less than 2%, and phylogenetic analyses of the data showed that despite overlapping geographical ranges, the two commonly reported European species are not closely related, withM. litteratusmore closely allied to North American isolates ofMesocestoidesthan toM. lineatus. We confirm that morphological analysis of reproductive organs can be used to reliably discriminate between these often sympatric species obtained from red foxes.