Early-life development of spleen in white rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus): A morphometric and histochemical analysis https://doi.org/10.12982/VIS.2025.012
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
The spleen's significant immunological and protective role has long inspired researchers to explore its developmental characteristics. This study intended to understand the splenic morphological developmental changes during postnatal life. Samples obtained form 25 (Oryctolagus cuniculus) white rabbits, divided into five age groups in :1, 10, 15, 30, and 90 postnatal days. The samples were measured to determine the length, breadth, thickness, and weight. afterward, the samples sectioned and stained using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson's trichrome stains (MTs). And for histochemical analysis, additional slides were stained with Periodic acid schiff (PAS) and Alcian blue (AB) 2.5 pH stains. The histological measurements included the thickness of the capsule and trabeculae, diameter of white pulp follicle, and central artery, and the ratio of white and red pulps. The macroscopic findings showed a significant increase in dimensional measurements. Histologically, the capsule and trabeculae exhibited thickening, and the diameter of the white pulp follicles and central arteries expanded. And the splenic sinuses enlarged with age progression. The histochemical evaluation revealed intense staining with PAS in the capsule, trabeculae, and walls of splenic arteries in first postnatal day group, with moderate staining affinity in the other groups. Furthermore, there was positive staining with AB in the white pulp follicles of the first postnatal day group compared to weaker staining affinity in the older age groups. This study demonstrated that the critical development period begins after birth and continues until 30 postnatal days. During this period, the development of the immune response triggers significant alterations in the spleen's structural, morphometric, and histochemical parameters.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publishing an article with open access in Veterinary Integrative Sciences leaves the copyright with the author. The article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC-BY 4.0), which allows users to read, copy, distribute and make derivative works from the material, as long as the author of the original work is cited.
References
Ayman, U., Alam, M.R., Das, S.K., 2021. The spleen of Sonali chicken: morphohistology and biometric analysis at post hatching ages. Asia. J. Med. Biol. Res. 7(1), 69-75.
Cesta, M.F., 2006. Normal structure, function, and histology of the spleen. J. Toxicol. Pathol. 34(5), 455-465.
Geetha, R., Sivakumar, M., Vijayragavan, C., 2001. Age related changes in the structure of spleen in laboratory animals. Indian. J. Vet. Anat. 13(1), 137-141.
Hasan, A.A., Altaey, O.Y., Sultan, G.A., 2023. Morphological, histological, and histochemical study of the adult golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) spleen. Open. Vet. J. 13(3), 253-261.
Ikpegbu, E., Ibe, C.S., Nlebedum, U.C., Nnadozie, O., 2019. The spleen morphology of the african giant pouch rat (Cricetomys Gambianus-Waterhouse, 1840) from Eastern Nigeria. J. Anim. Res. 9(1),13-17.
Khalil, M., Sultana, S.Z., Rahman, M., Mannan, S., Ahmed, S., Ara, Z.G., Sultana, Z.R., Chowdhury, A.I., 2009. Study of prenatal and postnatal development of spleen of Gallus Domesticus (deshi chicken). Mymensingh. Med. J. 18(2), 169-74.
Lewis, S.M., Williams, A., Eisenbarth, S.C., 2019. Structure and function of the immune system in the spleen. J. Sci. Immunol. 4(33), eaau6085.
Ma, M., Farghali, H.A., Elsayed, A.H., Reem, R., 2020. Gross anatomy and ultrasonography of spleen and pancreas in rabbit (oryctolagus cuniculus) and cat (felis catus domesticus). Int. J. Vet. Sci. 9(1), 58-65.
Malik, M., Pillai, P., Parmar, M., Taluja, J., 2001. Morphohistogenesis and mode of growth of spleen in goat (Capra hircus). Indian J. Anim. Sci. 71(3), 204-207
Parker, G.A., Picut, C.A., Swanson, C., Toot, J.D., 2015. Histologic features of postnatal development of immune system organs in the Sprague-dawley rat. J. Toxicol Pathol. 43(6), 794-815.
Petrie, A., Watson, P., 2013. hypothesis tests th F-test. In: Petrie, A., Watson, P. (Eds.), Statistics for veterinary and animal science 3E, (3rd edition). Wiley-Blackwell, USA, pp. 105-111
Promket, D., Ruangwittayanusorn, K., 2021.The comparatives of growth and carcass performance of the Thai native chicken between economic selection (Chee KKU12) and natural selection (Chee N). Vet. Integr. Sci. 19(2), 247-257.
Quyen, T.M., Nguyen, L.T., Bich, N.N., Khanh, N.P., Hien, N.D., 2024. Clinical and pathologic characterization of African swine fever virus infection in pigs in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Vet. Integr. Sci. 22(1), 29-39.
Rahmoun, D.E., Fares, M.A., Bouzebda-Afri, F., Driss, K.B., 2019. An anatomical and histological study of the rabbit spleen development in the postnatal period in Algeria. Online J. Anim. Feed. Res. 9(2). 44-50
Schoenwolf, G.C., Bleyl, S.B., Brauer, P.R. and Francis-West, P.H., 2020. Development of spleen. In: Schoenwolf, G.C., Bleyl, S.B., Brauer, P.R., Francis-West, P.H. (Eds.), Larsen's human embryology. Elsevier Health Sciences, Netherlands, pp. 365-367
Seymour, R., Sundberg, J., Esch, H.H., 2006. Abnormal lymphoid organ development in immunodeficient mutant mice. J. Vet. Pathol. 43(4), 401-423.
Suvarna, S.K., Layton, C., Bancroft, J.D. 2019. Tissue processing. In: Suvarna, S.K., Layton, C., Bancroft, J.D. (Eds.), Bancroft's theory and practice of histological techniques. Elsevier, Netherlands, pp. 40-63.
Tarantino, G., Savastano, S., Capone, D., Colao, A., 2011. Spleen: a new role for an old player. World. J. gastroenterol. 17(33), 3776.
Underwood, W., Anthony, R., 2020. AVMA guidelines for the euthanasia of animals: 2020 edition. Available online: https://www.avma.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/Guidelin es-on-Euthanasia-2020.pdf.
Ungor, B., Malas, M.A., Albay, S., Cetin, E., Desdicioglu, K., Karahan, N., 2006. The proportions of the white and red pulps of the human fetal spleen. Saudi Med. J. 27(9), 1315.
Waghaye, J.Y., 2007. Histomorphological, histochemical and immunohistological studies on some lymphoid organs in goat (Capra hircus) (Ph.D. Thesis). Maharashtra Animal and Fishery Sciences University-India.
Yaglova, N., Obernikhin, S., 2014. Morphological and functional changes in the spleen of mice offspring at different stages of postnatal development after a single immunostimulating impact on maternal organism in early pregnancy. Bull. Exp. Biol. Med. 156, 509-511.