Abstract

he spleen is the largest secondary immune organ in the body and is responsible for initiating immune reactions to blood-borne antigens and for filtering the blood of foreign material and old or damaged red blood cells. The study investigated Immunomodulatory activities of the Spleen of the African Giant (Cricetomys gambianus) Rats. Two African rats with an average weight of 1.3 ± 0.4 kg were purchased from Vom, Jos and were acclimatized for two weeks in the animal house of the department of anatomy used. Their spleens were harvested and their mean weight, thickness, width and length were measured. The spleens were subjected to normal histological and histochemical procedures in which sections of the spleen tissue were divided into three groups; the normal haematoxylin and eosin, best carmine method PAS (periodic acid schiff) for glycogen localization and Alcian blue technique for mucins localization. The average weight of the rats was 1.3 ± 0.4 kg. Mean weight of the spleen, spleen thickness, spleen width and spleen length were 2.3 ± 0.2; 3.1 ± 1.54 mm; 16.5 ± 4.5mm and 56 ± 4cm respectively. The spleen of African giant rat was slightly positive for glycogen when stained with Best carmine method. Similarly, when it was stained with PAS technique, the trabecula was positive for glycogen. On the other hand, when it was stained with alcian blue technique, it was fairly positive for acid mucins. The result of this study has provided for the first time baseline data on the carbohydrates histochemistry of the spleen of the African giant rat which has been lacking and this might be useful in the comparative analysis of the spleen of rodents.