Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences (2026)

02/07/2025

Investigating the role of alpha particles in gene expression levels of cytokines in rats infected with cystic echinococcosis
S.Y. Yousif, O.A. Najm, and Y.Y. Kassim
Abstract
Hydatidosis is a widespread parasitic disease caused by larval stage protoscoleces of Echinococcus granulosus. The present study investigated the effect of protoscoleces after exposure to alpha particles on the expression of immune response-related genes in rats. This study observed gene expression of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 in rats infected with hydatid cysts. In this study, six groups of male albino rats were used; some groups were injected intraperitoneally, with protoscoleces exposed to alpha particles for either 1 or 1.5 hours, while the control group received protoscoleces. After four to five, the rats were euthanized. The levels of gene activity for markers like TNF-α, IL‐6, and IL‐10 were examined in different organs of rats at time intervals. The results showed that alpha particle exposure led to significant changes in the expression of these cytokines depending on both dose and duration of exposure. The expression of alpha particles after 1 and 1.5 hours resulted in notable changes in IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α gene expression in rats, especially after four months, where the injection of irradiated protoscoleces led to an increase in TNF-α expression. The exposure to alpha particles influenced the inflammatory response at both the transcriptional and functional levels. Furthermore, prolonged exposure to alpha particles demonstrated a dose-dependent effect, which enhances gene expression changes.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188423.html

02/07/2025

Seroprevalence of bovine besnoitiosis in Mosul city, Iraq
M.I. Al-Farwachi, H.A. Mohammad and I.A. Al-Robaiee
Abstract
Besnoitia besnoiti (Bb) has become an important cause of severe commercial losses in endemic zones globally. The seroprevalence of this organism in Iraq is underreported. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of bovine besnoitiosis (BB) in Mosul city, Iraq. A cross-sectional study was done from April 2024 to February 2025 on 20 farms. A total of 300 sera were collected from animals aged 1 to 7 years and examined using a commercially available indirect enzyme immune sorbent assay (ELISA). The probable risk factors investigated were age, s*x, breed origin, herd size, and season. The overall prevalence of BB was 23% (69/300; 95% Confidence interval (CI)= 17.9 to 29.1). During spring, older animals (≥ 5 years old) and herds with imported breeds showed greater seroprevalences of antibodies against Bb, whereas a lower prevalence rate in animals with ≤ 1 year old. Univariable analysis showed that cattle aged ≥5 years, imported breeds, and those sampled in spring were significantly more likely to be seropositive. In a multivariable regression analysis, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of seropositivity was 6.0 times higher for animals ≥ 5 years old and 4.0 times higher for spring compared to younger animals and other times of year. Imported animals were 3.1 times more likely to be seropositive than native breeds. This study provides the first seroepidemiological studies on B. besnoiti in Mosul city, Iraq. Older animals, imported breeds, and spring represented considerable risk factors for infection. These findings are crucial in guiding future surveillance and control actions for BB in the region.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188129.html

02/07/2025

Molecular detection of some Staphylococcal enterotoxins in the meat of slaughtered animals in abattoirs, Mosul- Iraq
R.M. Dawood and R.A. Alsanjary
Abstract
Foodborne pathogens are an international health problem, especially Staphylococcus (S.) aureus, which is considered one of the most important foodborne pathogens. The study aimed to isolate and identify the S. aureus bacteria from the meat of slaughtered animals in Mosul abattoirs during the period from August 26 to November 20, 2024. The conventional microbiology diagnosis for S. aureus in the meat of slaughtered animals in Mosul abattoir reveals isolation of 131/270, with a total isolation rate reaching 48.5% from all meat samples. For the purpose of further analysis to detect the enterotoxin genes, the isolates that were previously confirmed as S. aureus by using specific Nuc gene, PCR was applied to 46 random isolates to identify S. enterotoxins (sea, seb, sec, sed, sef, and Tsst genes) which gave a positive result for Sea, seb, sec, and Tsst genes with molecular weight 219, 478, 257 and 559 bp, respectively, except the seD and seE gene are not detected in this study, moreover some isolates carrying either one or more than one of enterotoxins genes. From the results of this study, we believe that meat contamination in the abattoirs may come from poor sanitation practices in slaughterhouses that could expose the consumers to meat-borne infections and food poisoning. It could be recommended that activities in the abattoir should be monitored and regulated by the government and sanitation agencies to ensure that approved and acceptable standards are adhered to reduce contamination of meat that gets to final consumers.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188422.html

