Title: The hypoalbuminaemia of ovine fascioliasis: The influence of protein intake on the albumin metabolism of infected and of pair-fed control sheep
Abstract: Abstract Studies using 125I-albumin and 51Cr-labelled plasma proteins showed that the hypoalbuminaemia which developed in sheep during the migratory stage of Fasciola hepatica infections was brought about by a combination of reduced albumin synthesis and plasma volume expansion. It was suggested that these changes were a reflection of the attendant liver damage and possibly of preferential utilisation of amino acids for immunoglobulin production. During the biliary stage of the disease, when the animals developed even more marked hypoalbuminaemia, increased albumin degradation arising from excessive plasma leakage into the gut were the outstanding features. The severity of these changes was closely linked to the state of the albumin pools which in turn was related to such factors as the plane of nutrition, appetite and fluke burden of the host. More albumin was catabolised by sheep with low fluke burdens, and in animals with the same level of infection, greater rates of catabolism were associated with a high protein intake. Sheep which catabolised most albumin became the least hypoalbuminaemic and survived longest. These animals also synthesised most albumin. It was shown that by impairing albumin synthesis, inappetence was an important additional factor in the hypoalbuminaemia of heavy infections, particularly if superimposed on a low protein diet. Nevertheless, irrespective of the size of their adult fluke burden, chronically-infected sheep were able to synthesise more albumin than pair-fed controls.
Publication Year: 1979
Publication Date: 1979-02-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 10
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