Background In order to characterize the fat body and other adipose

Background In order to characterize the fat body and other adipose tissue in the Nile crocodile and the effects of pansteatitis around the structure and composition of the adipose tissue, we evaluated the regional variation in structure and fatty acid composition of healthy farmed crocodiles and those affected by pansteatitis. and division into lobes and lobules by fibrous capsule. Considerable fibrosis, mononuclear cell infiltration especially by macrophages and lymphocytes and toxic changes 924296-39-9 supplier in the nucleus were observed in the pansteatitis samples. Regional variation in lipid composition especially in Myristoleic (C14:1), Erucic acid (C22:1n9), and Docosadienoic acid (C22:2n6) was observed. Most of the saturated and trans fatty acids were found in significant quantities in the pansteatitis 924296-39-9 supplier samples, but had very low levels of the cis fatty acid and the essential fatty acids with C18 backbone. Conclusion This study demonstrates that there exists some regional variation in histomorphology and fatty acid composition in the healthy adipose tissue of the Nile crocodile. It also showed that pansteatitis in the Nile crocodile might have been brought on by sudden change in energy balance from consumption of dead fish; and probable exposure to toxic environmental conditions with the evidence of up scaled monounsaturated long chain fatty acids 924296-39-9 supplier composition and toxic changes in the leucocytes observed in pansteatitis in the present study. Keywords: Adipose tissue, Histomorphology, Long chain fatty acid, Pansteatitis, Nile crocodile Background The mission to unravel the mechanisms behind pansteatitis (inflammation of adipose tissue) and crocodile die offs Rabbit Polyclonal to IRF4 in the Olifants River and Loskop Dam in Mpumalanga province of South Africa is still ongoing. Several suggestions have been made as predisposing factors and probable aetiology, including consumption of fish that had previously died as a result of environmental pollution of the Olifants River and its tributaries [24, 27]. The river drains some of the industrial effluents, agricultural runoff water and human sewage as well as acid mine drainage (AMD) water from forgotten coal mines around Middleburg Colliery, Witbank [3]. Others have also suggested that there is an association between vitamin E deficiency and pansteatitis following excessive consumption of unsaturated fatty acid or oxidized excess fat that could deplete vitamin E [12]. It is believed that lack of vitamin E or other antioxidants may predispose the animals to accumulated reactive oxygen radicals and lipid peroxidation [28]. In a further study around the probable direct impact of environmental pollution and heavy metals from AMD waters which seeps into Olifants River from Blesboak stream at a pH of 2.1 around the pathogenesis of pansteatitis, Oberholster et al. [27] reported an association between accumulation of heavy metals especially aluminium and iron and development of yellow fat in Oreochromis mossambicus (Tilapia fish) and bioaccumulation of Al and Fe in filamentous algae, Spirogyra fluviatilis and S. adanata that are often consumed by the fish. They suggested that this yellowness of the excess fat in O. mossambicus might be as a result of membrane lipid peroxidation by the pro-oxidant action of aluminium as previously suggested by Yoshino et al. [36]. Adipose tissues in vertebrates generally are storage sites for lipids for release of energy via lipolysis to acyl-CoA, -oxidation to acetyl-CoA for energy production during fasting, starvation or hibernation and estivation in some animals. It has also been noted to be an endocrine organ producing leptin and adiponectin; several inflammatory cytokines and renin-angiotensin system [19]; nutrient and energy sensing and mediator of inflammation and immune cells signalling [17, 29]. The structure and composition is also variable as it undergoes constant remodelling, adapting the cell size and figures to nutrient availability and hormonal influences as has been analyzed in humans [33]. Despite the role of adipose tissue in inflammation, generalized inflammation involving the adipose tissues is not a common occurrence and quite difficult to reproduce. It 924296-39-9 supplier has also been reported that regional variance in.