02/07/2025

Investigation of genetically modified additives in meat and meat products in Mosul city
M.H. Alassaf and M.G. Hassan
Abstract
Consumer demands for meat and meat products have increased over the last years; Therefore, meat yields were improved using biotechnology. Gene modification techniques have been applied for these purposes using transgenic plants. The goal of this study is to investigate the presence of genetically modified additives in meat and meat products sold in local markets in Mosul city; DNA extraction of meat samples was screened for the presence of common regulatory genes represented by Cauliflower mosaic virus P-35S promoter and the Agrobacterium nopaline synthase T-nos terminator as well as the specific target Roundup Ready soybean gene (RR) using polymerase chain reaction assay to amplify sequences of these elements. The results displayed the existence of Roundup-ready soybean gene in processed meat products sold in Mosul city market 73%, especially in beef and poultry luncheon compared to sausage and mortadella with high prevalence in imported poultry meat 41.67% in comparison to other types of meat. The results also revealed that 58.33% of poultry luncheon and 50% of beef mortadella were positive for the presence of the 35S promoter gene, while only 3 (%4.69) of processed meat samples showed positive results for the presence of the nos terminator gene. Phylogenetic analysis revealed genetic diversity compared to global genes of transgenic plants recorded in Genebank. According to the results, the application of a monitoring system to detect genetically modified additives in meat products is recommended to protect consumer health.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188421.html

02/07/2025

Age effects on muscle-related gene expression and glycogen levels in broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus)
H.A. Abbas and N.A. Al-Mamoori
Abstract
Muscle regulatory factors MYF5, MYH7, and MYOG are essential for muscle growth and development; thus, they are considered applicant genes for meat production traits in chickens. This study investigated the levels of glycogen and the expression of MYF5, MYH7, and MYOG genes in the pectoralis major muscle in broiler chickens. Fresh specimens were collected from the pectoralis major muscle for this study. Special stains were employed for identifying the histological structure and glycogen content in the pectoralis major muscle. The highest mean of the muscle fiber area, thickness of the connective tissue layers, and muscle bundle area was recorded at 38 days. The muscle fibers of the pectoralis major showed a progressive increase in PAS staining intensity from 7 to 21 days old, followed by a decline at 38 days old. qPCR was employed to estimate the mRNA concentrations of MYF5, MYH7, and MYOG in the muscle fibers in the pectoralis major muscle. In fact, the expression at 7 days exhibited that the highest average expression was detected in MYF5, whereas at 21 days, it revealed that there were no significant changes in gene expression. On the other hand, the expression at 38 days exposed that the highest average expression was detected in MYOG. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the essential function of muscle regulatory factors in the growth and development of the pectoralis major muscle in broiler chickens. The analysis showed a strong correlation between gene expression at various growth stages and the development of muscle fibers.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188379.html

02/07/2025

Genetic differentiation between wildtype and spotted swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) of Indonesia based on ISSR and RAPD markers
W.P. Putra, S.H. F***j, N. Adiningsih, A. Baharun, H. Hartati, A. Aprisal, T. Maulana, S. Said, H. Hasbi, and P.B. Sitanggang
Abstract
The swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) are the important livestock that used for draught, meat production and cultural tradition ceremony in Indonesia. This study was aimed to characterize the wildtype and spotted buffaloes based on inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Total of twenty-two buffaloes (13 wildtype and nine spotted) were used for the experimental animals. Two ISSR primers (P01, P02) and three RAPD primers (SRILLS-2, SRILLS-5, SRILLS-6) were assessed to discriminate two types of buffalo. Results showed that the ISSR primers had a higher of polymorphic informative content (PIC) value than RAPD primers. Therefore, P01 had the highest of polymorphic informative content (PIC) value (0.412) and SRILLS-5 as the lowest (0.063). The Shannon’s diversity index (I) value in both technics were >1.00 and indicating a various fragments size resulted in each primer. However, the RAPD technique can discriminate two types of buffalo better than ISSR technique. In the pool animals, haplotype one of SRILLS-6 (16 heads) was more frequent than other haplotypes and followed by and haplotype two of P02 (14 heads). Despite this, two types of swamp buffalo in the present study also can be discriminated with combination of ISSR and RAPD technics accurately. In conclusion, the ISSR and RAPD primers in the present study can be used as the genetic markers to differentiate swamp buffaloes of Indonesia.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188378.html

