Activity of Creatine-phosphokinase in the Course of Experimental Trichinellosis

Schanzel H., E. Hegerova, B. Koudela, V. Lohr: Activity of Creatine-Phosphokinase in the Course of Experimental Trichinellosis. Acta vet. Brno, 47, 1978: 91-95. Activity of serum cteatine-phosphokinase has been determined at different intervals after experimental infestation of mice and guinea pigs by larvae of Trichinella spiralis. Blood samples were treated by Bio-La-test kreatinkinaza Lachema, measurements w¢re performed on the spectrophotometer UV VIS at 400 nm wavelength. Intensity of parasitic infestation was estimated by the number of larvae in 1 g of muscle tissue. No significant difference from control values was found in infested animals at any stage of trichinellosis. Determination of CPK activity seems not to be convenient for intravital detection of trichinellosis. Guinea pigs, mice, serum CPK, muscle. Determination of activity of plasmatic creatine-phosphokinase developed to a favourite method for investigation of various myositic processes in man and animals. It not only became a routine method for diagnostics of heart attack Pojer a. o. (1963), Gerber (1965), Ninger (1968), but, it has been studied in connection with muscular dystrophy and other neuromuscular disorders Okineka and Kumagai (1961), Pearce a. o. (1964), Hatnarska a. o. (1968), with degenerative myopathy in young cattle Gils and Zayed (1966), Dotta and Robutti (1972), Martig a. o. (1972), McMurray and McEldowney (1977), with muscular dystrophy in pigs Steinhauser and Rochova (1977), with tetanus Irwin (1967), with hypothermia and stress Meltzer (1971), with muscular affection due to intoxications and infections Oldershausen a. o. (1965), with fatal intoxication by carbon monoxide Bour a. o. (1962), with extraordinary physical exhaustion and hypoxia Cunningham and Critz (1972). Considering the role of creatine-phosphokinase in physiology and pathology of the muscle, we took it for justified to investigate whether changes in CPK activity would occur in consequence of migration and settlement of larvae of Trichinella spiralis. Prior to the trial, physiological values for CPK activity were to be determined in mice and guinea pigs, since the two species were intended to be used for infestation Schanzel and Hegerova (1978). Numerous interactions between host and larva of T. spiralis have been known for long. According to Borchert (1954), the attacked muscle shows decrease in total nitrogen, creatine, purine bases, and increase in water, lactic acid, volatile fatty acids, ammonia and products of muscle decay. An enzymatic response by increased phosphatase activity has been demonstrated by Schanzel and Holman (1966). Material and Methods A total of 160 mice and 19 guinea pigs were infested by viable larvae of Trichinella spiralis, obtained by digestion method from experimentally infested rats. Approximately 200 larvae were administered orally to each mouse and about 1000 larvae to each guinea pig. Successively, 10 in-