SCIENCE

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Browsing SCIENCE by Subject "(ATELERIX ALBIVENTRIS L.)"

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    IN VITRO TRYPANOLYTIC POTENTIAL OF AFRICAN HEDGEHOG (ATELERIX ALBIVENTRIS L.) SERUM AGAINST TRYPANASOMA CONGOLENSE
    (2019-02) ABDULLAHI, Abubakar Lema
    African Trypanosomosis remains a major disease of humans and animals in sub-Saharan Africa and is responsible for considerable mortality and socio-economic impacts in the sub-region. There is no available vaccine and the available chemotherapeutic options are considered unsatisfactory due to toxicity and drug resistance. This study was designed to evaluate the possible trypanolytic potential of African Hedgehog serum and plasma for contribution to the future development of a new management option for the disease. Five adult hedgehogs and 5 laboratory mice were infected intraperitonially with 106Trypanosoma congolense cells and monitored for parasitemia and survival. The hedgehogs were resistant to the infection as no parasite was detected and none of the hedgehogs died even after 21 days post infection while the mice all died within 12 days post-infection. Further, serum and plasma were prepared from twenty adult hedgehogs and diluted serially in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) to obtain 1×, 10×, 100× and 1000× dilution. Twenty micro liters of each dilution were added to 5 μl of T. congolense parasitized blood and incubated over a period of 1h at room temperature. Positive and normal controls contained a standard drug Diminazene Aceturate (DMA) and PBSG, respectively. The parasites were observed under microscope for motility and viability after 5, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes. The 10× diluted serum had higher significant (p<0.05) trypanolytic activity than the standard drug and PBS, while all the plasma dilutions had lower trypanolytic activity than the standard drug. A Bioassay-guided fractionation with ion exchange and gel filtration chromatography followed by characterization with Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) revealed a proteinaceous trypanolytic factor with a molecular mass of 110 kDa. For the first time, it has been demonstrated that hedgehog serum has significant trypanolytic activity against T. congolense suggesting that the trypanolytic factor in hedgehog serum can be exploited for the development of new therapy for Trypanosomosis.