Abstract
Dermatophytosis (ringworm), an infection of the superficial keratinized structures of the skin and hair, is the most common contagious skin disease in cattle. The infectious diseases caused by dermatophytes are mainly related to the enzymes product by these fungi. Conversely, elements such as zinc and selenium are involved in the regulation of immune responses to infection. There are rare reports about the possible role of zinc and selenium concentration in the pathogenesis of cattle dermatophytosis.
Thus, this study was conducted in a humid area of Iran on 35 healthy and 35 infected cows. After diagnosis confirmation by direct microscopic examination and fungi isolation via inoculation on Sabouraud dextrose agar using skin scrap and broken hair samples of infected cows, the zinc and selenium concentration of serum and hair in both groups were determined by potentiometric stripping analyzer and atomic absorption spectrometry, respectively.
Results showed that serum concentration of selenium and zinc in cattle with dermatophytosis were significantly lower (P<0.05) than the healthy ones. Although hair concentration of selenium and zinc in infected cattle were lower than the healthy ones, the differences were not significant (P>
0.05). In conclusion, it seems that zinc and selenium have a determinant role in immune status and the response of animal's immunity system to dermatophytosis.
Keywords: Dermatophytosis, Cattle, Zinc, Selenium, Ringworm
Introduction
Dermatophytosis, or ringworm, is an infection of the superficial keratinized structures of the skin and hair of animals and humans. The incidence of this disease varies according to climate and with the natural reservoirs.
Animals serve as reservoirs of the zoophilic dermatophytes. The most affected domestic animals are cattle, sheep, horses, and goats. Dermatophytosis is the most common contagious skin disease in cattle that is known to be selflimiting, but several factors such as illness, poor nutrition, overcrowding, age, immunosuppression, and stress predispose animal to infection (Cabanes et al. 1997; Reed et al. 2004; Gudding and Lund 1995; Awad et al. 2008).
It has been reported that the infectious diseases caused by dermatophytes are mainly related to the production of enzymes by these fungi. Keratin is the main component of animal and human skin and it represents a substrate for dermatophytes (Muhsin and Salih 2000).
Lehmann (1985) suggested that T-cell-mediated immunity seems to be essential for recovery from both cutaneous and mucosal infections and from infections of systemic fungal pathogens. Several trace elements such as zinc and selenium are involved in the regulation of immune responses to infection. Zinc deficiency results in lymphoid atrophy and decreased capacity of T cells to respond to TComp dependent antigens, and selenium deficiency reduces T-celldependent antibody responses (Chandra and Dayton 1982).
There have been rare reports about the possible role of zinc and selenium concentration in the pathogenesis of cattle dermatophytosis. For this reason, the current study was designed in a humid area (Mazandaran province) in the north of Iran to determine the status of zinc and selenium in healthy cows and the ones with dermatophytosis.
Materials and methods
Animals
This research was carried out on 70 cattle in weather with 71% to 75% humidity and temperature between 24.6°C and 25.9°C at late spring and early summer. Dairy cattle age were between 3 and 4 years and all of them selected within 20 dairy farms.
Sampling
A total number of 35 skin scrap and broken hair samples (two samples from each cow) were collected by sterile instruments from the margin of lesions of dairy cattle suspected to dermatophytosis after cleaning with cotton soaked in 70% alcohol (to remove contaminant fungi and other agents).Then, the samples were taken to the laboratory for further examinations.
Direct microscopic examination and inoculation After treating with 10% potassium hydroxide, samples were initially examined under light microscope. Then, the samples were inoculated on Sabouraud dextrose agar media containing chloramphenicol and cyclohexymide for fungi isolation and diagnosis confirmation. The media were incubated 3 weeks under aerobic conditions at 25°C and 37°C. During the incubation, macroscopic features of colonies were recorded daily, and according to the macroscopic and microscopic characteristics, proliferating colonies were identified.
Macroscopic features of the colonies, such as reproduction time, structure, and pigmentation on the medium, were recorded as well. For microscopic examination, the obtained slides from the culture were stained with lactophenol cotton blue, and fungal elements were evaluated for different dermatophyte species (Moriello 2001).
Further sampling After diagnosis confirmation by the above examinations, blood samples were collected in vacuum tubes from the jugular vein of 35 healthy and 35 infected cows. After centrifugation at 1,500×g for 10 min, the collected sera were kept at -20°C until further analyses.
Hair samples were also collected from positive and healthy cows to determine the zinc and selenium concentration. Determination of selenium and zinc in serum, hair, and ration Serum and hair selenium concentrations were measured in triplicate with a graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer with Zeeman background correction using a standard addition method (Perkin-Elmer 1981). Conversely, serum and hair concentration of zinc were determined by potentiometric stripping analyzer (PSA).
For determining the ration status of selenium and zinc values, mixed ration samples were taken at the beginning of the experiment and the concentration of mentioned minerals were measured by atomic absorption spectrometer and PSA, respectively.
Statistical analysis
Values were reported by mean±SE. One-way analysis of variance was used for comparing selenium and zinc concentration differences between healthy and infected cows. Pearson correlation test was also used to assess the correlation between serum and hair concentration of Zn and
Se in two groups at the level of P<0.05.
