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Immunosuppressive effect of cyclophosphamide in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

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Abstract

Cyclophosphamide, a common chemotherapeutic and immune suppressor agent, is regularly used in research to weaken the immune system in laboratory animal models. Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is a widely used experimental fish model for immune-modulatory research; with the lack of knowledge about the immune-compromised tilapia model, an urgent need is to develop and optimise such a model. Sixty healthy Oreochromis niloticus fish, average weight 50 ± 10 g, were divided into four experimental groups. Fish in group I, negative control group, were injected with phosphate-buffered saline only, and fish in groups II, III and IV were injected with cyclophosphamide (CP) at 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg body weight (BW), respectively, via the intraperitoneal route. Different immune-related parameters were investigated 3 weeks after CP injection. The results have revealed a significant decrease in total red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs) and thrombocyte counts and reduced haemoglobin and haematocrit values in CP-treated fish, especially those injected with 200 mg/kg BW compared with the control group (p < 0.05). Also, significantly lower levels of serum proteins (total protein, albumin, α1- and γ-globulins) were observed in CP-treated fish, especially those injected with 200 mg/kg BW in comparison with the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, CP-treated fish showed a reduction in the expression of immune-related genes (interleukin-1, and tumour necrosis factor-α in spleen and tumour necrosis factor-α and transforming growth factor β-1 in head-kidney), especially those injected with 200 mg/kg BW compared with the control group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the Oreochromis niloticus immune-suppressed model can be induced by intraperitoneal CP injection at 200 mg/kg BW.

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The authors declare that any needed data supporting this study’s findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was financially supported privately by the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Mohamed F.A. Elazab: conceptualisation, methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing.

Alkhateib Yousry Gaafar: resources, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing.

Abdelgayed Metwaly Younes: resources, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing.

Alaa Z. Abu-Bryka: resources, investigation, writing—review and editing

Mohamed M. Abdel-Daim: conceptualisation, methodology, writing - original draft, writing—review and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alkhateib Y. Gaafar.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Responsible Editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Elazab, M.F.A., Younes, A.M., Gaafar, A.Y. et al. Immunosuppressive effect of cyclophosphamide in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 20784–20793 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11893-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11893-8

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