
==== Front
Res Sq
ResearchSquare
Research Square
2693-5015
American Journal Experts

10.21203/rs.3.rs-4817847/v1
10.21203/rs.3.rs-4817847
preprint
1
Article
Hematological and biochemical profiles, infection and habitat quality in an urban rat population
Carvalho-Pereira Ticiana
Pedra Gabriel G.
de Oliveira Daiana S.
Souza Fabio N
Zeppelini Caio G.
Santos Luana R. N.
Couto Ricardo D.
Bahiense Thiago C.
da Silva Eduardo M.
Begon Michael
Reis Mitermayer Galvão
Ko Albert I.
Childs James E.
Costa Federico
11 9 2024
rs.3.rs-4817847https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.
https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-4817847/v1
nihpp-rs4817847v1.pdf
Abstract

Host condition is key in understanding disease dynamics. In an urban population of Rattus norvegicus, we aimed to assess whether infection of Leptospira interrogans and helminths was associated with patterns of host hematological and hormone-biochemical stress-related conditions. Rat kidney imprints and urine were used to identify and quantify L. interrogans, and feces samples for helminth eggs and corticosterone metabolites. Blood samples were taken for complete blood counts and specific biochemicals in rats’ sera. Principal Component Analyses were performed to check whether rats would be grouped according to health profiles. We obtained hematological and hormone-biochemical data from 95 and 61 rats, respectively. Hematological PCA revealed distinct rat groups: typical (T), eosinophil deficient (Eos-D), eosinophil- and monocyte- deficient (EM-D) and monocyte deficient with high immature neutrophils (Mon-D). No association between L. interrogans or helminths and rat health profiles was observed, except with Trichiuridae, which mean intensity was significantly higher when all deficient groups were pooled together compared to the T-group. The poorest condition group was found in areas with fewer rat burrows than the T-group, indicating EM-D had a reduced ability to occupy “good” quality habitats. In natural populations, hematological profiles may reflect host's overall condition, instead of responses to specific infections.
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