World Applied Sciences Journal 2 (3): 158-162, 2007 ISSN 1818-4952 IDOSI Publications, 2007 Blood Cell Characteristics and Some Hematological Values of American Pit-bull Terriers in Thailand W. Aengwanich, C. Daungduen, S. Pamok and D. Suppaso Stress and Oxidative Stress Research Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham 44000, Thailand Abstract: Blood cell characteristics and hematological values were determined in thirty seven clinically normal American pit-bull terriers reared in the northeastern part of Thailand. The result revealed the following information: The blood cell characteristics of the American pit-bull terriers were similar to the blood cell characteristics of humans and other mammalians. In group I (born to 1 year), the monocytes of the male American pit-bull terriers were greater in number than those of the female (p<0.05); group III (4 year to 8 year), the total white blood cell count of the males was significantly greater than that of the female (p<0.05). The hematological values of the American pit-bull terriers were partly the same and partly different from the reference range of other dogs. Finally, this study showed that the use of hematological data from other dogs was inappropriate for use in the clinical diagnosis of American pit-bull terriers. Key words: Blood cell characteristic American pitbull terries hematology Thailand INTRODUCTION hematological values for the American pit-bull terriers. The current study therefore, undertook to establish blood American pit-bull terriers were originally bred from cell characteristics and hematological values and bull-and-terrier crosses and brought to America from compare the hematological values between sex and age England and Ireland in the 1800s. Once an extremely of the American pit-bull terriers in Thailand. Basic popular family dog in the United States, the American Pit knowledge from this examination is important for clinical Bull Terrier's popularity began to decline in the United diagnostics and future in depth study of the hematology States following World War II in favor of other breeds. in this dog. Dogs of this breed are known for their strength, loyalty and "gameness" (tenacity). Whereas, American pit-bull MATERIALS AND METHODS terriers or "pit bulls" in general are being restricted or banned in many parts of the world [1], they remain Animals: Thirty seven American pit-bull terriers were popular among some group of people in Thailand reared at private farms in northeastern, Thailand. Each especially for showing or sporting. dog was housed in an individual cage with a roof. Water, Hematological observations from individuals or a milk and food were provided ad libitum. Vaccination was group of animals are traditionally compared to reference performed under a comprehensive program. intervals developed from a corresponding population of animals using similar laboratory techniques. The Blood sampling: Dogs were divided into 3 groups; observations are considered normal if they fall within the group I, born to 1 year (n=12); group II, 3 years old (n=13) quoted reference interval. This concept is theoretical and and group III, 4-8 years old (n=12). Blood was collected too simplistic for clinical diagnostic purposes for a variety by cephalic venepuncture by a 3 ml sterile syringes, of reasons. History, clinical signs, disease incidences, 21- gauge needle 1.5 inch of length then placed in etc., must be weighed together with laboratory data [2]. plastic tube with EDTA as anticoagulant. The samples In Thailand and other countries there is limited were cooled to approximately 4 C, using icepacks and information on the blood cell characteristics and processed within 3 hrs of collection [3]. Corresponding Author: Dr. W. Aengwanich, Stress and Oxidative Stress Research Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Mahasarakham University, Maha Sarakham 44000, Thailand 158
Hematological analyses: Red blood cell counts, total white blood cell counts, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, MCV, MCH and MCHC were determined by an automated hematological analyzer (Coulter SPKS, PCL holding company, Germany). A blood smear was stained with Wright-Giemsa, a differential WBC count was obtained [4] and then photos were taken with a camera under light microscopy. Statistics: Values are expressed as mean+sd. Student s t test, with allowance for unequal variances, was used to compare the means of sex and age. A p<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Blood cell characteristics and hematological values of American pit-bull terriers in Thailand are shown in Fig. 1-5 and Table 1, respectively. The lymphocytes of American pit-bull terriers were a typically round cell shown in the blood film. The nucleus is usually rounded and centrally located in blue cytoplasm (Fig. 1.). The monocytes were larger than erythrocytes and lymphocytes, round or uncertain in shape, violet