The connective tissue matrix of the heart remains under regulatory influence of the thyroid hormones. Some conflicting data describe the connective tissue changes in subjects with thyroid gland disorders. The aim of the study was to assess the changes of the connective tissue accumulation in the heart of rats in the state of hypothyroidism and to answer the question whether TSH is involved in mechanism of the observed phenomena. Hypothyroidism in rats was induced by methylotiouracil treatment or by thyreoidectomy. The thyroid hormones [freeT3 (fT3), freeT4 (fT4)] and pituitary TSH were measured in plasma with radioimmunological method. The glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and total collagen were measured in heart muscle of both left and right ventricles. Cells from the rat’s heart were isolated and cultured. The cells were identified as myofibroblasts by electron microscopy method. The effects of TSH in concentrations ranging from 0.002 to 20 mIU/ml, on connective tissue accumulation in heart myofibroblasts cultures were tested. The primary hypothyroidism was developed both in groups with thyroidectomy and with methylthiouracil. The levels of fT3 and fT4 both in rats with thyreoidectomy and animals treated with methylthiouracil were decreased and TSH level in these two experimental groups was elevated. In the heart of the rats with experimental hypothyroidism increased content of both GAG and collagen was found. Myofibroblast number in culture was increased by TSH. Regardless of the method of its induction, hypothyroidism increased collagen and GAG contents in the heart. TSH is not involved in regulation of collagen and glycosaminoglycans accumulation in the heart of rats affected with primary hypothyroidism.
Observations of pathological changes on the skin (furunculosis) of salmon and sea trout spawners caught in Polish rivers and cultivated In ponds were continued in 2009. In comparison to the prevalence of this disease in 2007-2008, pathological changes were noted among fish from fewer rivers, while the percentage of fish infected with disease was significantly lower. Ichthyopathological tests were performed to identify the bacteria linked to the occurrence of this disease in the integumentary system and the internal organs.
Furunculosis appears from time to time in salmonids in different rivers. It was noted in sea tout from the Dunajec River in 1923 and 1924. In 2007 and 2008, it was noted in sea trout and salmon from Pomeranian rivers, where from 80 to 2,400 sea trout spawners were caught. The degree of infection ranged widely from 0.00% in the Łeba to 74.7% in the Słupia and Rega rivers. In 2007, of the 1,381 sea trout weighing 1949.5 kg caught in the Słupia River, 1031 fish weighing 1,664 kg were cleared for utilization. The most diseased fish were observed in the Słupia and Rega rivers. The number of salmon caught in 2007 and 2008 was lower than that of sea trout and ranged from 2 to 65 individuals from the various rivers. The percentage of infected fish ranged from 8.3% (Słupia) to 58.3% (Rega). Funuculosis was noted more frequently in males than females, as well as in more salmon than in sea trout. Bacteriological assays indicated the presence of Aeromonas hydrophila Complex, Aeromonas sorbia, Pseudomonas flurescens, Streptococus mutans, Streptococus sp. Internal organ bleeding was also noted. In the Vistula, Drwęca, Łeba, and Łupawa rivers and in hatcheries rearing spawners of both salmon and sea trout, no symptoms of furunculosis were noted.
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