Heart and lung morphometry in Wistar rats infected with canine leptospira during pregnancy

• Main Authors: Maria De Jesus Monzón Tamargo, Manuel Guillermo Peterssen Sánchez, Javier Joaquín Pérez Cardoso, Xiomara González García, Susana González Freije
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: ECIMED 2019-06-01
• Series: Revista de Ciencias Médicas de Pinar del Río
• Subjects: leptospira; ratas wistar; serogrupo; zoonosis; leptospirosis.
• Online Access: http://www.revcmpinar.sld.cu/index.php/publicaciones/article/view/3944

Introduction: leptospirosis is a zoonosis of wide-ranging distribution worldwide that causes great losses to human health. Objective: to determine the morphometric changes of heart and lung in Wistar rats infected with canine leptospira during pregnancy. Methods: descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study carried out at Pinar del Río University of Medical Sciences, mainly by the Biomedical Research Laboratory, from September 2016 to August 2018, on 120 offspring of Wistar rats posterior to the slaughter, whose mothers, during gestation, were inoculated with strains of the canicula serogroup leptospira. The following variables were included in the study: sex, weight, heart and lung volume, crosswise length, sagittal length, and left ventricle thickness. Morphometric examination was performed with the use of MOTIC software and digitalization of the images with a MOTIC-AM 3 camera coupled to a stereoscope, both connected to a computer for data collection and analysis. Results: male sex predominated with 55.84%, where a decrease in weight and heart volume was observed in both genders. The morphometric average of crosswise length, sagittal length and the thickness of the left ventricle of the heart decreased its lengths. There were no differences in both sexes in relation to the weight and volume of both lungs. Conclusions: similar results, without evaluating other damages, can occur in men when infected with leptospirosis. The development of researches where other strains of leptospira can be used should be encouraged, in order to evaluate and avoid defects in human development.