02/07/2025

Morphometrical, radiological and histochemical study of the internal olfactory bones in camels (Camelus dromedarius)
G.M. Allouch, S.K. Mahmood, G.A. Sultan and Q.M. Salih
Abstract
The current research aimed to expand on the morphometry, radiology and histochemistry of the internal olfactory bones in 12 camels' skulls in both genders collected from local slaughterhouses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The camel skull was elongated and had a pyramid shape with a base and apex. The bones of the nose were comparatively short, with a short middle and a long lateral process, and serrated rostro-medially. The posterior opening of the nasal cavity was opened caudally and separated into 2 partitions by vomer bone which had a length between 14.33±0.33-18.66±0.33cm. The cavum nasi (CN) comprised 3 turbinates: the dorsal one trimming with a skinny process, totaling 12.76±0.43-13.90±0.20 cm, the ventral was well established, with a total length between 13.6±0.20-17.63±0.08 cm, the middle was ventro-caudal and located rostrally to the ethmoidal turbinate. The longitudinal and transverse axes of ethmoidal bone were between 3.46±0.14-4.7±0.40 cm and 3.66±0.24-3.73±0.23 cm respectively. CN had also four nasal meatuses or passages: dorsal, middle ventral, and a common meatus. The ventral portion that was shaped by a semi-channel formed a sulcus vomeris. Histological records specify that rostral, caudal, and ethmoidal turbinates chiefly have a sensory purpose, whereas the middle turbinate contributes to mucosal defense. The morphometrical, radiological and histochemical information of the nasal region presented in this research will enhance the understanding of nasal cavity patterns that may significantly influence osteoarcheology and also provide information for comparative researches that can be utilized for application in clinical veterinary practices and even in zooarchaeology.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188377.html

02/07/2025

A comparative assessment of GPX-1 expression and histomorphometry evaluation in IBD vaccinated and supplemented broiler
Noor N. Rafo and H.B. Al-Sabaawy
Abstract
This study was designed to investigate the bursa of Fabricius (BF) morphometric and effects of glutathione peroxidase enzyme (GPX-1) in infectious bursal disease vaccinated (IBDV) broiler supplemented with selenium-nanomaterials (Se-NPs). Ninety-six one-day-old of the Ross 308 broilers were assigned into E1, E2, E3, and E4 of 24 chicks each; those of E1 served as control, E2 vaccinated with an intermediate strain of IBD at 12 and 20 days old through the eye drop, E3 received a mix of Se-NPs and the vaccine, and E4 was supplemented with Se-NPs 0.3 mg/kg. At 19, 26, and 42 days of age, the diameters of the bursa of Fabricius were measured, and liver tissue was sampled to determine the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of the Glutathione peroxidase enzyme. Results indicated that group E4 (selenium-Nanoparticles group) significantly increased the bursal morphometric at 26 days old, and E3 increased the morphometric of the bursa Fabricius at 42 days old, as well as supplementation of Se-NPs significantly up-regulated RT-PCR of GPX-1 at 26 and 42 days old. The highest gene expression was in the selenium-nanoparticle group at 26 and 42 days old, in contrast to the other groups. Based on this finding, it can be concluded that nanomaterials improved the morphology of immune organs and enzyme peroxidase activity in vaccinated broilers with the Gumboro vaccine.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188174.html

02/07/2025

Ultrasonography and some biochemical findings after unilateral radical nephrectomy in cats
S.M. Ibrahim, I.A. Zedan, R.R. Al-Ajeli, A.S. Al-Qadhi and O.H. Al-Hyani
Abstract
In veterinary medicine, laparoscopic nephrectomy for dogs and cats has become the most acceptable scientific trend over traditional open surgery as a result of its great benefits. Unilateral nephrectomy would impact some hormonal and ultrasonic features as a sequel or even as a compensatory mechanism. To ensure these expected outcomes, this work has been planned using sixteen local breed adult cats as an experimental model. A baseline sample of blood and sonography examinations were performed prior to surgery, then a complete unilateral laparoscopic excision of the left kidney was achieved for all cats. The assessment following excision was accomplished using ultrasonographic and biochemical results of erythropoietin and vitamin D3 concentrations on days 15, 30, and 60 following excisions. The follow-up examinations proved the safety of the laparoscopic nephrectomy, while ultrasonographic examination showed the presence of a clear and gradual compensatory increase in the size and the measured dimensions of the remaining kidney since the second week after excision until the end of the study in all experimental cats compared with preoperative values. Besides, the biochemical findings of erythropoietin and vitamin D3 values revealed the presence of a significant gradual compensatory increase in their concentrations from the fourth week after excision until the 60 days. In conclusion, unilateral nephrectomy is highly associated with the presence of ultrasonic and biochemical compensatory mechanisms exhibited by the enlargement of the remaining kidney's size and the elevation in erythropoietin and vitamin D3 concentrations.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188086.html