nucleus and a light pale-blue cytoplasm which contains fine dark blue granules, a central dumbel, pea or kidney shaped nucleus that occupied about 50% of the cell (Fig. 2.). The neutrophil was typically round in shape with lobule nucleus and blue cytoplasm (Fig. 3.). Eosinophils were typically round in shape with lobule nucleus. Round, red-violet granules were observed (Fig. 4). Basophils were the rarest cell observed, are spherical in shape with abundant amounts of uncertain in shape basophilic granules (Fig. 5.). Characteristics of erythrocyte, lymphocyte, monocyte, neutrophil, basophil, eosinophil in American pit-bull terriers presented district morphology. Erythrocytes, mononuclear cells and granulocytes of American pit-bull terriers were nearly similar to human and other mammalians. In group I (born to 1 year), monocytes of male American pit-bull terriers were greater in number than those of the female (p<0.05). In group III (4 to 8 years), the total white blood cell count of male American pit-bull terriers was significantly higher than female (p<0.05). These occurrences showed that sex influenced some hematological values. The mean total red blood cell count of American pitbull terriers was lower than the reference range interval of the Irish wolfhound [3], greyhound [6] and the beagle as reported by Nemec et al. [7]. The mean total red blood cell count of the American pit-bull terriers was higher than the mixed breed reported by Kirkova et al. [11], but not different from the reference range interval of the mixed breed, as reported by Schermer [10] and coyote [5]. Table 1: Hematological values of American pit-bull terriers in northeastern Thailand Ages of American pit-bull terriers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group I (born to 1 year) Group II (3 years) Group III (4 to 8 years) ----------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- -------------------------------------- Parameters Male (n=7) Female (n=5) Male (n=5) Female (n=8) Male (n=3) Female (n=9) Total (n=37) Range Erythrocyte 5.31±2.18 4.54±0.99 6.06±1.36 5.83±1.36 7.58±1.33 6.36±1.28 5.86±1.62 4.24-7.48 6 1 (10 cells µl ), ns Hemoglobin (g%), ns 12.57±1.51 14.28±1.44 14.00±2.04 14.78±1.74 12.67±4.20 14.08±2.13 13.85±2.08 11.77-15.93 PCV (%), ns 38.57±3.74 41.60±4.77 43.20±5.26 44.63±5.48 39.33±6.67 41.67±2.92 41.73±4.76 36.97-46.49 MCV (fl), ns 92.19±59.63 94.70±20.60 73.94±15.56 79.84±20.25 53.27±14.49 67.99±14.14 78.35±30.97 47.38-109.32 1 MCH (g dl ), ns 31.90±25.72 32.71±7.82 23.89±4.99 26.87±8.10 17.54±8.29 23.00±6.01 26.50±12.89 13.61-39.39 MCHC (pg), ns 32.73±4.12 34.48±3.39 32.50±4.15 33.32±3.72 31.67±6.93 33.78±4.43 33.23±4.05 29.18-37.28 White blood cell 1.80±0.37 1.60±0.55 1.12±0.35 1.38±0.44 1.59±0.06* 1.10±0.23 1.40±0.44 0.96-1.84 3 1 (10 cells µl ) Neutrophil (%), ns 32.14±4.09 32.14±8.82 54.40±9.37 51.50±9.28 49.67±10.41 43.89±8.33 44.11±11.38 32.73-55.49 Lymphocyte (%), ns 47.29±12.47 55.20±6.24 35.60±12.92 40.50±9.70 42.00±7.81 46.56±9.32 44.70±11.11 33.59-55.81 Monocyte (%) 5.57±2.44* 1.80±1.64 5.60±2.41 4.00±2.39 4.00±3.00 3.78±1.86 4.16±2.41 1.75-6.57 Eosinophil (%), ns 14.43±10.11 6.60±3.05 4.20±1.79 3.63±3.02 4.33±2.31 5.55±3.94 6.68±6.27 0.41-12.95 Basophil (%), ns 0.57±1.13 0.60±0.89 0.20±0.45 0.38±0.52 0.00±0.00 2.22±4.41 0.35±0.68 0-1.03 *Mean with superscript differ significantly between male and female (p<0.05), ns = not significantly different (p>0.05) 159
Table 2: Reference range interval of hematological values in canines Reference ranges a Coyote b Irish wolfhound c Greyhound d Beagle1 e Beagle2 f Mongrel h Mixed breed2 Parameters (n=48) (n=22) (n=36) (n=19) (n=23) (n=18) g Mixed breed1 (n=9) 6 1 Erythrocyte (10 cells µl ) 5.70-8.40 6.20-7.40 6.30-7.10 6.97-7.89 5.5-8.5-5.58-6.77 5.47-5.73 Hemoglobin (g%) 14.40-19.80 15.90-18.90 18.30-21.50 16.40-18.20 12-18 - 10.60-20.00 11.4-12.74 PCV (%) 42.00-58.00 45.00-53.00 50.00-58.00-37-52 33.33-38.67 - - MCV (fl) 57.50-80.10 65.00-68.60 73.00-89.40 70.90-74.10 - - - 57.15-57.85 1 MCH (g dl ) 19.40-27.40 25.40-26.50 26.90-33.10 - - - - 20.90-22.30 MCHC (pg) 32.50-35.70 37.00-38.90 35.60-38.60 31.60-32.60 - - - 36.44-38.56 White blood cell 6,200-14,100 6,900-9,900 5,300-10,500 7,310-12,370-5,030-14,970 7,000-11,400 10,960-15,560 3 1 (10 cells µl ) Neutrophil (%) 44.00-86.00 63.90-72.70 - - - 58.57-72.18 42-77 47.10-61.50 Lymphocyte (%) 8.00-39.00 12.90-27.30 - - - 21.75-32.25 9-50 28.50-43.50 Monocyte (%) 1.00-10.00 2.40-11.00 - - - 3.63-4.87 0-6 0-1.32 Eosinophil (%) 1.00-15.00 - - - - 1.71-4.29 0-14 - Basophil (%) - - - - - - 0-1 2.43-3.57 a b c d e f g Adapted from Rich and Gate [5], Clark and Parry [3], Sullivan et al. [6], Nemec et al. [7], Swanson et al. [8]. Khandare and Kumar [9], Schermer [10], h Kirkova et al. [11] Fig. 1: A lymphocyte of American pit-bull terriers Fig. 3: A neutrophil of American pit-bull terriers (Wright- (Wright-Giemsa staining, 100X) Giemsa staining, 100X) Fig. 2: A monocyte of American pit-bull terriers (Wright- Fig. 4: An eosinophil of American pit-bull terriers Giemsa staining, 100X) (Wright-Giemsa staining, 100X) The mean packed cell volume of the American pit-bull Moreover, the mean packed cell volume of the American terriers was lower than the reference range interval of the pit-bull terriers was higher than the mongrel as reported coyote [5], Irish wolfhound [3] and greyhound [6]. by Khandare and Kumar [9]. 160
