ABSTRACT: Amphibians have been facing a pandemic caused by the deadly fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Although studies have elucidated cutaneous and homeostatic disturbances, it is still unknown if the hepatic function can be affected or if hepatic effects differ among host species. Thus, we evaluated the effects of an experimental Bd infection on the liver (histopathology and the hepatosomatic index) of 2 anuran species (Xenopus laevis and Physalaemus albonotatus) with different susceptibilities to Bd infection and compared them to uninfected controls. Bd infection increased the melanomacrophage cell area and induced leukocyte infiltration in both species. The effects were more pronounced in the sensitive species, P. albonotatus, which showed severe reduction in glycogen stores and liver atrophy, due to energetic imbalance. Hepatocytes of P. albonotatus also showed ballooning degeneration (vacuolization), which could lead to cell death and liver failure. Our results provide evidence that although the sensitive species showed more severe effects, the tolerant species also had hepatic responses to the infection. These findings indicate that hepatic function can play an important role in detoxification and in immune responses to chytridiomycosis, and that it may be used as a new biomarker of health status in chytrid infections.

中文翻译：

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两栖类chytrid感染的差异肝组织病理学反应

摘要：两栖动物正面临着由致命真菌Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis（Bd）引起的大流行。尽管研究已经阐明了皮肤和体内稳态的障碍，但是仍然未知肝功能是否会受到影响，或者宿主之间的肝效应是否不同。因此，我们评估了实验性Bd感染对两种对Bd感染敏感度不同的无环物种（非洲爪蟾和Physalaemus albonotatus）的肝脏（组织病理学和肝体指数）的影响，并将其与未感染的对照组进行了比较。d感染增加了这两种物种的黑色素巨噬细胞面积并诱导白细胞浸润。这种影响在敏感物种P. albonotatus中更为明显，该物种由于能量失衡而显示糖原储备和肝萎缩严重减少。P. albonotatus的肝细胞也显示气球变性（真空化），这可能导致细胞死亡和肝衰竭。我们的结果提供了证据，尽管敏感物种显示出更严重的影响，但耐受物种也对感染具有肝反应。这些发现表明，肝功能可以在排毒和对壶菌的免疫反应中发挥重要作用，并且可以用作壶菌感染中健康状况的新生物标记。