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 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 . 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- 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 in the , the American Pit knowledge from this examination is important for clinical '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 World Appl. Sci. J., 2 (3): 158-162, 2007

Hematological analyses: Red blood cell counts, total The neutrophil was typically round in shape with white blood cell counts, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, lobule nucleus and blue cytoplasm (Fig. 3.). MCV, MCH and MCHC were determined by an automated Eosinophils were typically round in shape with hematological analyzer (Coulter SPKS, PCL holding lobule nucleus. Round, red-violet granules were observed company, Germany). A blood smear was stained with (Fig. 4). Wright-Giemsa, a differential WBC count was obtained Basophils were the rarest cell observed, are spherical [4] and then photos were taken with a camera under in shape with abundant amounts of uncertain in shape light microscopy. basophilic granules (Fig. 5.). Characteristics of erythrocyte, lymphocyte, Statistics: Values are expressed as mean+SD. Student’s monocyte, neutrophil, basophil, eosinophil in American t test, with allowance for unequal variances, was used to pit-bull terriers presented district morphology. Erythrocytes, mononuclear cells and granulocytes of compare the means of sex and age. A p<0.05 was American pit-bull terriers were nearly similar to human and considered to be statistically significant. other mammalians. In group I (born to 1 year), monocytes of male RESULTS AND DISCUSSION American pit-bull terriers were greater in number than those of the female (p<0.05). In group III (4 to 8 years), the Blood cell characteristics and hematological values of total white blood cell count of male American pit-bull American pit-bull terriers in Thailand are shown in Fig. 1-5 terriers was significantly higher than female (p<0.05). and Table 1, respectively. These occurrences showed that sex influenced some The lymphocytes of American pit-bull terriers were a hematological values. typically round cell shown in the blood film. The nucleus The mean total red blood cell count of American pit- is usually rounded and centrally located in blue cytoplasm bull terriers was lower than the reference range interval of (Fig. 1.). the Irish wolfhound [3], greyhound [6] and the as The monocytes were larger than erythrocytes and reported by Nemec et al. [7]. The mean total red blood cell lymphocytes, round or uncertain in shape, violet nucleus count of the American pit-bull terriers was higher than the and a light pale-blue cytoplasm which contains fine dark mixed breed reported by Kirkova et al. [11], but not blue granules, a central dumbel, pea or kidney shaped different from the reference range interval of the mixed nucleus that occupied about 50% of the cell (Fig. 2.). 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 (1061 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 MCH (g dL 1), 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 (1031 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)

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Table 2: Reference range interval of hematological values in canines Reference ranges Coyotea Irish wolfhoundb Greyhound c Beagle1 d Beagle2 ef Mixed breed2h Parameters (n=48) (n=22) (n=36) (n=19) (n=23) (n=18) Mixed breed1g (n=9) Erythrocyte (1061 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 MCH (g dL 1) 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 (1031 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 Adapted from a Rich and Gate [5], b Clark and Parry [3], c Sullivan et al. [6], de Nemec et al. [7], Swanson et al. [8]. f Khandare and Kumar [9], g Schermer [10], hKirkova 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].

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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 Fig. 5: A basophil of American pit-bull terriers (Wright- Khandare and Kumar [9]. The mean percentages of Giemsa staining, 100X) lymphocytes in the American pit-bull terriers were not different from the mixed breed as reported by The mean of the mean corpuscular volume of the Kirkova et al. [11]. American pit-bull terriers was higher than the reference The mean percentage of monocytes in the American range interval of the Irish wolfhound [3], beagle and mixed pit-bull terriers was not different from the reference range breed as reported by Nemec et al. [7] and Kirkova et al. interval of the coyote (Rich and Gate, 1979), Irish [11], respectively. The mean of the mean corpuscular wolfhound [3], mongrel as reported by Khandare and volume of the American pit-bull terriers was not different Kumar [9] and the reference range interval as reported by from the reference range interval of the coyote [5] and Schermer [10]. Moreover, the mean percentage of greyhound [6]. monocytes of the American pit-bull terriers was higher The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin of the than that reported by Kirkova et al. [11]. American pit-bull terriers was lower than reference range The mean percentage of eosinophil in the American interval of the greyhound [6]. The mean of the mean pit-bull terriers was higher than the mongrel as reported corpuscular hemoglobin of American pit-bull terriers was by Khandare and Kumar [9], but was not different from higher than the mixed breed as reported by Kirkova et al. the reference range of the coyote [5] and the mixed breed [11]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin of the that was reported by Schermer [10]. American pit-bull terriers was not different from the The mean percentage of basophil in the American pit- reference range interval of the coyote [5] and Irish bull terrier was lower than the mixed breed as reported by wolfhound [3]. Kirkova et al. [11], but not different from reference range The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of American pit-bull terriers was lower than interval reported by Schermer [10]. the reference range interval of the Irish wolfhound [3], greyhound [6] and mixed breed as reported by CONCLUSION Kirkova et al. [11]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration of American pit-bull terriers Blood cell characteristics of the American pit-bull was higher than the beagle as reported by Nemec et al. terriers were studied using light microscopy examination; [7]. The mean of the mean corpuscular hemoglobin erythrocyte, lymphocyte, monocyte, neutrophil, basophil, concentration of the American pit-bull terriers was eosinophil presented district morphology. Erythrocytes, not different from the reference range interval of mononuclear cells and granulocytes of the American pit- the coyote [5]. bull terriers were somewhat similar to humans and other The mean total white blood cell count of the mammalians. Percentage of monocytes and total white American pit-bull terriers was higher than the reference blood cell count of American pit-bull terriers differed range interval of the Irish wolfhound [3], greyhound [6] between male and female in group I (born to 1 year) and and the reference range interval of mixed breed as group III (4 to 8 years), respectively. Hematological values reported by Schermer [10]. The mean total white blood cell of the American pit-bull terriers in this study were partly count of American pit-bull terriers was not different from the same and partly different from other dogs. Therefore, the reference range interval of the coyote [5], mixed breed it is important to investigate hematological values of each as reported by Nemec et al. [7] and the mixed breed that species in order to interpret the results accurately for a reported by Kirkova et al. [11]. particular individual.

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