Fig. 5: A basophil of American pit-bull terriers (Wright- Giemsa staining, 100X) The mean of the mean corpuscular volume of the American pit-bull terriers was higher than the reference range interval of the Irish wolfhound [3], beagle and mixed breed as reported by Nemec et al. [7] and Kirkova et al. [11], respectively. The mean of the mean corpuscular volume of the American pit-bull terriers was not different from the reference range interval of the coyote [5] and greyhound [6]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin of the American pit-bull terriers was lower than reference range interval of the greyhound [6]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin of American pit-bull terriers was higher than the mixed breed as reported by Kirkova et al. [11]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin of the American pit-bull terriers was not different from the reference range interval of the coyote [5] and Irish wolfhound [3]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of American pit-bull terriers was lower than the reference range interval of the Irish wolfhound [3], greyhound [6] and mixed breed as reported by Kirkova et al. [11]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of American pit-bull terriers was higher than the beagle as reported by Nemec et al. [7]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of the American pit-bull terriers was not different from the reference range interval of the coyote [5]. The mean total white blood cell count of the American pit-bull terriers was higher than the reference range interval of the Irish wolfhound [3], greyhound [6] and the reference range interval of mixed breed as reported by Schermer [10]. The mean total white blood cell count of American pit-bull terriers was not different from the reference range interval of the coyote [5], mixed breed as reported by Nemec et al. [7] and the mixed breed that reported by Kirkova et al. [11]. The mean percentage of neutrophil in the American pit-bull terriers was lower than the reference range interval of the Irish wolfhound [3], the mongrel as reported by Khandare and Kumar [9]and the mixed breed as reported by Kirkova et al. [11]. The mean percentage of neutrophil in the American pit-bull terriers was not different from the reference range interval of the coyote [5] and the mixed breed as reported by Schermer [10]. The mean percentage of lymphocytes in the American pit-bull terriers was higher than the coyote [5], Irish wolfhound [3], the mongrel as reported by Khandare and Kumar [9]. The mean percentages of lymphocytes in the American pit-bull terriers were not different from the mixed breed as reported by Kirkova et al. [11]. The mean percentage of monocytes in the American pit-bull terriers was not different from the reference range interval of the coyote (Rich and Gate, 1979), Irish wolfhound [3], mongrel as reported by Khandare and Kumar [9] and the reference range interval as reported by Schermer [10]. Moreover, the mean percentage of monocytes of the American pit-bull terriers was higher than that reported by Kirkova et al. [11]. The mean percentage of eosinophil in the American pit-bull terriers was higher than the mongrel as reported by Khandare and Kumar [9], but was not different from the reference range of the coyote [5] and the mixed breed that was reported by Schermer [10]. The mean percentage of basophil in the American pitbull terrier was lower than the mixed breed as reported by Kirkova et al. [11], but not different from reference range interval reported by Schermer [10]. CONCLUSION Blood cell characteristics of the American pit-bull terriers were studied using light microscopy examination; erythrocyte, lymphocyte, monocyte, neutrophil, basophil, eosinophil presented district morphology. Erythrocytes, mononuclear cells and granulocytes of the American pitbull terriers were somewhat similar to humans and other mammalians. Percentage of monocytes and total white blood cell count of American pit-bull terriers differed between male and female in group I (born to 1 year) and group III (4 to 8 years), respectively. Hematological values of the American pit-bull terriers in this study were partly the same and partly different from other dogs. Therefore, it is important to investigate hematological values of each species in order to interpret the results accurately for a particular individual. 161
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