02/07/2025

Ameliorative effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles against cutaneous amyloidosis in rats: Histopathology and biochemical study
A.A. Al-Naimi and E.S. Mostafa
Abstract
Primary Localized Cutaneous Amyloidosis (PLCA) is a relatively rare chronic condition considered by amyloid deposition in the dermis without accompanying deposits in internal organs. This study was designed to determine the role of zinc oxide nanoparticles in reducing the development of experimentally induced amyloidosis lesions in male rats. Forty male rats aged two months were used in this research, randomly divided into four groups, with 10 animals in each group. The Control group (group I) and (Group II) Rat intraperitoneally (IP) inoculated with a dose of ZnO-NPs 5 mg/kg (Group III): Rat IP inoculated with 3.0 ml of sodium caseinate solution (8%) (Group IV): Rat IP injected sodium caseinate with nano zinc oxide (ZnO-NPs). The injection protocol was four days of injection and one day of rest for 60 days. The results showed a significant increase in the level of serum amyloid A and Creative protein in Group III when compared with the group of rats, Group IV, but it did not reach its normal levels when compared with Group I. The results of the gross examination showed the presence of pathological lesions such as alopecia, skin thickening, and redness in Group III, while the pathological changes were less severe in Group IV. Histopathological examination of the skin showed infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells in the dermis and subcutaneous layers and around the sweat glands, with congestion of the blood vessels and the presence of edema between the muscle fibers, Zenker's necrosis, atrophy of myocytes, and the deposition of a homogeneous protein substance between the collagen fibers and the muscle fibers and around the blood vessels in G3 after 25 days of experiment lesions were more severe after 60 days of treatment. Histological sections of the skin showed a clear improvement, as represented by the slight infiltration of inflammatory cells with little protein deposition in group IV. The results of the histochemistry examination of the skin samples of the different groups showed a positive reaction to amyloid, with varying intensity depending on the treatment period and the type of substance. This study showed that zinc oxide plays a role in reducing the advance of amyloidosis lesions.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188173.html

02/07/2025

Phylogenetic analysis and genotypic characterization of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus aureus isolates from sheep subclinical mastitis milk in Nineveh governorate, Iraq
K.M. Abdulrazzaq, A.H. Taha and O.H. Sheet
Abstract
Staphylococcus (S.) aureus is a major microorganism that causes a subclinical inflammation of the mammary glands in animals. The current study aimed to isolate and identify coagulase-negative Staphylococcus aureus (CNSA) in non-clinical inflammation of the mammary glands and to detect the nuc, mecA, clfA, clfB, coa, and 16S rRNA genes, along with constructing a phylogenetic tree. Samples of the non-clinical milk of sixty sheep were gathered from various regions. The standard bacteriological methods were used to isolate and identify the CNSA isolates, while the PCR method was utilized to confirm and find the specific genes. Based on the results, the occurrence rate of CNSA was initiated in sheep asymptomatic mastitis at a proportion of 11.7 (7/60), and a high prevalence of CNSA in non-clinical inflammation of the mammary glands of sheep was 20% (3/15) in the Al-Nimrod district. Nevertheless, Hawe Al-Kaneisa doesn't have any isolated CNSA. The results of the PCR method showed that all CNSA isolates possessed the nuc gene 100 (7/7). Additionally, all isolates were methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative S. aureus, which has the mec A gene 100%, and they possessed the clfA, clfB, and 16S rRNA genes 100%. No one in CNSA has the coa gene. In addition, this study showed that only one of the gene profiles was 100%. According to the 16S rRNA gene, seven unique strains of S. aureus sequences have been registered in GenBank. The phylogenetic tree showed the relationship between the CNSA isolated in this study and the relationship with the CNSA isolates worldwide.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188170.html

02/07/2025

Lion's mane (Hericium erinaceus) as a potential protective against metronidazole-induced toxicity in brain and te**es of male rats: Protein expression and biochemical evaluation
L.E. Shemiss, S.H. Al Katy, S.H. Barsoom, M.M. Markus and A.L. Hameed
Abstract
Lion's mane (Helicium erinaceus) is a highly medicinal fungus with diverse bioactive molecules that have been proven to be beneficial in neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, the current study’s objective was to probe the potential function of this mushroom in the protection of the brain, and we screened its effect on te**es in metronidazole-induced toxicity. Adult male Albino Wistar rats were divided into four groups, each containing six animals. In the control group, rats were administered distilled water; the second group was given metronidazole at a dose of 500mg/kg body weight; the third and fourth groups were administered Lion’s mane at 1 and 1.5g/kg, respectively. Two hours later, metronidazole was given at a dose of 500mg/kg. Metronidazole and Lion’s mane were given orally for 40 consecutive days. Results of open field test showed significant neurobehavioral alterations in Lion’s mane-treated rats. Lion's mane at 1g/kg mitigated histological damage in the brain and preserved testosterone levels, whereas 1.5g/kg showed adverse effects on the te**es. All treated groups showed relatively same intensity for expression of both p53 and Bcl-2 proteins. Notably, p53 expression was more intense at 1.5g/kg, while Bcl-2 expressed intensively at 1g/kg. We conclude from the current study that Lion’s mane, at low doses, acts as a protective herb against metronidazole toxicity, exhibits an improvement of the histological changes, and exerts anti-apoptosis characteristics.
https://www.vetmedmosul.com/article_188022.html

Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences

02/07/2025

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