HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

From Cell Biology to Tissue Engineering

 

Morphological changes during the formation of amoebic liver abscess in vagotomized hamsters

Esperanza Sánchez-Alemán1, Leticia María Lili-Carrillo2, Martin Humberto Muñoz-Ortega3, Ma. Consolación Martínez-Saldaña1 and Javier Ventura-Juárez1

1Departamento de Morfología, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, 2Instituto Politécnico Nacional Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Biología Marina y Pesquerías, La Paz, Baja California Sur, and 3Departamento de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, México

Offprint requests to: Javier Ventura-Juárez PhD, Avenida Universidad 940, Colonia Ciudad Universitaria, Edificio 202, Aguascalientes, 20131-México. e-mail: jventur@correo.uaa.mx or esanchezal@hotmail.com


Summary. Amoebic liver abscess (ALA) is the main extra-intestinal complication caused by Entamoeba histolytica. Given the histological features of ALA in hamsters and the importance of the vagus nerve in the immune response, the aim of this study was to identify and analyze the major changes in ALA that are caused by a vagotomy. The changes found are related to inflammatory foci and abscess size, the type of collagen formed, and the number of trophozoites in lesions. Male hamsters were divided into three groups: Intact animals (IA) and those undergoing a false operation (SHAM) or a subdiaphragmatic vagotomy (VAG). In each group, E. histolytica trophozoites or culture medium (CM) were inoculated in hamsters by the intrahepatic route, and then euthanized at 6h, 12h, 24h, 48h, 4d or 7d post-infection. Initially the growth of the abscess was more rapid in the VAG group, but at day 7 it was faster in the IA and SHAM groups. VAG animals showed a higher quantity of type III collagen than the IA and SHAM groups. A larger number of amoebic trophozoites/mm2 was observed up to day 4 in VAG hamsters (23.3±2.19) compared to IA (14.6±0.23) and SHAM (6.13±0.87) animals. This parameter decreased by day 7 in VAG (13.4±0.87) with respect to IA (24.7±1.47) and SHAM (21.7±1.48). The results show that a subdiaphragmatic vagotomy influenced the development of ALA in hamsters, suggesting a modification of the morphological structure of damaged hepatic tissue. Histol Histopathol 35, 47-56 (2020)

Key words: Vagotomy, Liver morphology, Amoebic liver abscess, Collagen

DOI: 10.14670/HH-18-134