Results
Clinical and microbiological findings
Some major clinical signs could be observed in cows that were affected severely. These findings include scaly skin patches in some parts of the body such as head, neck, and flanks, extensive alopecia, and/or circumscribed thick. The first and major dermatophytes which could be isolated was Trichophyton verrucosum with the record of 22 cases (62.86%), while Trichophyton mentagrophytes was the second most isolated dermatophytes with the record of seven isolates (20%) followed by six isolates (17.14%) of Trichophyton spp. as the third one which could not be identified.
Selenium and zinc concentration
Results of ration determination showed that selenium (1.14 mg/kg DM) and zinc (2.253 mg/kg DM) concentration were in adequate and inadequate rang, respectively.
Serum selenium concentration in healthy cows was determined as 0.19±0.06 mg/kg, while serum zinc concentration was 3.47±0.32 mg/kg. Also, in the same cows, hair concentration of selenium was determined as 3.03± 0.16 mg/kg, while it was 82.5±2.97 mg/kg for hair concentration of zinc, which was in higher rates than that of serum.
As shown in Table 1, the concentration of selenium in serum of cows with dermatophytosis was 0.09±0.008 and its concentration in hair was 2.72±0.15 mg/kg, the serum value of which was significantly lower than the results obtained from the healthy ones (P=0.026).
Conversely, serum and hair concentration of zinc in affected cows were determined as 2.35±0.37 and 79.27± 4.59 mg/kg, respectively. These values were lower than the ones which were obtained from the healthy cows, but the difference was only significant for serum concentration (P=0.034).
Pearson correlation test showed a negative correlation between serum zinc and hair selenium concentration in healthy cows (r=0.00125, P=-0.864).
Discussion
Ringworm, or dermatophytosis, is an infection of domestic animals caused by various fungi including Trichophyton spp. and Microsporum spp. T. verrucosum, T. mentagrophytes, and T. megnini, the common fungi involved in bovine dermatophytosis (Fuller et al. 2003; Karapehlivan et al. 2007; Gudding and Lund 1995), which, in the present study, only Trichophyton spp. were isolated from the cows with dermatophytosis.
Following infection, skin response is mild to severe, depending on various factors such as the host's reaction to the metabolic products of the fungus, virulence of the infecting fungus, anatomic location, and environmental factors. The incidence of dermatophytosis usually is related to climate, natural reservoirs, and immunity status of animals. Minerals have a major role in immunity and tissues integrity. Zinc as an essential trace mineral is necessary for cell proliferation, replication, and differentiation and is found in all organs, tissues, and body fluids (Karapehlivan et al. 2007). As shown in Table 1, the significantly low level of zinc was observed in serum of cows with ringworm, a finding that was previously reported by Nisbet et al. (2006). Zinc deficiency may result to impaired immunity in many diseases and may induce many anomalies in young animals, while it causes only skin problems in adults. It has been established that zinc has a role in nucleic acid and collagen synthesis, acts in keratinization of the epidermis, and also has been reported to play a role in wound healing. Zinc has an important role in keratinocyte migration in the early period and in cell adhesion in the late period of wound healing. The relationship between zinc deficiency and infections, skin ulceration, and septicemia were reported previously. Zinc is also involved in cancer, cirrhosis, coronary diseases, diabetes, and many skin diseases (Rostan et al. 2002; Nisbet et al. 2006). Colombini (1999) and White et al (2001) reported that zinc deficiency in dogs causes dermatological lesions and dietary supplement of zinc reduces the symptoms of such disease.
Selenium is a constituent of glutathione peroxidase, which aids in protecting cellular membranes from oxidative damage. Other biochemical roles of selenium include supplying selenoprotein of mitochondria for spermatozoa and adequate immune response, RNA and prostaglandin synthesis, and fatty acid metabolism (McDowell 1983). Our findings showed that serum selenium concentration in affected cows was significantly lower than the healthy ones, and this may predispose animals to ringworm the same as zinc deficiency. Selenium deficiency is associated with obvious decreases in T lymphocyte blastogenesis, neutrophil random migration, chemotaxis, phagocytosis, killing potential, and depressed antibody production of IgM and IgG (Levander and Mertz 1986). In addition, lymphoid atrophy and the lack of T and NK cells responses to antigens can be seen in zinc and selenium deficiency (Chandra and Dayton 1982; Shankar and Prasad 1998; Kiremidjian- Schumacher and Roy 1998).
It has also been shown that the host immunity against dermatophytosis is considered to be due to iron-unsaturated transferring in serum (King et al. 1975; Yamauchi et al. 2000), iron-unsaturated lactoferrin of neutrophils (Tanaka et al. 1999), and eradication of dermatophytes by polymorphonuclear leucocytes or macrophages (Roberts and Mackenzie 1979; Artis et al. 1983). It has been documented that cellmediated immunity correlated with delayed type hypersensitivity is associated with clinical cure of dermatophytosis (Calderon and Hay 1987; Weitzman and Summerbell 1995).
Our results showed that selenium and zinc concentrations in both serum and hair of affected cows were lower than that of the healthy ones.
In conclusion, it seems that zinc and selenium have a determinant role in immune status and the response of animal's immunity system to dermatophytosis.
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