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Decrease in litter size of female mice with Toxocara canis
724 TRANSACTIONS
OF THE ROYAL
SOCIETY
OF TROPICAL
MEDICINE
Decrease in litter size of female mice with Toxocara canis Nobuaki Akao’, Robert S. Desowitz’ and Kaoru Kondo’ ‘Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Takara-Machi 13-1, Kanazawa 920, Japan; ‘Department of Tropical Medicine and Medical Microbiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Leahi Hospital, 3675 Kilauea Avenue, Honolulu 96816, Hawaii, USA Toxocara canis is a cosmopolitan parasite of canines that is known to be an important aetiological agent of visceral larva migrans (BEAVER et al., 1952). While numerous studies have been conducted in mice to elucidate the larval migration route and its immunopathological effects, none has determined the effects Results
Experiment no. 1 2
of delivery
Mother Infected Uninfected Infected Uninfected
HYGIENE
(1990)
84, 724
period. The same number of age-matched uninfected females was mated as controls. Two of the infected group did not conceive or failed to produce young for some other reason. All the control group mice produced a litter.
1 Short Report 1
Table.
AND
of mice infected
with
The Table compares the total number of young mice and the average number per litter of the infected and control groups. The data indicate that infection with larval T. canis during pregnancy significantly (P
canis
No. of mice used
No. of mice pregnant
: 6 6
4 5 5 6
aMean+standard deviation in one gestation. bSignificance of difference: experiment 1, lVO.05; on pregnancy and its outcome in the rodent host. In this paper we report a significant reduction in the size of litters born in mice infected with T. canis larvae. BALB/c female mice were infected with T. canis larvae as described previously (AKAO, 1985). Two identical experiments were carried out, one at the University of Hawaii and the other at Kanazawa University. Eleven mice, 28 d old, were each given 500 embryonated T. canis eggs obtained from dogs either in Hawaii or Kanazawa. Four weeks later, the animals were placed with a proven male breeder mouse (3 females to 1 male) for 3 d, after which each female was caged singly during the entire gestation
experiment
Total no. of newborn 1: ii
Mean no. of newborna 3.3+ 5.8s 2*6+ 6.7+
1.3 1.7b 1.2 l.Ob
2, P
References Akao, N. (1985). Immune response to excretory-secretory products of second stage larvae of Toxocaru canis: humoral immune response relating to larval trapping in the liver of reinfected mice. JapaneseJournal of Parasitology, 34, 293-300. Baumm, J. & Stoye, M. (1981). Pranatale und galaktogene Infektionen mit Toxocara canis Werner 1782 (Anisakidau) bei der Maus. Zentralblatt ftir Veteriniinnedizin Beiheft, 28, 319-328. Beaver, P. C., Snyder, C. H., Carrera, G. M., Dent, J. H. & Lafferty, J. W. (1952). Chronic eosinophilia due to visceral larva migrans. Pedianics, 9, 7-19.
Received 7 March 1990; revised 23 April 1990; accepted publication 24 April 1990
for
OF THE ROYAL
SOCIETY
OF TROPICAL
MEDICINE
Decrease in litter size of female mice with Toxocara canis Nobuaki Akao’, Robert S. Desowitz’ and Kaoru Kondo’ ‘Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Takara-Machi 13-1, Kanazawa 920, Japan; ‘Department of Tropical Medicine and Medical Microbiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Leahi Hospital, 3675 Kilauea Avenue, Honolulu 96816, Hawaii, USA Toxocara canis is a cosmopolitan parasite of canines that is known to be an important aetiological agent of visceral larva migrans (BEAVER et al., 1952). While numerous studies have been conducted in mice to elucidate the larval migration route and its immunopathological effects, none has determined the effects Results
Experiment no. 1 2
of delivery
Mother Infected Uninfected Infected Uninfected
HYGIENE
(1990)
84, 724
period. The same number of age-matched uninfected females was mated as controls. Two of the infected group did not conceive or failed to produce young for some other reason. All the control group mice produced a litter.
1 Short Report 1
Table.
AND
of mice infected
with
The Table compares the total number of young mice and the average number per litter of the infected and control groups. The data indicate that infection with larval T. canis during pregnancy significantly (P
canis
No. of mice used
No. of mice pregnant
: 6 6
4 5 5 6
aMean+standard deviation in one gestation. bSignificance of difference: experiment 1, lVO.05; on pregnancy and its outcome in the rodent host. In this paper we report a significant reduction in the size of litters born in mice infected with T. canis larvae. BALB/c female mice were infected with T. canis larvae as described previously (AKAO, 1985). Two identical experiments were carried out, one at the University of Hawaii and the other at Kanazawa University. Eleven mice, 28 d old, were each given 500 embryonated T. canis eggs obtained from dogs either in Hawaii or Kanazawa. Four weeks later, the animals were placed with a proven male breeder mouse (3 females to 1 male) for 3 d, after which each female was caged singly during the entire gestation
experiment
Total no. of newborn 1: ii
Mean no. of newborna 3.3+ 5.8s 2*6+ 6.7+
1.3 1.7b 1.2 l.Ob
2, P
References Akao, N. (1985). Immune response to excretory-secretory products of second stage larvae of Toxocaru canis: humoral immune response relating to larval trapping in the liver of reinfected mice. JapaneseJournal of Parasitology, 34, 293-300. Baumm, J. & Stoye, M. (1981). Pranatale und galaktogene Infektionen mit Toxocara canis Werner 1782 (Anisakidau) bei der Maus. Zentralblatt ftir Veteriniinnedizin Beiheft, 28, 319-328. Beaver, P. C., Snyder, C. H., Carrera, G. M., Dent, J. H. & Lafferty, J. W. (1952). Chronic eosinophilia due to visceral larva migrans. Pedianics, 9, 7-19.
Received 7 March 1990; revised 23 April 1990; accepted publication 24 April 1990
for