Turner Rachel C, Innis Charles J, Stacy Brian A, Hernandez Jorge A, Hill Richard C, Scott Karen C, Frasca Salvatore, Garner Michael M, Burns Rachel E, Arendt Michael D, Brisson Jennifer, Norton Terry M, Williams Sea Rogers, Kennedy Adam, Alexander Amy B, Stacy Nicole I
Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA.
New England Aquarium, Boston, MA 02110, USA.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Mar 21;11(3):898. doi: 10.3390/ani11030898.
The pathogenesis of steatitis that infrequently occurs in cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (KRT; ) has been undetermined. The objectives of this study were to investigate the clinical ( = 23) and histologic findings ( = 11) in cold-stunned KRT, and to compare plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol (vitamin E), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and the TBARS to vitamin E (T/E) ratio (an assessment of oxidative stress) between cold-stunned KRT with clinically and/or histologically confirmed steatitis ( = 10) and free-ranging KRT ( = 9). None of the cold-stunned turtles had clinically detectable steatitis at admission, and the median number of days to diagnosis of steatitis was 71 (range 33–469). Histologic findings of affected adipose tissue included heterophilic ( = 9) and/or histiocytic ( = 5) steatitis, fat necrosis ( = 7), myonecrosis ( = 2), and intralesional bacteria ( = 6). Cold-stunned KRT had significantly lower plasma vitamin E concentrations (median = 3.5 nmol/g), lower plasma TBARS concentrations (median = 1.6 nmol/g), and higher T/E ratios (median = 0.50), than controls (62.3 nmol/g; 2.1 nmol/g; 0.03, respectively). These results suggest a multifactorial etiology for the development of steatitis in KRT during rehabilitation, including tissue injury, septicemia, and various factors resulting in imbalances of anti-/oxidative status. By highlighting the need to provide more effective vitamin E supplementation, and the need to re-assess specific components of the diet, this study may lead to reduced incidence and improved medical management of steatitis in cold-stunned sea turtles.
在受寒昏迷的肯氏丽龟（KRT）中不常发生的脂肪炎的发病机制尚未确定。本研究的目的是调查受寒昏迷的肯氏丽龟的临床（n = 23）和组织学发现（n = 11），并比较临床和/或组织学确诊为脂肪炎的受寒昏迷的肯氏丽龟（n = 10）与自由放养的肯氏丽龟（n = 9）之间血浆α-生育酚（维生素E）、硫代巴比妥酸反应性物质（TBARS）的浓度以及TBARS与维生素E（T/E）比值（氧化应激评估）。所有受寒昏迷的海龟入院时临床上均未检测到脂肪炎，脂肪炎诊断的中位天数为71天（范围33 - 469天）。受影响脂肪组织的组织学发现包括嗜异性（n = 9）和/或组织细胞性（n = 5）脂肪炎、脂肪坏死（n = 7）、肌坏死（n = 2）和病灶内细菌（n = 6）。与对照组相比（分别为62.3 nmol/g；2.1 nmol/g；0.03），受寒昏迷的肯氏丽龟血浆维生素E浓度显著降低（中位数 = 3.5 nmol/g），血浆TBARS浓度较低（中位数 = 1.6 nmol/g），T/E比值较高（中位数 = 0.50）。这些结果表明，肯氏丽龟在康复期间发生脂肪炎的病因是多因素的，包括组织损伤、败血症以及导致抗氧化/氧化状态失衡的各种因素。通过强调需要提供更有效的维生素E补充剂以及重新评估饮食的特定成分，本研究可能会降低受寒昏迷海龟脂肪炎的发病率并改善其医疗管理。
